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HUMANISTIC JEWS SUPPORT TSUNAMI RELIEF
We have all been stunned by
the devastation wreaked by the Asian Tsunami, which has left more than
150,000 people dead and millions of people displaced and homeless in
Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Burma, and Maldives. As fellow
human beings and as Humanistic Jews, our hearts and minds are engaged in
seeking ways to support the massive relief efforts necessary. Several
organizations have begun special relief efforts in response to this
natural disaster. The Society for Humanistic Judaism is urging its
congregations and members to support Tsunami relief through donations to
the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) or the American
Jewish World Service (AJWS). The JDC is already the beneficiary of
efforts by Humanistic Jewish congregations who support its Crop Walk to
sponsor food donations for the needy.
Humanistic congregations embrace a human-centered philosophy that
celebrates Jewish culture and identity. Our belief is in the human
capacity to create a better world rather than in reliance on a
supernatural power or an omniscient deity,” said Bonnie Cousens,
Executive Director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. We believe in
the importance of mitzvot (good deeds) to achieve that end. The
performance of acts of tzedakah (charity), a core value of Judaism, are
intrinsic to a full expression of Humanistic Judaism.
The Society for Humanistic Judaism is the national umbrella organization
for Humanistic congregations in North America. Humanistic Jews value
their Jewish identity and the aspects of Jewish culture that offer a
genuine expression of their contemporary way of life. There are
currently more than 30 congregations in the United States and Canada
affiliated with this growing movement. Forty-nine percent of the United
States 5.5 million Jews say that their outlook is secular and
forty-eight percent do not belong to a synagogue or other Jewish
organzation according to the American Jewish Identification Survey
undertaken by professional statisticians under the auspices of the
Center for Jewish Studies at the City University of New York. The
Society helps to organize local congregations and havurot, creates and
disseminates celebrational and educational materials, provides national
programs, including programs for teens and young adults and a summer
camp, and serves the needs of individual members who do not live near an
existing Humanistic congregation.
The JDC South Asia Tsunami Relief fund has already provided more than
$300,000 worth of medicine to India, which is being distributed by their
partners on the ground. AJWS has partnered with 24 non-governmental,
community-based organizations in the region on sustainable community
development projects. They are focusing on providing direct material
relief to the poorest families in affected areas, including providing
food, water storage containers, cooking supplies, blankets, temporary
shelters, bedding, and school supplies.
Making a contribution is easy: Go to
www.jdc.org, click on Tsunami, and complete the line "I would like
my contribution to be made in the name of:" with the words "Humanistic
Judaism." Or go to
www.ajws.org and click on Tsunami to make your donation.
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