This month, we honor the rich history, traditions, and many contributions of our Native American siblings, as part of Native American Heritage Month.  As I write this, I am living on land that belongs to the Kickapoo, Peoria, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Myaamia, Sauk and Meskwaki Nations. (discover whose land you are living on here. Learn more about land acknowledgement here.)

It is ironic that we are about to celebrate a holiday that is all about giving thanks for an abundant harvest and eating a big feast, while so many Native Americans today are struggling with hunger and food insecurity.
 
The reality is that hunger in Indian Country is the direct result of centuries of discrimination against Native Americans from the moment Europeans first landed on American soil.  Early settlers engaged in a deliberate policy of raiding and destroying native food stores and resources.  Enforced resettlement on reservations pushed tribes off their native grounds and away from their traditional food sources.  Native agricultural practices were erased, fishing and hunting rights were denied, the buffalo were wiped out.
 
The government replaced these resources with government rations, food commodity programs that focused on mere survival rather than nutrition or culturally appropriate foods; replaced traditional foods with foods familiar to white communities, and provided SNAP benefits that were not able to be redeemed anywhere on the reservations. The result was an increase in food insecurity, the rise in obesity, diabetes, and other nutrition-related illnesses, and the destruction of tribal food economies.
 
Today, Native American-led organizations are working to restore native agricultural practices, support native farmers, fishers, and ranchers, and promote sustainable agricultural businesses on the reservations.  They are working to increase food security and food sovereignty among the tribes, so that the tribal leaders, not the federal government, are in charge of administering anti-hunger programs on their own lands.  After all, they are in a better position than legislators in Washington to determine what their communities need, what foods are most appropriate, and the best methods of delivery.
 
As we work to support our Native American siblings’ efforts toward greater equity and empowerment, one immediate task we can take on is to debunk the myth of the ‘First Thanksgiving’.  Perpetuating this myth only seeks to perpetuate stereotypes about Native Americans, distorts the real history beyond recognition, ignores the rich history and culture of the Wampanoag people who had thrived for thousands of years before white Europeans later known as Pilgrims came and stole their land, and serves to sweep under the rug the true history of genocide, forced relocations, broken promises, and ongoing discrimination. 

(Learn the truth behind the myth here and here)

It is so important that we educate ourselves about the history, traditions, and rich variety of cultures of the 573 officially and not officially recognized Native American tribes. A Native organization, Illuminative (https://illuminatives.org/) teaches us about the reality, and the danger, of Native invisibility. Ignorance and stereotyping have a damaging effect on how Native peoples are treated by the courts, schools, and society.  80% of Americans know little or nothing about Native communities; 90% of our schools teach little or nothing about Native Americans past 1900.  Native representation in pop culture lies somewhere between 0 and 0.4% and often consists of damaging stereotypes of Natives as drunk, impoverished, and victims of crime. 
 
Invisibility creates implicit bias and leads to Native Americans being left out of key decisions in Congress.  Decision-makers know nothing about Native Americans.  Most federal judges know nothing and yet make important decisions on treaty rights and other important issues.  It is imperative to shift the narrative, break the stereotypes, and make the invisible, visible. Minimally, public policies need to be written to include Native communities.  More deeply, Native leaders need to be included at the table from the beginning, as policies are being debated, not after they are already written. We need to remember that Native Americans are still here, are resilient, are thriving, have capable leadership and have addressed their issues with innovation and creativity. 
 
As Americans, we care about all our children, we want all people to be healthy and safe, and we want people to have access to heathy and nutritious food. We must live out these values by supporting the Native American communities in their fight for food security and sovereignty.  We need to advocate for increased SNAP benefits in the next COVID relief bill and in the next Farm Bill.  But more than that, we need to recognize the power and resiliency of the Native community and support those Native-led organizations (see below) that are supporting food sovereignty and promoting Native agriculture that enables the tribes to feed themselves.

