Taskforces

Gun violence prevention has been a social action priority for the SJN for many years. Gun violence remains a public health and safety issue, with gun violence now being the leading cause of childhood death. Rabbi Pomerantz constituted the task force in 2017 with a threefold agenda: Education- to provide the congregation with evidence-based information regarding the issue; Advocacy – to provide information regarding gun legislation; Community engagement – to partner with local partners to end gun violence. During the past six years, we have worked on the following initiatives:

1) In partnership with Mom’s Demand Action for Gun Safety, our Task Force has been presenting the Be SMART program to schools through their PTOs and to community groups. Be SMART is an educational, non-partisan program designed for adults. It emphasizes that it is the adult’s responsibility to keep kids from accessing guns and that every adult can play a role in keeping our kids and communities safe.

2) Advocating for common-sense gun safety legislation at the State and Federal levels.

3) Partnering with elected officials to discuss gun safety issues and providing a forum for elected officials to present information at services and town halls.

4) Partnering with other reform Jewish congregations in the area to form a task force and work on gun violence prevention.

5) Partnering with Bullets4Life, a local organization whose mission is to get bullets off our streets, we have hosted workshops in collaboration with this organization to support the group’s mission.

6) Working with teen groups regarding gun violence prevention.

Co-Chairs: Lauren Cantor nbcsmommy@gmail.com and Hilary Feldman feldkarp1@gmail.com

Temple Beth Sholom’s Project to address book banning and academic freedom in our community and schools.

Temple Beth Sholom is excited to announce our new Freedom to Read campaign focusing on banned books in Florida. As Jews, we believe in securing access and the ability for everyone to read any book they would like

– anytime. Our goals are to educate, advocate and fundraise around the issue.

Co-Chairs: Rachel Umlas rachelmsw@aol.com and Val Schimel vschimel@gmail.com

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