The Jewish year is a magical combination of lively celebrations, feasts of traditional foods, glistening candlelight, sacred wine, raucous dancing and noisy parades, committing to the triumph of freedom, personal and communal mourning, fasting, and opportunities to reflect, atone, and renew.…
August 28, 2023, will mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The original march was conceived by civil rights activist and labor leader, A. Philip Randolph. Randolph started his organizing in the 1930’s when he led efforts to help end both racial discrim…
Nashville is a growing city, but at times it can still feel like a small town. This small-town feel was palpable when news of the Covenant School shooting began to emerge. Some learned of the horror from personal text messages long before the official reporting of the incident was public. Ma…
Dara Horn, author of the book, People Love Dead Jews, joined us in Nashville for an energetic, incredibly engaging, and highly researched program in which she shared her vast experience reviewing Holocaust education and how it impacts current issues of antisemitism. Her thought-provoking per…
Recently, Observer editor Barbara Dab and I were interviewed by a local television station to discuss the rise in antisemitic activity locally and around the country. Dedicating an entire hour to this topic is an indication of how serious and far reaching this situation has become, and the c…
The Jewish Community Relations Committee Social Justice Seder had been a community tradition for over 15 years. The event itself was brought here to Nashville by Avi Poster when he relocated from Chicago. Since then, Avi provided consistent inspiration, support, and encouragement for the e…
After three years of virtual programs, the JCRC Social Justice Seder returns in person on Thursday, March 30 from 6-8pm at the Gordon Jewish Community Center. In celebration of being back together in person, we have invited African American Jewish writer, culinary historian, and author Micha…
January marks the time of year when we honor and celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, MLK week events and march in Nashville will be back in person this year. JCRC will return to the tradition of providing transportation to the progra…
Each year, JCRC decides on key issues of focus for the coming year’s programs. The topics generally relate to specific current events, voting rights, immigration, and access to healthcare. Whatever the winds of change bring we adjust and respond, but there are two areas of focus that are c…
JCRC November programming will address Israel, antisemitism, and the Tennessee state abortion ban. The third in the Abortion and Jewish Law session will be November 14 and will focus on some of the legal implications of new law. The panel will include professionals and experts dealing with t…
The Ken Burns documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, debuted at the end of September, and the Gordon JCC hosted a preview on September 14. As with all of Mr. Burns’ work, the documentary is meticulously researched, and contextualized within the bigger story of our nation’s complicated …
The recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, shifting access to reproductive health care to the control of state legislatures, has already caused fear, confusion, and heartache. JCRC has and will continue to provide educational programs to help us all understand and respond to …
On June 24, 2022, the National Council for Jewish Women (NCJW) issued the following statement:
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a moral failure. It will put lives at risk. By overturning 50 years of precedent, safe and vital abortion care is now virtually inaccessible to m…
We seem to be living in interesting times, which can be interpreted as either a curse or a blessing depending on your perspective. Only time will tell how the eyes of history will view the current events confronting us. We are struggling through the grief of consecutive mass murders committe…
In early May I had the honor of joining a small delegation from Nashville traveling to Poland to witness and assist in relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees. At that time, Poland was assisting over two million refugees fleeing violence and mayhem caused by the unprovoked Russian invasion of…