Anti-hunger and Native food sovereignty organizations:

Native American Agriculture Fund

Inter-tribal Agriculture Council 
 
Illuminative 
 
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger partnership with Native American food sovereignty organizations

Today Democracy won.

Two hundred and forty four years ago, the United States began a tradition that continues to this day, unheard of anywhere else in the world at that time, whereby the people would choose their leader and every four years there would be a peaceful and dignified transfer of power.  We expect that tradition to hold now and in the future.  Let us all come together to bring unity to our country.

This election has been historic in many ways, but no more so than in the election of our first female, African American, South Asian, graduate of an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) to the Vice-Presidency!  No matter who you voted for, this groundbreaking event must be acknowledged.

Many thanks to all who worked so hard to ensure that every eligible voter was able to exercise their right to vote! You made calls, sent texts, got people registered, posted accurate voter information on social media, worked the polls, gave rides to the polls, protected voters’ rights at the polls, and your hard work paid off. Voters came out in record numbers across the country, voting in person or by absentee, and their votes counted. 

We all deserve a day of rest. Take the day to celebrate democracy, to enjoy this historic moment.
But then, we get back to work. Democracy does not end at the ballot box: That is just the beginning.  Now that we have a new Administration, a new Congress, new people in our statehouse, it is time to hold these elected officials accountable to address the vital issues facing our country.  Whether you voted for them or not, they are now our representatives in the halls of government, and we must ensure that they truly represent us.

In the year ahead, let us join together to advocate for sane, science-based policies to address the pandemic and comprehensive relief to deal with the economic fallout.  Let us work together to resolve the crisis at the border and return our nation to its historic place as a haven for refugees and asylum-seekers. Let us work for policies to mitigate the effects of climate change.  And let us finally undo the systems and policies that have led to the devastating inequities and entrenched racism in our society.
​
The task ahead may seem daunting.  Two thousand years ago, Rabbi Tarfon, a 2nd century sage, said, "It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but neither are you free to desist from it."  (Talmud, Pirkei Avot 2:21).  No one of us can do this work alone, but together, we can bring healing and wholeness to our world. 
 
 

​As a faith leader, I believe it is a moral imperative that every vote be counted, and every voice be heard.  As a Wisconsin poll worker, I know how time-consuming it is to process and count absentee ballots.  That is why I was tremendously disappointed to hear that the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decided that Wisconsin absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal clerks’ offices by Election Day in order to be counted.  This decision is especially difficult to understand, given that SCOTUS just a few days earlier decided the other way in a nearly identical case in Pennsylvania.  It is deeply undemocratic to thwart voters’ good faith attempts to vote, particularly in this extraordinary time of pandemic, slow-down at the post office, and vastly increased incidence of voting absentee.  I urge all eligible voters in Wisconsin – vote early, vote NOW, make sure your voice is heard!
 
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Executive Director
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice

            Zecher Tzadik l’vracha – May the Memory of the Righteous Be for a Blessing
 
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice joins with all Americans to mourn the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a brilliant and compassionate Supreme Court justice, an advocate for the rights of all oppressed people, and a great champion not only for women’s rights but for equal justice for all.
           
Known affectionately as the Notorious RBG, Justice Ginsburg was a hero and a role model who knocked down legal obstacles to women’s equality and leveled the playing field between the sexes. As a Jew, Ginsburg cared as deeply for the rights of minority groups, immigrants, the disabled and others, as she did about the rights of women.
 
For the Jewish community, RBG was a source of tremendous pride. Justice Ginsburg often pointed to her Judaism as the wellspring from which she drew her passion for justice. In a 2004 speech, she said that her “heritage as a Jew and my occupation as a judge fit together symmetrically. The demand for justice runs through the entirety of Jewish history and Jewish tradition. I take pride in and draw strength from my heritage, as signs in my chambers attest…[including] the command from Deuteronomy [16:20]: ‘Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof’ – ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue.’ Those words are ever-present reminders of what judges must do that they ‘may thrive.’”
 
