Jewish Labor Committee

March 25, 2021 - This year, Passover will take place during a historic moment in the labor movement. Thousands of votes have already been cast by workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama seeking to bring the first union to an Amazon warehouse in the United States.

We've received an outpouring of requests on how to express solidarity with the Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama this Passover. Here's one way.

During the Passover Seders we will be holding at home and online this year, the JLC recommends the following as an addition to traditional and contemporary Seder observances, as you say a blessing over a piece of matzah:

Just as matzah symbolizes the hardship of slavery and the Jewish people's hasty transition to freedom; in the modern day, it also symbolizes the difficult working conditions and treatment of working women and men at AMAZON warehouses everywhere and their fight for change, dignity and respect.

If you'd be interested in a haggadah that focuses on labor history and labor issues, you can download a copy of the Jewish Labor Committee Passover Haggadah by clicking on the text in blue, or here: https://bit.ly/3tSxUJf

As Passover and Easter overlap this year, we wish our members and friends observing these holidays a sweet and meaningful Passover and a happy Easter.

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 03:41 PM | Permalink

March 23, 2021 - The Jewish Labor Committee joins in solidarity with those who condemn the killing of eight women at Atlanta-area spas, six of them Asian American and Pacific Islanders, one week ago. We extend our condolences and sympathy to the families of those who were murdered. And, in this time of escalating hate crimes, we extend a message of solidarity to the Asian American and Pacific Islanders, our neighbors, friends and fellow workers, across the United States.

The statistics are sobering, and yet we know that this kind of crime is seriously under-reported. That a disproportionate amount of these vicious attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islanders are against women, only adds to the crisis confronting so many broken families and grieving communities.

The massive increase in anti-Asian violence during the past year comes at a time when white supremacist propaganda has been pumped out in record amounts. Shamefully, it has been aided, abetted and stoked by repeated comments by former president Donald Trump and his supporters.

That Asian American and Pacific Island workers and their families feel, and indeed often are, unsafe at work and in the street is appalling. It is part and parcel of a larger trend of racism expressed in diverse ways, from hate crimes to "jokes" and subtle slurs. This must be condemned from the highest political offices to the most local, from pulpits, in the press, in schools, and around the dinner table. That President Biden and Vice President Harris have both spoken out forcefully to condemn violence against Asian American and Pacific Islanders is to be lauded. But much more needs to be done.

Asian American and Pacific Islander communities feel targeted, and they are. They need to be supported, to be listened to, and to be respected and acknowledged as valuable members of our multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society.
The ugly underbelly of American culture that is not new, that surfaces with violence and bigotry against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Latinx, Jews and other minorities, must be exposed, and delegitimized. Those who express hatred and prejudice must be met not with silence, but with condemnation. As Jews, we know all too well what this can lead to; with our allies, we have fought it before. That fight must continue.

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 07:13 PM | Permalink