JSPAN's Church-State Policy Center has filed six "Amicus" (Friend of the Court) briefs over the past two years, the last one just two weeks ago in a case called Pleasant Grove City v. Summum. This one was of great significance to JSPAN, not only because it was our first such brief filed in a case pending before the United States Supreme Court, but also because the JCPA ("Jewish Council for Public Affairs"). after studying our brief, joined in it on behalf of the 14 national Jewish organizations and 127 Jewish communities in America whose social justice activities it coordinates. Boston-based JALSA ("Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action") joined in it as well.

This is a major coup for JSPAN, and we owe our thanks to Alan Garfield, Seth Kreimer and Ted Mann for their work on the brief. This is an extremely difficult case and they managed to make our arguments in a very succinct manner.

By way of background, the case arose in Pleasant Grove City, Utah, where Pioneer Park contains 15 permanent displays, including 11 that were donated to the City by private groups. One of these is a Ten Commandments monument that was donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Summum, the plaintiff in the case, is a private religious organization that asked the city to display a stone monument, similar in size and nature to the Ten Commandments monument, containing the "seven aphorisms" of the Summum faith. When the city refused, Summum sued, alleging that the refusal of the city to permit installation of the proposed monument violated the Free Speech Clause of the United States Constitution as well as provisions of the Utah Constitution. The trial court denied the request, but a panel of the Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded the case with instructions to enter a preliminary injunction in favor of Summum. Characterizing the earlier Ten Commandments monument as private speech, the Court of Appeals then determined that the city had created in the park a traditional public forum for the erection of monuments. Thus, it could not deny Summum the right to erect its monument based on content-based restrictions that were unlikely to pass strict scrutiny usually reserved for limits on free speech rights. The full court denied rehearing by an equally divided vote.

House member Rep. Babette Josephs was one of a group of lawmakers who protested Rep. Metcalfe's remarks and said that she would seek to have his comments stricken from the official record. On behalf of JSPAN, president Jeff Pasek sent the following letter to her, thanking her for her forthright denunciation of "the blatant bigotry espoused by Representative Metcalfe."

The UJC/Federation system raised more than $10 million in response to the Southeast Asia tsunami, which helped the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee deliver critical assistance. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, UJC/Federation raised more than $28 million to help the Jewish and general communities rebuild.

The fund includes a mailbox for accepting checks and an online donation form. No administrative costs will be deducted from monies raised.

To contribute online to the UJC Central U.S. Relief Fund, click here.

To contribute by mail, send your check to:

United Jewish Communities
Att: Central U.S. Disaster Relief Fund
P.O. Box 30
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113

On June 25, JSPAN vice-president Ken Myers faxed the letter below on behalf of JSPAN to selected State senators, encouraging them "to support legislation to address the need for better education through .... additional state funds." Our combined efforts paid off. The parties compromised on an increase of approximately $274 million for the budget year beginning July 1, 2008. This is a fine first step in a several-year program to close the funding gap!

To learn more about why Pennsylvania needs a more effective and equitable statewide funding system, click here.

I was attracted to JSPAN because the organization applies Jewish values to public debate. Tikkun Olam need not be a private affair. By becoming politically active, we can make the world a better place.

One JSPAN program that I particularly appreciated was the forum on redistricting reform. By this corrupt practice, Democracy is turned on its head: instead of voters choosing their representatives, legislators choose their constituents. Democrats and Republicans work together to ensure their mutual reelection. As a result, incumbent Congressmen are virtually assured of reelection and there is no accountability.

In the future, I would like to see JSPAN sponsor candidate debates on issues of concern to the Jewish community. JSPAN should also monitor the Jewish press and alert the community to egregious examples of conservatively biased reporting.

On June 30 a team from the Administration’s Office of Administration was dispatched with approval from the Governor’s office to serve termination notices to PHC4 employees. PHC4 employees were subsequently informed that as of midnight, their employment with the Commonwealth of PA was separated.

A skeleton team remains but that will end as of close of business on July 3.

We are asking all friends and allies to:

1. contact the legislative leaders in all 4 caucuses;
2. contact their local legislators and ask them to speak to their respective leaders; and
3. contact the Governor’s office.

To learn more about the debate ensuing in the State legislature over this issue, click here.

Hospitals collect and analyze data on their successes and failures and report to the state, accrediting and inspecting agencies, insurers … but not to the public. If you need care, your choice is among hospitals that advertise fine claims of outstanding achievement, none of which are documented to the public.

But the Pennsylvania Health Care Containment Council (“PHC4”) collects data on hospital performance, makes studies, evaluates the data, and uniquely reports its results to the public. Want to know the incidence of infection at a particular hospital, or the success rate with heart surgery patients, or the hospital’s average charges for particular procedures, or any of a dozen other such questions? Only through PHC4 publications are you (or even your physician) likely to find out.

PHC4 is a state-funded response to an initiative of organized labor and the Chamber of Commerce, aimed at pointing out better ways to contain cost increases in health care. But hospitals don’t like it at all.

The PHC4 authorizing statute had a sunset provision of June 30, 2008. With broad support from interests including the State Chamber of Commerce, labor, and the Governor, PHC4 seemed a favorite to survive the rough and tumble final hours of the state budget process. But it failed to make the cut, and its staff is now being sent home.

The Governor’s Office expresses hope that PCHC4 will be revived by the legislature later this year, along with legislation to provide affordable insurance coverage to more Pennsylvanians. When you see your state representative or senator over the Independence Day weekend, ask him how he plans to choose the right hospital when his need arises.

The Church also decided against new motions for divestment from various companies operating in Israel, and called for a comprehensive two-year study of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Nine national Jewish organizations are closely monitoring this issue, and welcome the movement by the Presbyterians toward balance. However, concerns remain. To read a statement issued by them on June 27, click here.

The question that everyone is now engaged with is: "Will this cease-fire indeed last? ... If the cease-fire remains only technical, and creative efforts are not invested in order to .... deepen it, it could just be a bitter episode."

Mr. Yehoshua suggests several steps that should be taken, including more "generously" opening the border crossings, setting more liberal quotas for Palestinian aborers to work in Israel, and "rehabilitat(ing) industrial projects that existed in the past and were destroyed in the war. .... The main thing is to hold on to the belief that a state of calm has a dynamic of its own."

In summation, Mr. Yehoshua insists that "the cease-fire should not be treated merely as a legal agreement signed on paper, but as a tender sapling planted in the ground. It must be cultivated, watered, invested in and protected, so that it can gain strength and become a strong tree, which it will not be easy to uproot by means of a single Kassam rocket or shell."

To read A.B. Yehoshua's op-ed in its entirety, click here.

This nationwide survey is the second part of a broad Pew study of the country's religious life. It attempted to ascertain how the religious affiliation and practice of individuals influenced their views of culture and politics.

To learn more about the findings of the survey, click here.

As was reported in the June 20, 2008 issue of the JSPAN e-newsletter, (click here to access), Jewish organizations across the nation are considering whether to call for a boycott of Agriprocessors' products. A consortium of groups devoted to social justice has issued a statement demanding a response to the "human tragedy" of the raid and urging cooperation to work towards a "long term structural change" within the Kosher meat industry. To read the full statement, click here.

To sign a petition to Aaron Rubashkin, President of Agriprocessors, 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, 1735 Market Street, Suite #A417, Philadelphia, PA 19103