Contacts:
Robin Braverman
Joel Siegel

March 27, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air — however slight — lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.”
— Justice William O. Douglas

Cherishing Freedom: Pesach and Politics 2008


Two East Bay Jewish educators are on the move, teaching and organizing in the Bay Area Jewish community with one important purpose: to awaken and activate the Jewish community around the gradual erosion of the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights and to help return America to what is right and just.

Looking to Torah, Tanakh and Talmud for inspiration and building on the work of both liberals like Naomi Wolf and conservatives such as Bruce Fein and Bob Barr, Robin Braverman and Joel Siegel encourage Jews to remember that our Jewish values compel us to act to protect freedom. “The Torah enjoins: ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue’; the prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Seek the shalom of the city where I have sent you.... for in its shalom will be your shalom.,’ and in the Talmud it is said both that ‘As goes the leader, so goes the generation,’ and that, ‘As goes the generation, so goes the leader,’” Siegel says.

“As Jews we have the obligation to act,” he continues. “Surely we as a people understand the danger to everyone of secret prisons, torture, and domestic surveillance. Even though we as Jews are not the specific targets this time, we are compelled to remember history and do what we can to oppose such evils.”

To provide a structure to help Jews meet these obligations, Siegel and Braverman have created a project called Or Hadash USA/Return to Daylight. The name comes from a quote from Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who once warned Americans to be vigilant against gradual, hidden erosions of Constitutional democracy. The name also reflects an optimism that, if America is in fact in such a twilight period, it can “return to daylight” through the actions of an informed citizenry. The project has the support of several rabbis and prominent members of the Bay Area Jewish community. These supporters are listed on the project’s website, www.orhadashusa.org.

“We chose the name because it conveys the sense of optimism tied to action.” said Braverman. “Like the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, who took a stand and refused to cooperate with Pharaoh, we must commit ourselves to K’vod HaBriyot, a respect for all creation, affirming that we believe all human beings were created B’tselem Elohim, in the image of God. We must not permit our government to torture in our name, nor to imprison people secretly and indefinitely without trial, nor stifle dissent, nor violate basic rights of privacy, nor create enemies of the state.”

During Pesach, Siegel and Braverman hope that people will use materials they developed to augment the Four Children portion of the seder. The Or Hadash USA seder insert speaks of the Four Americans, and is designed to help seder participants think about the slippery slope we may be on as a nation and the dangers to freedom and democracy that could result.

Siegel and Braverman also hope that once people have the facts, they will be moved to further action. The insert includes a space for individuals to provide contact information for themselves and others who may wish to become involved. Seder participants can then return the insert to the Or Hadash USA project.

“We are prepared to channel people who want to be active into already existing organizations like the ACLU, Rabbis for Human Rights – North America, the American Freedom Agenda, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Amnesty International, the American Freedom Campaign, and the League of Women Voters. We want to help people feed into the work being done to assure fair elections without irregularities, to work against surveillance and secret prisons, and of course, to work against torture. Or Hadash USA will also help people find their way into the campaigns of candidates in any party who are pledged to uphold civil liberties and Constitutional limits on government power in this country, as well as international law,” said Siegel. “We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re not an organization in our own right; rather we have created a mechanism for educating people and funneling them into existing organizations with projects that affirm democracy.”

“Freedom requires action and risk,“ said Braverman,. “There is a midrash that says that the Sea didn’t part until one Israelite, Nahshon, stepped into the water first. It may seem as if we have our backs pressed up against the sea,” she said. “But things can change -- if we are willing to take action. As we step into the sea of action we will create the Or Hadash, the New Light, we need to return as a nation to justice and liberty.”

The seder insert can be downloaded from the Or Hadash USA website, www.orhadashusa.org.

The project will continue throughout the spring, summer, and fall to the November elections and beyond. Plans are in place for a Shavuot Project in June and a High Holiday Project that will begin in the month of Elul and continue through the High Holy Days.
Individuals and organizations wanting to participate in the project are urged to contact Robin Braverman and/or Joel Siegel by snail mail, at Or Hadash USA, Robin Braverman/Joel Siegel, 1900 Aspenridge Court, Walnut Creek, CA 94597, or by email at rbjs@orhadashusa.org .

 

 

Last updated: April 9, 2008