Ginsburg further said of her Jewish heritage, “It makes you more empathetic to other people who are not insiders, who are outsiders.”  That empathy led her to fight for the rights of minorities in all aspects of life.
 
Today we are living in tumultuous times, when threats to minority rights and to our very democracy seem to grow stronger every day. Justice Ginsburg knew that the greatest antidote to these threats is our right to vote.  In 2013, she issued a scathing dissent in defense of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which the majority on the Court had just gutted in Shelby vs. Holder.
 
In her opinion, Justice Ginsburg outlined the very many instances in which the VRA had succeeded in its mission to prevent voter suppression in the targeted states and noted that, without it, there would be an avalanche of discriminatory practices preventing minorities from voting.  In describing the circumstances under which the VRA was enacted, Ginsburg noted that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had warned that the passage of this Act would not be enough, but that, as she wrote, “there had to be a steadfast national commitment to see the task through to completion.”
 
Justice Ginsburg’s warning was prescient, as we have indeed seen an avalanche of assaults on people’s access to the ballot box.  Here in Wisconsin, this threat has played out in egregious ways.  Our voter ID law is one of the most stringent in the country, disenfranchising thousands of voters. Witness requirements for absentee ballots have proved a barrier, particularly during the pandemic.  Reduced time for early voting in the upcoming election similarly places an undue burden on access to the ballot.
 
To honor Justice Ginsburg’s memory, we must join in her fight to combat voter suppression in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. To be true to her legacy, let us follow her call to protect voting rights by voting ourselves and by helping others to vote!
 
The tradition that Justice Ginsburg venerated in turn holds her in special esteem. As Nina Totenberg, NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent, tweeted: “A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment because they were needed most & were the most righteous. And so it was that #RBG died as the sun was setting last night marking the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.”
 
Jewish tradition teaches that in every generation, the world is supported by 36 righteous people, for whose sakes the world is kept from destruction.  They are called Lamed Vavniks for the Hebrew letters that stand for the number 36, a multiple of 18, the numerical value of the Hebrew word for “life.”  They are people who toil all their lives for the good of others, who are people of compassion, who fight for justice, who stand for goodness and mercy.  They are usually unknown to the world, and even to themselves. 
 
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a Lamed Vavnik, and the world is more precarious for her passing.  May she be bound up in the bonds of everlasting life, and may she rest in peace.

In 2011, Governor Walker signed Act 23, enacting one of the country’s most restrictive voter ID laws.  From then on, the Department of Motor Vehicles, under the Department of Transportation, found itself responsible for providing Wisconsin citizens with a crucial document by which they demonstrate their right to vote – a Wisconsin drivers license or state ID.
 
Unfortunately, this has thrown up huge obstacles for many to exercise their right to vote.  Many DMV’s around the country are located far from public transportation; many are only open a few days a week, and only a very few have Saturday hours.  Many low-income workers are unable to take time off from work to travel to the nearest DMV during working hours to get their ID. 

Non-drivers, including the elderly and many in the disabled community, have a hard time getting to DMV locations off the public transportation path.  People in rural areas lacking in public transportation are also hard hit. People of color, students, and Native Americans are most often affected. The result is many Wisconsin voters find themselves disenfranchised because they cannot access the ID they need to vote.
 
The Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition, of which WFVJ is a member, is asking people to send letters to the Secretary of Transportation Craig Thompson asking him to increase DMV hours, add Saturday hours, and engage in a public awareness campaign to combat misinformation and educate people on what they need to vote.  Please use this letter from the Voting Rights Coalition as a guide to craft your own letter to Secretary Thompson and urge him to implement these common-sense solutions. 

Congress is back in session but just for a short time, and then they recess again to hit the campaign trail. If they do not act now, we will not get another COVID Relief bill until 2021, if then.
 
People need rental assistance, increased SNAP (food stamps) benefits, unemployment insurance, and access to free testing and COVID health care, and they need it now!
 
