News & Information for the Week of
July 25th - July 30th, 2021
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There’s been a lot discussion recently about a reality TV show on Netflix that purports to depict the story of someone "breaking free" from their Orthodox life.
Many have shared their thoughts about the show itself (which I haven't seen) and its inaccurate and disparaging depiction of Orthodoxy. Hundreds of Orthodox women responded to the show using the #MyOrthodoxLife hashtag on social media posting a very different picture of what life in the Orthodox Jewish community is like for them, and how it isn’t anything close to the “reality” portrayed by Netflix. I will leave it to those women to tell their own story.
Instead, I've been wondering what would happen if a camera crew followed me around all day? What if someone recorded all my interactions at work and all my conversations with my family at home? Of course reality TV is often scripted and people act differently when they know they're on camera, but would I want such a film to be streamed online? Would you?
One film I would like to see, is a day or week in the life of my Agudah colleagues. Every day brings a different challenge. On the way to the statehouse to advocate for a scholarship bill they may be on the phone advising a school administrator how to navigate the bureaucratic maze of government. On their way back, they may field questions from constituents having issues with religious accommodations in the workplace, obtaining a US passport for an urgent trip, or trying to stop an unnecessary autopsy. I would love to know their secret. How do they accomplish so much, in so little time?
The few times that some of them, like Rabbi Shlomo Soroka (link) and Rabbi Yitz Frank (link), followed themselves with a camera at the statehouse, hundreds of people followed along and asked for more.
Maybe we should launch a behind-the-scenes series called "My Agudah Orthodox Life”?
Let me know your thoughts.
A.D.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Agudath Israel applauds inauguration of President Biden’s Child Tax Credit as bringing major relief to all families.
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Agudath Israel calls upon Congress for more assistance to community charities and nonprofits.
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The federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) fulfilled less than half of the applications it received for 2021 grants. Rabbi Abba Cohen offered his thoughts here.
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Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Rabbi Moshe Matz, Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, and Rabbi Yitz Frank were quoted in a Hamodia article (Click here) about the expansion of school choice in 2021.
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Agudath Israel Applauds Inauguration of President Biden’s Child Tax Credit as Bringing Major Relief to All Families
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As President Biden has announced, Americans will begin receiving advanced Child Tax Credit payments, as provided for in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The one-year increased benefit is designed to help parents support their families and is seen as a viable method to lessen the enormous stress on families – particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic -- and to reduce the number of children living in poverty.
Agudath Israel of America has, for decades, worked in Washington on expanding and enhancing the child tax credit, as it has been of value to members of the Orthodox Jewish community. Large families are quite common among Orthodox Jews and this tax program has proven beneficial to that population.
“Over the years, progress on the child tax credit has come, albeit slowly and incrementally,” noted Agudath Israel’s Rabbi Abba Cohen, Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director. “This year the credit was a priority for us and we worked hard to make this valuable tax benefit more applicable and accessible to our families. We especially thank Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-NY) for their leadership in making this happen.
Previous versions were helpful but often did not live up to their promise. For example, one of the hurdles has been limitations on the number of eligible children, as the program and often subsequent proposals would cap the number of children who could receive the credit. This would be of limited relief to large needy Orthodox Jewish families.
The 2021 Child Tax Credit goes far in addressing these problems. Under the program, the child tax credit has been increased from $2,000 to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six, and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six. Moreover, the legislation raised the age limit from 16 to 17. Families making up to $150,000 (couple) or $112,500 (single parent) will receive the full credit. Eligible households will receive up to $300 per child every month. Under the program, the credit will be adjusted for families in higher income brackets.
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Agudath Israel Welcomes Continuing Strides in Securing
Houses of Worship and At-Risk Nonprofits
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Agudath Israel of America is joining other national nonprofits in urging Congress to take steps to help charities continue their vital work. Nonprofits, like other entities, suffered terrible losses in resources during the period of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, nonprofits have been asked to step up to provide communities the relief, recovery and rebuilding services that are so desperately needed.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Agudath Israel has successfully worked with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), others on Capitol Hill, and organizational partners, to ensure that nonprofits, including religious entities, would be included in the benefits of COVID relief efforts, both as providers and beneficiaries.
“As a result of these federal programs, synagogues, yeshivas, and Jewish community charities have received critical sums to remain in existence and continue their work serving the community,” Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel’s Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director.
In a letter to congressional leadership, Agudath Israel and other charitable service organizations are calling for legislation that will help nonprofits bring back and hire additional staff to provide essential services. This would include passing the WORK NOW Act, which would inject $50 billion into the nonprofit sector to add to its workforce. It also calls for an extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit, an extremely helpful program for larger nonprofits, beyond the year 2021and to make modifications in the program that would more accurately address the special circumstances of nonprofit providers.
The letter also calls for measures that would bring in more financial resources to compensate for the shortfall in charitable donations during this economic crisis. Charities are calling for more federal incentives for charitable giving, including increasing the cap on the charitable deduction, extending the current deduction through the year 2022, and preserving the itemized deduction for charitable contributions.
“These programs and improvements have been, and will be, extremely beneficial to the health and well-being of our communities, especially during these most trying and challenging times,” concluded Rabbi Cohen. “We strongly support them and hope that Congress will swiftly take action to pass them and bring the enhanced relief we need."
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Agudath Israel of America's division of government affairs is engaged in advocacy and legislative outreach activities on the local, state, and federal levels. In so doing, Agudath Israel seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of observant Jews and their growing network of educational and religious institutions; and to offer a uniquely Orthodox Jewish perspective on contemporary issues of public concern.
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