Rebuilding Sanctuary: Join Us at

A Tisha B'Av Action on Immigration

Sunday, August 3, 4:30pm, in Burlington

Sign Up Your Congregation or Community Group for

Postcarding Outreach in Support of

the Dignity Not Deportations Act

Contact Your Legislators:

Support JALSA Priority Legislation on

Affordable Housing, Climate Change, Privacy,

Immigration. and Combatting Book Bans

**Sign-up for our New "Defending Democracy" Curriculum!**

Would You Like JALSA to Come to You?

Schedule a JALSA Presentation for

Your Congregation or Community Group on

Key Social Justice Issues

Dear JALSA Friends,

This week, I bring deeply troubling news of further incursions into our already-eroding civil liberties. Under newly issued guidance from the federal administration, ICE has barred many immigrants around the country from getting bond hearings. This means that these detained immigrants will have to fight their horrifying and cruel deportation cases from inside detention. This clearly makes a frightening, challenging, and inhumane process all the more oppressive - and makes the entire foundation of the right to due process for all of us that much more tenuous.

Lamentably, this is yet another instance under this administration that evokes Leviticus 19:16, which reminds us that we cannot stand idly by when the well-being of our neighbor is being threatened. We simply must act. In this week's Action Alert, there are several opportunities to take such action, from directly protesting against ICE to multiple different ways to contact your state legislators in support of bills to curtail our role in these inhumane policies that run directly counter to our shared values. Read on for all of the details.

With commitment to the well-being of our neighbors and us all,

Cindy Rowe

Rebuilding Sanctuary:

A Tisha B'Av Action on Immigration

Sunday, August 3, 4:30pm, in Burlington

Please Join Us and Stand Up for Immigrants

On Sunday, August 3 from 4:30-6:00pm, mark Tisha B'Av by protesting against ICE and raising your voices in support of dignity, safety, and justice for immigrant communities in Massachusetts. Join JALSA, T'ruah, RAC-MA, and many other co-sponsoring organizations at the ICE headquarters at 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, MA.

On Tisha B'Av, as we mourn the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and recall times of devastating loss and dislocation for the Jewish people, we will call on our leaders to actively resist the federal assault on immigrants in our community. We will reject the weaponization of Jewish fear into a tool for dismantling civil liberties, and instead uphold the tenets of our faith that compel us to protect and stand with marginalized communities.

To rebuild sanctuary in the Commonwealth, we will ask that our Massachusetts elected officials – including Governor Healey and members of the Legislature – do everything in their power to protect immigrants and build a Commonwealth that upholds the dignity and safety of all people. Register for this event at this link.

Sign Up Your Congregation or Community Group for

Postcarding Outreach in Support of

the Dignity Not Deportations Act

JALSA will soon commence a major postcard campaign contacting state legislators about the Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588 /S.1122). This bill would ban collaboration between local law enforcement in Massachusetts and ICE by eliminating so-called "287(g) agreements" and ending detainment agreements between ICE and local sheriffs. It is a pragmatic measure that seeks to ensure the humane treatment of immigrant residents of our state.

You can request immigration postcards for your congregation or community organization now at this link, and you will receive postcards by early autumn to disseminate. A JALSA organizer will be in touch with further details once you submit your request. This is an impactful way to make your voice heard - and amplify your community's voice - on this urgent priority issue!

Contact Your Legislators:

Support JALSA Priority Legislation on

Affordable Housing, Climate Change, Privacy,

Immigration. and Combatting Book Bans

Many members of the JALSA community have diligently contacted their state legislators on these key legislative priorities. But, in case you haven't engaged in this important outreach on any of these bills, now is the perfect time to take just a few moments to make your voice heard!

• An Act to Promote Yes in G-d's Backyard, also known as The YIGBY Act, will be a crucial part of resolving the Commonwealth's housing crisis. With the third highest median home price and the highest median rent price, Massachusetts has one of the most severe housing crises in the nation. It has been estimated that Massachusetts needs 222,000 more housing units over the next decade. The YIGBY Act would allow places of worship to build housing on their properties. Further, the bill would allow for this housing to be built "by right," meaning that there would be no need to have a special permit granted. With faith-based organizations owning nearly 2,000 parcels that can support housing development, this measure could allow for the construction of 100,000 homes! Contact your legislators to urge them to co-sponsor the YIGBY Act at this link.