According to the Wisconsin Budget Project:

• 116,000 Wisconsin parents cannot provide enough food for their children to eat
• 165,000 Wisconsin renters do not think they will be able to pay next month's rent
• 2 million Wisconsin residents are having trouble paying their usual household expenses

 
Please call Tammy Baldwin ((608) 264-5338), Ron Johnson ((414) 276-7282), and your Congress member now (find your Congressional representative here and tell them to get back to work and pass meaningful COVID 19 Relief! 

For more information on the hardships families are facing during the pandemic and economic crisis, see this report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

August 25, 2020
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, 608-513-7121, wifaithvoices4justice@gmail.com
 
STATEMENT ON THE SHOOTING OF JACOB BLAKE
 
With shock and horror, we have seen another officer-involved shooting of an unarmed African American man, this time in our State of Wisconsin.  The video of Jacob Blake being shot multiple times by a Kenosha police officer as his children watched appears to be yet another instance of an unnecessary use of lethal force by our police.
 
As people of faith, we offer the family of Jacob Blake our prayers and support. Although we cannot begin to imagine the pain, anger, frustration, and outrage that African Americans continue to feel as their loved ones are gunned down, we join them in protesting these outrageous acts of inhumanity.
 
The nation has witnessed a long overdue rising of awareness about the reality of systemic racism since George Floyd’s cruel death in Minneapolis just three months ago. Nevertheless, awareness does not suffice in itself. Action must follow.
 
Leviticus 19:16-18 commands us “do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.”  We cannot be silent while racism and violence ravage African American communities. To be silent is to be complicit.  Rather, we must speak out, and act, to combat this evil.
 
Fighting racism is a life-long task.  We stand with people of color and other oppressed minorities and pledge to work together to end the poison of systemic racism!
 
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Executive Director, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
 
Reverend Larry Sexe
President of the Board
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
 
 
     

​The Trump Administration's assault on the United States Postal Service threatens everyone's right to a fair electoral process.  More than that, it threatens people's health and lives.  Deliveries of prescription drugs to the elderly and disabled are delayed, endangering the lives of people who depend on those medicines being delivered on time. Bills delivered late can result in late payment of rent and utilities, threatening shut-offs and evictions.

Please take action to save the postal service, preserve safe mail-in voting, and protect people's lives!

Here are five things you can do today:
  
1. Support funding for the post office and for safe, secure elections
 
As you’ve probably read, the postal service is running short on funding right before the election. The US House of Representatives has proposed $25 billion in additional funding to keep the post office running at full strength, to support mail-in voting and all the other vital services that the post office provides. The new Postmaster General has taken a different tack by removing top management, cutting overtime, removing mail sorting machines, and telling 46 states to expect delays that will affect their deadlines for absentee ballots. Check here for comprehensive coverage of the issue.
 
You can help by calling or writing our US Senators to express your views. As long as you’re writing, you can also express support for the House proposal of $3.6 billion in funding which includes funds to help state and local election officials conduct fair, secure, and safe elections despite the complications caused by the coronavirus.
 
Senator Ron Johnson
(202) 224-5323
email using the form at this address
 
Senator Tammy Baldwin
(202) 224-5653
email using the form at this address
 
2. Support continuing post office oversight to prevent drastic changes
 
The Postmaster general will be testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next week about the changes he has made at USPS that may affect mail-in ballots. The chair of this committee, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, has  introduced the Delivering for America Act to stop the Postmaster General from making changes to the operations of the post office before January.  You can read more about it here.
You can help by calling or writing your US Congressperson to express your views.
 
Representative Mark Pocan
202-225-2906 
email using the form at this address
 
3. Promote local alternatives for delivering your ballot
 
Mail voting is usually a great alternative in Wisconsin, where we can vote by mail simply by requesting a ballot – no reason needed. But this year we face the risk of too many ballots overwhelming the clerks and the post offices if everyone waits until the last minute. So familiarize yourself with this important information and let your friends  and neighbors know too.
 
