Like those who came before us, we must burn brightly too.

December 19, 2024

Shabbat Shalom & Happy Chanukah: A Message From Our CEO

Dear Friends,


Chanukah celebrates a miracle, of a day’s supply of oil that miraculously burned for 8 days. That is why we light the menorah each night for 8 nights and cook foods in oil throughout the holiday. But Chanukah also celebrates action – women and men who were willing to stand up and fight in the face of enormous obstacles, to ensure that their faith would survive and be passed on, l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation. That is another light, a light we must light in ourselves. As a line from “I Am a Light”, one of my favorite Chanukah songs, goes, “Like those who came before us, we must burn brightly too”.


Our world is filled with much that is dark. For Jews, an added darkness is the dramatic rise in antisemitism over the past decade. Chanukah is a good time to shine a light on antisemitism and the dangers it presents. Antisemitism has reached an all-time high in the US, increasing over 200% since October 7
th, and the year prior to October 7th was already at an all-time high. Despite these dramatic increases, surveys show that most non-Jews are unaware of the increase in antisemitism, the severity of antisemitic attacks, and the toll that such rampant antisemitism takes on the day to day lives of Jews in America. 

 

Antisemitism is an existing and ongoing problem, and we all need to work collectively to own our own piece of it. The current hyper-partisan environment in our country does a tremendous disservice to everyone fighting antisemitism and other forms of oppression. The rush to call out bad behavior on the “other side” often blinds us to our own groups’ transgressions – and have no doubt, antisemitism exists on all sides and in every level of our political spectrum. Antisemitism thrives when we only call out bad behavior of the “other side”, making excuses or ignoring that same bad behavior when it is perpetrated by someone we care for, someone we respect, or someone who meets our political needs. We must be equal opportunity in our calling out of antisemitism, everywhere we see it. When it’s in the form a friend’s social media post, when it’s in the form of a colleague’s joke at work, and when it’s in the form of statements and deeds from members of our own political parties. There is no acceptable level of antisemitism, just like there is no acceptable level of racism or sexism or any other oppressive system. We must have the strength and demonstrate the leadership to clean our own houses and not afford ourselves the easy out of saying “but what about them”. 

 

Going forward – together – we must give hate no safe harbor. Not against Jews, not against anyone. Antisemitism is often the beginning of tyranny but it is never the end, what starts with Jews does not end with us, bigotry against one group of Americans is bigotry against us all. It is vitally important that we remain unified as a community in the face of these threats, to be united and not divided. 

 

Locally, the Jewish Community Alliance works every day to fight the threat of antisemitism. In the past several months, we have hosted a community dialogue on antisemitism, created a task force to assess and develop of plan to combat antisemitism throughout Maine, held a critically important community conversation with Governor Mills on antisemitism and Jewish life in Maine, and investigated and responded to a number of antisemitic incidents in our region. We will continue to shine a light on antisemitism through these and other programs in 2025.

 

Please commit to joining me in our ongoing efforts to proactively fight antisemitism and hate, calling out antisemitism whenever and wherever we see it, demanding accountability and action from those whose job it is to represent us and keep us safe, and to focus on building each other up, not tearing others down.

 

A little light can dispel a lot of darkness. May the lights we kindle next week shine forth for all the world to see. And may we each light a light in ourselves, recognizing that we are all b’zelem Elochim, created in the image of God, and that we all bear the responsibility of tikkun olam, doing everything we can to make the world a better place. Like those who came before us, we – all of us – must burn brightly too.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Leslie Kirby, CEO

Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine

Other Articles

July 30, 2025
On July 1, the JCA’s Board of Directors notified staff that they had made the gut-wrenching decision to pause Federally funded HIAS/RRNS work at the end of September 2025. Our current Federal administration does not support refugee resettlement and is defunding the programs that have made it possible. Sarah discussed how working with refugee clients supports Jewish values and highlighted the “incredible, selfless and humanistic work of the RRNS staff.” We would like to take this opportunity to honor the story of volunteers’ participation in the RRNS program and address the impact of the program's pause on our volunteer community. In January 2022, when JCA began its partnership with HIAS to resettle refugees in Maine, we did not fully comprehend the scope of the endeavor we took on and found ourselves struggling to organize, manage, and administer the demands of the program. The resettlement process, beginning as the planes touched down at the Portland Jetport, was determined by Federal mandates, including required programs that had to be offered within specific timeframes. During this time, we turned to our volunteer community to assist our HIAS staff in a variety of impactful roles in the efforts to welcome these families to Maine. Volunteers did everything from helping to find suitable housing, picking up clients as they arrived, assisting them into temporary housing, preparing permanent housing, which included sourcing and moving furniture, cleaning, and transporting clients to their new homes. Volunteers also helped clients adjust to a culture very different from their own by assisting with grocery shopping and cultural orientation groups. Due to the nature of the work, there was often very little lead time. Emails alerting volunteers to various needs often occurring within that same week, and invariably, people would show up to help. When housing was no longer available in the Portland area, volunteers drove to Lewiston, Auburn, and Waterville to help clients with their moving and settling process. Volunteers’ passion, dedication, flexibility, and commitment were vital to the program’s success. Words like “amazing,” “awesome,” and “wonderful” can’t adequately capture the quality of our volunteers’ efforts on behalf of the JCA to carry forth its mission or on behalf of the refugees whom the program has served. People put their heart and soul into this endeavor in response to JCA embracing such a massive undertaking and in response to the refugees’ situations in their home countries and the courage and bravery they demonstrated in emigrating. And not surprisingly, many volunteers developed strong relationships with the refugee clients they served. The abrupt end to this funding and JCA’s struggles to provide as many services to as many people as possible since then have caused a type of emotional whiplash amongst the volunteer community. People have experienced many feelings, including shock, confusion, sadness, anger, and disappointment. It felt to many of the volunteers that the program was just starting to solidify. Services were being evaluated and improved. Communication was enhanced. In other words, just as the program was coming into its own, it was suddenly ground to a halt. It is painful for all of us to be in this current situation. However, JCA is hopeful that attitudes toward refugees will change in the future and that we will once again be able to help people from ravaged countries start new lives here. We all know that despite the prevailing environment, steadfast dedication can change the world, and JCA remains committed to providing what services we can. We will be forever grateful for our volunteers’ efforts in support of those goals. Please feel free to reach out to Adam if you have questions or want to talk about the end of the RRNS program.
July 24, 2025
America’s Largest Teacher’s Union Rejects Proposal to Ban ADL Materials In a positive development, the US’ largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA), has rejected a member-approved proposal to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League. Just two weeks ago, NEA—which is also the teacher’s union of Maine—voted to cut all ties with the ADL: banning all their lessons on antisemitism, Holocaust education, and Jewish-American history. According to the rejected proposal, the “NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics…NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.” This was an incredibly disconcerting development. While the ADL does not represent the views of the entire Jewish community, and has been a target of criticism by some, it has also put decades of work into Jewish-American education and funded widely respected curricula that are acclaimed for their effectiveness in progressive, right-leaning, and centrist spaces (such as Project Shema). Banning the ADL would eradicate a pillar of Jewish-American education and handicap the American Jewish community’s ability to fight rising antisemitism in schools. We here at Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine joined 378 other Jewish organizations in a joint letter to the NEA’s Executive Committee, strongly urging them to veto the resolution. We have heard that this letter, which showed in overwhelming force the American Jewish community’s condemnation of this proposal, was a direct factor in the proposal getting vetoed. We are grateful to our friends at the Jewish Federations for North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs as they coordinated a national response. You can read the communal letter with our organization’s name on it here , and learn more about the situation on Axios . Hundreds of Druze Cross the Israeli Border Into Syria to Defend their Brethren What is often missed in the Israel discussion is the fact that for many religious minorities in the Middle East, Israel is the single biggest guarantor of their security. This applies to our friends in the Bahá’í Faith, whose holy sites in Iran were razed to the ground and now only exist in Israel, as well as to our Druze allies. While the Druze (a secretive offshoot of Islam) only make up 1% of Israel’s population, Druze men have proudly served in the Israel Defense Forces in disproportionately high numbers since the nation’s founding in 1948. Many have risen to positions of command. Far too many have fallen in battle—and their sacrifice has forged a “blood