The Work of the Social Action Committee

"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander."

Holocaust Museum, Washington DC

Events and Updates 

Social Action is vital to Jewish life, whether done as a community, by small groups, or by individuals. We have obligations to each other on many levels – to our synagogue, our towns, our nation, the Jewish people, and to peoples throughout the world. The Committee works to achieve balanced support for a blend of social action causes, and to include as many members of Etz Chaim in this work as possible.

Social Action is part of our identity as Reform Jews. It includes our support for the Jewish United Fund and the annual JUF brunch. In October 2007 our Social Action Scholar in Residence program featured Rabbi David Saperstein, the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC). Since then we have been holding one to one conversations with our congregants, to develop relationships and social action ideas that have the support of the community.

Social Action is local action, such as the caring committee, the Walk In Ministries, food pantry donations, Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), Maot Chitim to assist needy Jews in the area, caring baskets for neighbors, blood drives, Tzedakah box contributions, recycling cell phones to support Family Shelter Services, and Martin Luther King Day programs. We are members of DuPage United, whose goals are purely social action - health, housing, and jobs, though they may work in the political arena to ensure government funding for social programs.

Social Action is national action. It extends across the U.S., helping victims of disasters such as the 2008 Midwest Floods, and Hurricane Katrina.

Social Action is international action. It includes support for causes such as the Jewish community in the city of Kanev (central Ukraine), for Israel, and for a resolution to end the crisis in Darfur. Our support for Diaspora Jews who are at risk in many parts of the world today, includes our 2007 Bomba Israel project. We featured a concert by Laura Fuentes and Pedro Villagra, which raised substantial funds for this Jewish fire station company in Santiago, Chile. This mitzvah strengthens the standing of Jews and increases good will in a nation with a small Jewish population. We worked together to bring a night of fellowship, and South American music and food to the Jewish community in the Western suburbs, and our work was felt thousands of miles away.

Social Action is meeting with the Committee on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 PM in the library. We welcome you. You can contact us with any questions, Paul Heinz or Roberta Jacobson.