News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community |
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024
Nashville is becoming home to several hundred Afghan allies, as part of a national effort to resettle thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan. In a Jewish community wide effort, we have funded and are committed to help settle and acculturate three families. Working with the sponsorship organization Nashville International Center for Empowerment, NICE, a cadre of volunteers have been trained and are ready to welcome our new Nashville neighbors. The families arriving from Afghanistan will join an expansive, diverse, and multifaceted immigrant community. In anticipation, we have been working with local Afghan immigrant groups to learn about their culture and have already engaged in cooking projects to create meals for emergency needs and to assist families as they arrive.
Although the past two years have presented many challenges, Nashville’s Jewish community continues to both grow in numbers and to expand its reach. On Sunday, April 3rd, The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee is hosting a Jewish Community World’s Fair. The special event is designed to showcase the partner agencies, organizations, and local groups that make up Nashville’s unique local Jewish community. Jewish Federation CEO Eric Stillman says, “The Jewish Community World’s Fair will be fun for the entire family, and it will be a great way to introduce how our local Jewish community agencies, congregations, and organizations are connected to our partners around the Jewish world at the same time.”
Liz and Gabe Rutan-Ram always planned to build their family through adoption. The Knoxville couple, who is Jewish, say they also decided to work through the foster care system rather than use private channels, and now their dream is being deferred by what they say is a discriminatory state law. The law known as House Bill 836, was signed by Governor Bill Lee in January of 2020. The law allows taxpayer funded child welfare organizations to deny services, like adoptions, to prospective families who, “violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions.” The law has been condemned by human rights groups as targeting LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, or any other prospective parents with whom an agency has objection. And now, according to Pam Kelner, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Middle Tennessee, this law is hitting home for the Jewish community. “These organizations are basically, ‘anti-other.’ If you don’t follow their specific religious beliefs, they won’t serve you. And this type of discrimination has been going on a long time, but when the agency is funded by taxpayers, it crosses the line.”
“Despite vows of ‘Never Again,’ antisemitism still rears its head.” Those are the words of Leslie Kirby, Vice President of The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and Chair of the Task Force on Israel and Domestic Antisemitism. She made them on January 27th, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz. This year, The Jewish Federation used the day as a call to action. At a virtual event, “Shine a Light on Antisemitism – No Hate in our State,” local leaders from Nashville’s academic, business, and political communities called on their constituents to take a pledge to stand against antisemitism in all its forms and in every place it occurs.
On January 27th, The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and MIddle Tennessee hosted, "No Hate in Our State: Shine a Light on Antisemitism." The virtual event, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, featured comments by Governor Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Bill Hagerty, Congressman Jim Cooper, Metro Nashville Schools Superintendent Adrienne Battle, and other leaders in the academic and business world. To view the event, click the link. Also visit Take the Pledge to take the Pledge to Shine a Light on Antisemitism.
It is hard to believe we are entering the third year of the COVID19 pandemic. When I first took the position of Editor of The Observer, there were mere whispers of a strange virus overseas and the hint that it may eventually make its way to our shores. No one could predict the havoc it would wreak, the deaths it would cause, and the irrevocable changes that would occur in our world. A mask was a costume element, or a beauty treatment. Social distancing was how I set boundaries with certain friends. Six feet was my son’s height. Lining up for vaccines was a distant memory from my childhood. And testing positive, well that meant something else entirely. In short, we not only have a new language, but we also have new behaviors to help us navigate an uncertain world. There has been much to grieve these last few years, and still, much to celebrate. In the pages of this newspaper, we have reported on marriages, births, job promotions, kids doing amazing things, diverse communities supporting each other. In short, the life of our local Jewish community, though changed, has marched on. I reached out to ask folks to share some reflections on how their lives have changed. I received several submissions, and here, I share a few.
Last month on a normal Shabbat morning in Colleysville, Texas, a stranger walked into the Beth Israel synagogue ostensibly looking for something to eat. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the congregation’s spiritual leader, welcomed the stranger and even offered to make him some tea. As the congregation watched in horror via Zoom, the stranger became a captor, holding the Rabbi and three congregants hostage for 11 hours. The details of the hours leading to the hostages escape and the gunman’s death are still being revealed. The situation sparked fear among the American Jewish community and ignited debate about how to balance the need for security with the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger. In Nashville, the reaction was much the same as elsewhere. Local congregational Rabbis, law enforcement officials, and professional staff of The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, shared words of comfort, reflection, and hope with The Observer.
Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg, otherwise known as Nefesh Mountain, closed out their 2021 Hanukkah Tour at City Winery in Nashville. Performing Hanukkah hits by Woody Guthrie, as well as original music, with some James Taylor thrown in, the group played to a packed house. The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee hosted a VIP reception before the concert, which featured snacks, beverages, and a meet-and-great with the band. Below are some highlights from the evening.
