Most recently, the court heard arguments on January 9 about the constitutionality of an Indiana law requiring voters to show a current government-issued photo ID in order to cast a ballot. The law most adversely affects people without driver's licenses, especially poor, elderly and minority voters. If the court upholds the law, as appears likely, it will be "a sad new chapter in its abandonment of voters, a group whose rights it once defended vigorously."

In Mr. Cohen's opinion, Indiana "cannot justify the enormous burdens the law imposes. There is no evidence that in-person vote fraud has ever occurred in the state, but there is considerable evidence that voters will be disenfranchised. Indiana could have deterred fraud in less harmful ways, including by accepting a wider range of ID's."

Although 24 states have enacted such laws in recent years, Indiana's is the most strict. Critics of the court are already "ascribing political motives" to the case, and suggesting that the Indiana law is an attempt to suppress voter turnout in the upcoming election.

To read Adam Cohen's op-ed piece in its entirety, click here.

The 41-person joint legislative commission will be composed of members of the General Assembly, cabinet secretaries, school board officials, education experts, parents, educators and business leaders. It will be charged with analyzing and assessing the best evidence and models of school funding systems and using the recently- released state-wide costing-out study to craft recommendations for reforming the state's education funding formula.

Members of the commission will also conduct hearings around the state to foster understanding and support for public education finance reform. The resolution will require that the commission report its findings within the year.

HR 460 was first introduced in October and received broad bi-partisan support in the General Assembly. A similar proposal, Senate Resolution 210, was introduced in November. Both proposals address Pennsylvania's first costing-out study, which had been commissioned by the General Assembly and released by the State Board of Education in November.

The costing-out analysis found that $11,926 is the average level of funding required to ensure that every student reaches state standards of academic achievement. Overall, the study found that 471 out of 501 school districts in Pennsylvania are currently spending below their adequacy levels, and Pennsylvania's system of public education is underfunded by $4.38 billion (25.4% more than current spending).

Good Schools Pennsylvania, a statewide network of citizens who are informed and mobilized in support of public education, is spearheading the effort to push HR 210, the Senate version of the bill, through the Senate Education Committee and then bring it to a vote in the Senate. JSPAN is a member of Good Schools Pennsylvania.

We urge our readers to contact their state senators in support of SR 210. This important legislation, along with HR 460, will ensure that state funds for basic public education will be distributed adequately and equitably.

To learn more about Good Schools Pennsylvania, click here.

To read the Pennsylvania State Board of Education costing-out study in its entirety, click here.

To contact your state senator, click here.

I am a web developer, open-source technology advocate, political blogger, and an activist/organizer. I recently returned to Philadelphia, where I grew up, after an 8-year stint attending and working for The New School. I live in Fairmount with my wife, dog, cats, and a salt-water coral aquarium that scares my wife to near death every time I'm out of town.

I was honored to join JSPAN this past summer, after getting introduced to the group by Brian Gralnick, who brought me to a board meeting to discuss youth outreach. The organization seemed to be full of amazing people, from all walks of Philadelphia Jewish life, and a great place to network with people who share my passion for progressive political causes, and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed.

To prospective members I would say: if you feel passionate about politics and social justice, and feel, as I do, that most Jewish social groups are either too rigid or right-leaning for you, then this is a community that you should become a part of.

The data is not unexpected. The report not only outlines the extent of the need, but the inability of some cities to meet growing need with limited resources. Decreased commodities from the US Department of Agriculture's Bonus Commodity Program and lower contributions from grocery markets have translated into critical shortages at food banks across the country.

While 80% of the cities who responded to the hunger survey, for instance, reported that requests for emergency food assistance had increased over the past year, cities across the board also reported that 17% of all people in need of food assistance are not receiving it. In addition, 19% of the cities expected increased demand for food assistance in 2008.

The report also discusses the problem of homelessness in urban areas. Contrary to popular belief, the number one cause of homelessness among families with children is not mental illness or substance abuse, but the lack of affordable housing. This problem is not limited to the surveyed cities; every single congressional district across the country is currently experiencing an affordable housing crisis. In 2007, families with children constituted 23% of persons using emergency shelter and transitional housing programs in the cities surveyed.

To examine the survey in detail and to learn more about the extent of the problems of hunger and homelessness in Philadelphia specifically, click here.

"Situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian question"

Security Council
United Nations, New York
22 January 2008

Mr. President,

The situation in the region today did not develop overnight. It is the consequence of many choices, repeatedly the wrong choices, made by the Palestinians, to adopt terrorism and violence over peace and negotiations with Israel.

In contrast, Israel has shown that it understands the consequences of making the right choices. More than two years ago, Israel made the choice to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, uproot families, and remove all its forces, in order to create a new horizon for peace in the region. We chose to disengage, despite all the difficulties, and despite the fact that the Roadmap did not require it at this stage.

Writing in the January 17 issue of the Washington Post, Professor Agha and Mr. Malley explain that among the three parties in this "Middle East triangle, ... reports of indirect dealings repeatedly surface." However, all of these behind-the-scenes negotiations seem to thus far be only "result(ing in) collective checkmate, a political standstill that hurts all and serves none. The truth is, none of these two-way deals is likely to succeed."

Professor Agha and Mr. Malley offer a different possible scenario: "The current mind-set, in which each side considers deal-making by the other two to be a mortal threat, could be replaced by one in which all three couplings are viewed as mutually reinforcing." What is needed most by Israel, Fatah and Hamas is " a choreography that minimizes violence and promotes a serious diplomatic process."

Will 2008 bring a new mind-set to the region?

To read this essay in its entirety, click here.

JSPAN is reproducing this e-mail from the NJDC to encourage our readers to be as well informed as possible about the candidates' views on subjects of particular concern to the Jewish community. We have invited the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), which speaks on behalf of Jewish Republicans, to comment on this release and to provide us information about similar efforts being made in Republican party circles. In an upcoming issue, we hope to publish information from the RJC which counters false claims levied against Republican candidates.

To access the NJDC e-mail in its entirety, click here.

In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as an annual international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Every member nation of the U.N. has an obligation to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and develop educational programs as part of the resolve to help prevent future acts of genocide. The U.N. resolution rejects denial of the Holocaust, and condemns discrimination and violence based on religion or ethnicity. To commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Museum hosts a candle-lighting ceremony attended by the Washington, D.C. diplomatic community, Holocaust survivors, and the general public.

In the New York Times Book Review of January 13, Jeffrey Rosen, law professor at George Washington University, states that Anthony Lewis, author and reporter and columnist for The New York Times, has been "one of the most inspiring advocates of a heroic view of the American judiciary. .... In his new book, 'Freedom for the Thought That We Hate,' Lewis offers a similarly heroic account of how courageous judges in the 20th century created the modern First Amendment by prohibiting the government from banning offensive speech, except to prevent a threat of serious and imminent harm."

Professor Rosen concludes, "In the 21st century, the heroic First Amendment tradition may seem like a noble vision from a distant era, in which heroes and villains were easier to identify. But that doesn't diminish the inspiring achievements of First Amendment heroism. Conservative as well as liberal judges now agree that even speech we hate must be protected, and that is one of the glories of the American constitutional tradition. Anthony Lewis is right to celebrate it."

To read Jeffrey Rosen's book review in its entirety, click here.

Please remember that JSPAN welcomes your donations to help us continue our important and effective work in Tikkun Olam. You may send gifts via PayPal on www.jspan.org. or to JSPAN, c/o Joel Beaver, Treasurer, 1735 Market Street, Suite #A417, Philadelphia, PA 19103