covenant” with the Israeli people. Right now, Druze are being massacred in Syria: babies are being slaughtered, men are being humiliated via having their mustaches (a sign of honor) shaved off, women are being raped and killed. This past week, following days of fighting across southern Syria between the local Druze population and Bedouin militias backed by Syrian government forces, hundreds of Israeli Druzes stormed the border into Syria to aid their compatriots. They are currently petitioning the Israeli government to do more to help the Druzes in Syria (and Israel is responding—7 days ago, they bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry). This is a developing situation, but you can read a recent update on The Jerusalem Post . We’d like to send our prayers and support to the Druze community—as well as all innocent souls in the Middle East who are suffering from the ramifications of war. Five Hebron Sheikhs Break Away from Palestinian Authority and Call for Peace With Israel This month, five leading Hebron sheikhs, headed by Sheikh Wadee’ al‑Jaabari, asked Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat to let Hebron break from the Palestinian Authority and form an “Emirate of Hebron” that would fully recognize Israel as the Jewish state and join the Abraham Accords.The clan leaders have pledged zero tolerance for terror and proposed a joint economic zone that could employ tens of thousands of Palestinians inside Israel. The initiative has drawn cautious interest in Jerusalem, underscoring mounting frustration with the Palestinian Authority among many West Bank Palestinians. If it moves forward, Hebron could become the first Palestinian‑led experiment in clan‑based self‑rule and economic partnership under the wider Abraham Accords umbrella. Could this be a radical solution to bringing about peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict? Read more at The Times of Israel. The Largest Reconstructionist Synagogue Is Set to Cut Ties With the Denomination Over Israel Tensions The largest synagogue in Judaism’s Reconstructionist movement is moving to cut ties with its denominational body over what its leaders describe as a failure to confront hostility to Israel among affiliated rabbis and rabbinical students. The rupture is emblematic of a wider debate among American Jews about Zionism and the boundaries of legitimate criticism of Israel. In a letter, the synagogue’s leaders cited concerns over the rabbinical college’s ordination of students who hold anti-Zionist views, as well as tolerating a “hostile” atmosphere toward Zionism on campus. The congregation — whose membership numbers around 900 families — is now asking congregants to vote in favor of a bylaws change that would finalize the disaffiliation. Read more at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency .
July 18, 2025
Nation’s Largest Teacher’s Union Votes to Sever Ties with ADL, JCA Responds This month, the US’s largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA)—which is also the teacher’s union of Maine—voted to cut all ties with the ADL: banning their lessons on antisemitism, Holocaust education, and Jewish-American history. According to the proposal, the “NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics…NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.” This vote will now head to the Executive Committee of the NEA for final approval. This is an incredibly disconcerting development. While the ADL does not represent the views of the entire Jewish community, it has built widely respected anti-bias and Holocaust education curricula that are acclaimed for their effectiveness in progressive, centrist, and right-leaning spaces. Banning the ADL will eradicate a pillar of Jewish-American education and handicap the American Jewish community’s ability to fight rising antisemitism in schools. We here at Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine joined 378 other Jewish organizations last week in a joint letter to the NEA’s Executive Committee, strongly urging them to veto this resolution. Along with our friends at the Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Council for Public Affairs, we are closely monitoring this situation so we can best support Jewish parents and educators in Maine. You can read the communal letter with our organization’s name on it here , and learn more about the situation on Axios . New Polish Plaques Deny Complicity With Nazis When Jews gathered this week for the anniversary of a World War II massacre in the Polish town of Jedwabne, they saw a new installation—one that denied a historical consensus about the grievous events that unfolded there. At the same time, a far-right lawmaker interrupted the memorial gathering — and triggered a police investigation by calling the gas chambers at Auschwitz “fake.” Thursday marked 84 years since the crimes in Jedwabne, a town of less than 2,000 people northeast of Warsaw. In 1941, local residents killed hundreds of their Jewish neighbors, most of them in a barn where they were burned alive. An official investigation by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance confirmed in 2002 that the murder was carried out by Poles. But Jedwabne has become a flashpoint in Polish politics, with some far-right politicians claiming it was Germans who perpetrated the massacre and characterizing research on Polish complicity as part of an effort to slander their nation. Read more about this disturbing controversy at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Five Hebron Sheikhs Break Away from Palestinian Authority and Call for Peace With Israel Five leading Hebron sheikhs, headed by Sheikh Wadee’ al‑Jaabari, have asked Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat to let Hebron break from the Palestinian Authority and form an “Emirate of Hebron” that would fully recognize Israel as the Jewish state and join the Abraham Accords. The clan leaders have pledged zero tolerance for terror and proposed a joint economic zone that could employ tens of thousands of Palestinians inside Israel. The initiative has drawn cautious interest in Jerusalem, underscoring mounting frustration with the Palestinian Authority among many West Bank Palestinians. If it moves forward, Hebron could become the first Palestinian‑led experiment in clan‑based self‑rule and economic partnership under the wider Abraham Accords umbrella. Read more at The Times of Israel.
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