• Act Establishing a Climate Change Superfund, also known as the Make Polluters Pay bill, will help fund projects such as coastal protections, transit infrastructure upgrades, and building weatherization. This is urgently needed. Since 1995, Massachusetts has experienced nearly three dozen extreme weather disasters with damages totaling $10 billion. These costs will continue to rise with increasingly extreme weather events. By making polluters pay for the creation and financing of a Climate Change Superfund, the costs appropriately shift to the corporations most responsible for causing the climate crisis. The Climate Change Superfund will require the biggest fossil fuel polluters with ties to Massachusetts to contribute billions of dollars over the next quarter-century. Contact your legislators to urge them to co-sponsor the Make Polluters Pay legislation at this link.

• The Location Shield Act would ban the sale and trade of cellphone location data. This will protect people coming into Massachusetts because they can no longer access abortions in their own states. It will also protect people who can be tracked going to synagogues and other religious institutions, and people attending locations that are central to the LGBTQ+ community. You can get further details on this legislation and contact your state legislators to urge them to support and co-sponsor The Location Shield Act at this link.

• The Dignity Not Deportations Act would prohibit immigration detention in Massachusetts state and local facilities and end the voluntary donation of state and local law enforcement resources for federal immigration enforcement. You can get further details on this legislation and contact your state legislators to urge them to support and co-sponsor The Dignity Not Deportations Act at this link.

• Banning books is profoundly in opposition to Jewish values. Shockingly, Massachusetts had the fourth highest number of attempts to remove books from shelves in the entire country in recent years. JALSA encourages you to combat book bans by using this link to contact your state legislators to urge them to defend free speech and our right to read by co-sponsoring An Act Protecting Against Attempts to Ban, Remove, or Restrict Library Access to Materials (H.3598) and An Act Regarding Free Expression (S.2328). This urgently needed legislation, simply put, would protect our right to read books. It would require libraries to create clear guidelines for how to approach a book challenge, establishing guardrails against efforts to unduly remove books from public access and silence marginalized voices.

**Sign-Up for our New "Defending Democracy" Curriculum!**

Would You Like JALSA to Come to You?

Schedule a JALSA Presentation for

Your Congregation or Community Group on

Key Social Justice Issues

Interested in hosting a presentation on social justice topics and how our Jewish values infuse this work?

Reach out and email Organizers Rachel Scarpino or Noah Lanckton to set up a program for your synagogue, community, or house gathering, complete with action steps!

Presentations include:

• JALSA's 2025-2026 Legislative Priorities: Interested in taking action that aligns with Jewish values? Learn about the bills that JALSA supports to achieve economic justice, combat climate change, address the housing crisis, impact immigration, and advance solutions for other pressing issues. Then engage in action to advocate for these priorities!

• NEW! Defending Democracy: Explores how pillars of our U.S. democracy are now being challenged, including fundamental American principles like the rule of law, due process, voting rights, and civil liberties. This presentation will discuss the importance of these basic principles, how their erosion will impact us, and how they connect to our Jewish values. Then discuss action steps for how to defend democracy and U.S. constitutional rights as individuals and as part of faith-based and non-profit groups!

• Reproductive Rights & Abortion: Examines the right to reproductive health care from Jewish theological, historical, and cultural perspectives, the implications of abortion restrictions on our religious liberty, and prominent court rulings such as Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson.

• Economic Justice: Discusses the wealth gap in the U.S. and historical causes of economic injustice, the Jewish values behind worker and labor rights, and what policies have been effective in creating greater wage equity.

• Environmental Justice: Explains through a Jewish lens what environmental justice is, how we can learn to recognize injustices in our own communities, and what actions we can take to combat the structures that contribute to these injustices.

• Immigrant Justice: Grounds immigration as a human right based on Jewish values, then delves into the Jewish history of immigration, historical and current American immigration trends and policies, and the realities for immigrants on the ground in the U.S. and specifically in Massachusetts.

• Voting as a Jewish Value: Frames voting and defending voting access for others as a mitzvah, engages the history of the Jewish community defending voting rights in the U.S., and highlights current measures causing voter suppression.

• Confronting Housing Discrimination: Discusses the history of racial discrimination in housing access and how this issue created a legacy of wealth and opportunity inequality in various neighborhoods though zoning and redlining, using primarily local examples in Massachusetts and specifically Boston.

• Jewpardy: An interactive game of Jewish Jeopardy! mixing a range of trivia topics about Jewish advocates, political actions, and fun facts about JALSA’s work, making standing up for justice fun!

All programs last about one hour and include a grounding in Jewish values and action steps. They are a great way to effectively educate and mobilize people, and they can be conducted virtually or in-person.