The following letter was sent by President Jeffrey Pasek to Thomas R. Caltagirone, chair of the House Judiciary Committee:

February 22, 2008

Hon. Thomas R. Caltagirone, Chair
House Judiciary Committee
106 K. Leroy Irvis Office Building
P.O. Box 202127
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2127
Re: HB 1370

Dear Representative Caltagirone:

On behalf of the JSPAN Board of Directors, I urge you to bring HB 1370 before the Judiciary Committee and to seek its passage at the earliest possible opportunity.

HB 1370, which was already passed last fall by the Senate as SB 751, would enforce Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court’s decision that the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars the execution of those with mental retardation.

A New York Times editorial of February 6 reported that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the worst offender of the 38 states which sentence minors to life without a chance for parole. In Pennsylvania, "hundreds of inmates - estimates range from 360 to 433 - have no hope of ever being released because of crimes they committed between the ages of 13 and 18. .... Locking up juveniles for life without parole is unfair and a poor use of criminal justice resources."

What can we do as citizens of Pennsylvania to change this unconscionable statistic?

• For more information on the subject, click here to access "The Rest of Their Lives: Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States", a study done by Human Rights Watch in 2005.
• To read the NY Times editorial entitled "A Shameful Record" in its entirety, click here.
• To read "Pa. Leads Nation in Sentencing Minors to Life" by Chris Togneri of the Pittsburgh Tribune - Review, click here.

Ted Mann has just celebrated his octogenary year. He is able to look back over an illustrious legal career spanning more than five decades.

In his spare time, Ted has also been the national chair or president of some of the most significant Jewish communal organizations on the American scene during the last four decades, including the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, the American Jewish Congress, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, National Conference on Soviet Jewry, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Project Nishma and the Israel Policy Forum.

Ted's most recent pride and joy is JSPAN, with which he has been involved since its inception in 2003. In the following paragraph, he discusses why he feels so committed to JSPAN:

I joined JSPAN because of the disconnect between the progressive views of most American Jews on social issues and the increasing conservatism of their leadership in many Jewish communities. Notwithstanding the amazing economic and educational achievements of our American Jewish community over the past 60 years, our values have not changed. As demonstrated by the remarkable stability in our voting patterns, far to the left of the rest of white Americans, we continue to believe:

1) that a nation which ignores the disadvantaged and the needy in its midst does so at its peril, and

2) that mixing together government and religion is the surest way to crush the liberties of all Americans.

These are the core values of JSPAN, the values it constantly seeks to advance.

The JSPAN Board at its meeting on February 21 mandated President Jeffrey Pasek to send the letter below to Dwight Evans, Majority Chair, and Mario J. Civera, Jr., Minority Chair of the Commonwealth's House Committee on Appropriations, urging that committee "to return (HB 1073) to the House with a favorable recommendation toward passage."

To read HB 1073 in its entirety, click here.

To read JSPAN's letter to the Pennsylvania State House leaders, click here.

"A more proactive American Jewish engagement" in support of the peace process and a two-state solution to the conflict is therefore needed more than ever. Ms. Schoffman feels that "the time has come for the American Jewish community to step up and be heard. ... Those who oppose Israel's need to compromise on territory in order to end the conflict, those who bang relentlessly on the doors of Congress in the name of a united Jerusalem, those who use political or financial threats to command political support - simply do not reflect the plurality of American Jews who, like the majority of all Americans today, are seeking compromise."

Ms. Schoffman concludes: "Support for a two-state solution is solidly within the consensus of American thinking. Advocates for peace should .... create a shared language of compromise that will resonate with their fellow Americans and will energize the silent majority of American Jews who seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict. ..... Now is the time for the government of Israel to ask its powerful Jewish supporters in the U.S. .... to work with and not against the people of Israel at this potentially decisive moment."

To read Roberta Fahn Schoffman's remarks, click here.

What are your thoughts? Click here to record them.

Same-sex couples are already denied the right to marry in Pennsylvania. This amendment is unnecessary, unwise and divisive. JSPAN urges everyone to contact your Senator and give a voice to the millions of Pennsylvanians who oppose writing discrimination into our Constitution. Please act now to help ensure fairness for all Pennsylvanians!

• To find your Senator's contact information, click here.
• To e-mail your State Senators about the Marriage Protection Amendment, click here.
• To see who is co-sponsoring this bill and to read the text of the legislation, 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