To make sure your ballot arrives on time to be counted:

• check your registration today at myvote.wi.gov. Oct. 14 is the deadline to register by mail or on-line
• Don't wait -  request your ballot now and mail it two weeks ahead of Election Day. If you have not sent in your ballot by Oct. 27, you should deliver it directly to your clerk's office or to a dropbox if they are available in your area.   In most locations, you can also bring your absentee ballot to your polling place by 8:00pm on Election Day, with some exceptions. See below
• The Wisconsin Election Commission recommends not waiting until the Oct. 29 deadline to request your absentee ballot, as they cannot guarantee it will get to you and then back to the clerk's office on time. 
• For more information on absentee voting, registering, deadlines, and to contact your local clerk's office to find more information specific to your district, visit MyVote Wisconsin
• Thirty-five municipalities including Milwaukee and Green Bay count their absentee ballots at central locations.  If you are in those localities and are dropping off your absentee ballot on Election Day, you must bring it to that central location, not to your polling place.  To find the list of central counting localities, check here.

·      
4. Sign up to be a paid poll worker
 
If you are comfortable doing so, sign up to work at the polls on election day. Most cities are facing a shortage of poll workers and would be happy to have the help. You can work for pay or as a volunteer. Sign up yourself or pass this message on to someone who could use the extra money. Read more about working as an election official 

5. Fight back against voter suppression
 
Join us for this upcoming program where you can learn more about the history of voter suppression, how it manifests today, and how you can help combat it.
 
Combating Voter Suppression In Wisconsin: Protecting Everyone's Right to Vote
Webinar Sunday, September 13, 3:00 - 4:30 PM
Join us for a presentation by Matthew Rothschild, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, about the history and current issues in voter suppression across the country - specifically in Wisconsin - and ways to get involved. We encourage you to watch the short 38-minute documentary, “Suppressed: The Fight to Vote,” prior to the event.
 
RSVP here to sign up and get the Zoom link, or tune in at the time of the event on Facebook Live. This event is co-sponsored by Jewish Congregations for Social Justice - Madison, Tikkun Ha-Ir, The Interfaith Center at Miami University, and the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign.

On August 6, a coalition of social justice organizations, including Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, sent a letter to the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation outlining priorities that must be included in the next COVID-19 relief package, currently being debated in the Senate. 
 
Key priorities identified in the letter include:

• Ensuring universal access to free testing, treatment, and preventive vaccines for COVID-19 regardless of immigration status, income, or any other eligibility criteria,
• Funding for states, local governments, and school districts to cover lost revenue and continue essential services,
• Additional and recurrent economic stimulus payments for individuals, regardless of immigration or family status, until the economy recovers,
• Extend the supplemental $600 per week in unemployment insurance through at least the end of the year for all workers,
• Increasing and extending the supplemental federal paid leave included in the CARES Act, as many parents face the prospect of limited in-person schooling, and workers face additional challenges with caring for a loved one, or battling an illness themselves,
• Additional funds for the homeless and those experiencing housing insecurity,
• Funding for workers who provide home health care for the elderly and disabled and dedicated funding for programs to alleviate widespread social isolation and loneliness among older adults.
• Ensure Wisconsinites have access to healthy food by increasing the SNAP maximum benefit by 15%
• Include the Pandemic TANF Assistance Act (S. 3672). This critically important funding would provide flexible emergency assistance to help low-income families cover groceries, the rent, and utility costs. It would enable states to provide emergency cash assistance to families and individuals that have been left out of other relief measures like unemployment insurance (UI), including individuals returning from jail or prison, survivors of domestic violence, immigrants, and young people from low-income neighborhoods who are just entering the labor market.

Please write to Senators Baldwin and Johnson and amplify the message in this letter. Urge the Senators to pass a comprehensive package immediately that includes these vital needs.  Millions of Americans have already been waiting too long!