During the next four years, there will be important debates about the way our government does business. Legislation on significant issues such as health care, foreign aid, civil rights and support for Israel is likely to be considered by the next Congress and Administration. In addition, over the next four years, the President and Senate will confirm judges who will make crucial decisions affecting our lives. With the stakes so high, we must work to reverse the trend toward declining percentages of voters.

As Jews and American citizens we have an obligation to participate in the elections to ensure that our country's policies at the local, state and national levels reflect our commitment to social justice. Every vote counts and plays a defining role in setting policy agendas. It is our civic duty to register promptly, educate ourselves about the critical issues and VOTE!

The Get Out the Vote 2008 Guide was prepared by the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for the larger community. It provides the tools, resources and information to plan a successful voter engagement effort in advance of Election Day. This guide was designed for use by Jewish congregations and communal organizations wishing to conduct their own voter registration drives. Participation in voter registration drives in the general community is also being encouraged. The same procedures and materials that are suggested here for use in the Jewish community can be adapted for voter registration use in the broader community.

To download the Get Out the Vote 2008 Guide, click here.

JSPAN wishes to alert its readers to a rewarding opportunity for "tikkun olam - repair of the world." The Jewish Relief Agency is a volunteer-driven organization whose goal is to assist Jews according to their individual needs. Founded in 2000, JRA is currently mobilizing more than 6,000 volunteers to provide monthly food relief packages to over 2,450 low-income Jewish households throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. JRA's volunteer community consists of Jews representing all ages, life stages and religious and organizational affiliations.

The majority of the recipients are seniors from the former Soviet Union. The JRA also serves a wide variety of people from all walks of life who find themselves in need of assistance. These include families with young children, the unemployed, people living with mental or physical disabilities and those on fixed incomes who are struggling to make ends meet.

JSPAN will soon announce a Sunday date when we can join together in performing this mitzvah. If you are interested in participating, please contact Mort Levine, our Executive Director, at www.jspan.org

Mr. Rosenberg demonstrates conclusively that an attack on Iran by Israel is "a terrible idea." He worries, however, that it "is not out of the question, because there are forces in Israel and here that believe that anything, no matter how dangerous, is better than either negotiating with Iran or relying on sanctions." And this could lead to a retaliatory terrorist attack on the United States, and possibly even one directed against the Jewish community.

"In short, Mr. Rosenberg concludes, "actions have consequences. Governments, including the governments of the United States and Israel, should consider them before preemptively attacking another Muslim state, especially when it is almost certain that an unprovoked attack will fail and leave the United States, Israel, and the world even less secure than before."

To read M.J. Rosenberg's column, "Will We Pay the Price If Israel Hits Iran?", in its entirety, click here.

As I read about the dithering of many of the world's leaders regarding the International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes, I am reminded of Edmund Burke's warning that evil will succeed when good people do nothing to stop it.

Since 2003, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in the Darfur region of Sudan have been killed, injured or seen their villages destroyed by the Sudanese government and their allies. Over 2 1/2 million refugees have fled their homes and live in refugee camps in neighboring countries or as Internally Displaced Persons. Even these places of refuge are far from safe. Government supported raiders have stormed across the border into Chad, attacking non-Arab peoples living in camps -- and just last week, close to 2,000 gunmen, including members of the Sudanese army and Janjaweed "volunteers," staged a pre-dawn raid on the Kalma refugee camp in South Darfur, killing, raping and looting.

According to UN sources, over 60 people were killed and 117 were wounded. Government officials had initially refused entry to the camp to medical or relief workers, and there have been reports of dead and wounded lying in the harsh African sun while the militia ran rampant. Sadly, little media attention has been paid to this latest atrocity. Perhaps Darfur has become old news or we are numbed to the slaughter of Africans.

Even among those who care deeply about this ongoing genocide, there has been growing frustration and a sense of helplessness. Some might have started to feel that there was little the US and the European nations could do.

Since their discovery in the late 1940s, the scrolls have been "among the most sought-after and examined documents on earth." What began as a conservation project to monitor the deterioration of the scrolls from light, humidity and heat has become an opportunity to prepare the entire set of pictures for online examination and study. Scholars around the world, as well as the general public, will now be able to access them in their entirety.

To read "Israel to Display the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Internet" by Ethan Bronner, click here.

Over the summer, Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware County) and Governor Ed Rendell have been trying to reach an agreement on health access reform. The Governor has been working on this for nearly two years already; Senate leaders only recently came to the table and need to feel some heat from us. Otherwise, this opportunity for health care reform will be lost. The Senate is only in session for 10 days this fall.

What's at stake for us here in Pennsylvania?

• 250,000 uninsured people being able to buy affordable health insurance;
• Funding for community health clinics; and
• New rules for insurance companies to stop discrimination against people who have pre-existing illnesses and to give the Pennsylvania Insurance Department authority to review the fairness of insurance rates.

TO RSVP
Email Akraus@philaup.org
or call 267-971-1680
www.pahealthaccess.org

In a Government Accountability Office report evaluating Federal homelessness programs, it was found that Congress and the Executive Branch viewed the EFS Program as very successful; agencies that received the funding and recipients of its assistance similarly lauded the program; in most of the United States, the EFS Program is the only source of funding for the prevention of homelessness; and the primary factor that limits the program's usefulness is its funding level.

In recent years, the program's allocation has been stagnant and under attack. This year unprecedented demands placed on community-based providers necessitates a supplemental allocation to increase EFS Program resources to help sustain local programs. Record foreclosures, food inflation, job losses, energy costs, and related economic factors are all contributing to the increased needs of hardworking Americans for mortgage, rental, and food assistance from emergency food and shelter providers.

Congress is considering allocating an additional $75 million to supplement the EFS Program within the upcoming Second Economic Stimulus Legislation, to help community providers meet the increased demands.

ACTION REQUIRED: As federal appropriators consider adding this new EFS Program funding to their stimulus package, it is critical that they hear from your Members of Congress on the impact the economic downturn has had, especially the increase in demand, the unmet needs, and gaps in resources over the past year. During the August Recess period, please call on your Members of Congress to consider the needs of their constituents in light of current economic problems.

You can identify and obtain contact information for your Members of Congress through the Library of Congress website: thomas.loc.gov.

If you need additional assistance in obtaining the appropriate contact information or otherwise have questions regarding this request, please email Robert B. Goldberg, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, United Jewish Communities at: rob.goldberg@ujc.org

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