Gulf Coast residents need your help
Imagine having your home and business destroyed by successive hurricanes, then spending five years working to rebuild your life. Imagine seeing thousands of hours of painstaking effort undermined by an oil slick no one seems to be able to contain.
For too many residents of the Gulf Coast, this is what they have faced. Jewish Funds for Justice, with your support these past five years, has done what we can to help these extraordinary men and women as they persevered despite tremendous challenges. We are committed to standing with them now, during this time of personal and professional devastation.
That is why we are re-opening our Gulf Coast Disaster Recovery Fund. If you share our desire to do something to help, we hope you will consider making a contribution.
Statement from Simon Greer, President & CEO, Jewish Funds for Justice
On Monday, July 26, I attended a meeting with Fox CEO Roger Ailes and SVP of Development Joel Cheatwood. I joined Rabbi Steve Gutow and Rabbi David Ellenson, representing more than a dozen heads of major Jewish organizations. For forty-five minutes we discussed the use of rhetoric by Fox News host Glenn Beck that invoked the Holocaust or Nazi Germany. We left this meeting with the impression that Mr. Ailes and Mr. Cheatwood understood our concerns about Mr. Beck's frequent misuse of this language and would take steps to address it.
When I received an email immediately following the meeting from Mr. Cheatwood saying he would speak to Mr. Beck, and a handwritten note from Mr. Beck a few days later, it reinforced the impression that they had followed through on that commitment.
Yesterday, in an article by Yahoo News, I was quoted praising the outcome of the meeting and saying that Fox News shared our belief "that the use [of Holocaust rhetoric] did cross a line." Cheatwood responded to the article in a most surprising and disheartening manner: "The story basically -- as I read it -- indicated that Roger Ailes and myself had agreed with Greer. We absolutely stood behind Glenn Beck 1000%."
Jewish leaders and others concerned about this issue were encouraged to hear that Fox News was addressing their concerns. Mr. Cheatwood's comments will make them reconsider their enthusiasm. After muddying the water yesterday, Fox News has a responsibility to make it clear whether or not they believe Mr. Beck has been responsible in his frequent invocation of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany to attack those with whom he disagrees.
JFSJ Leadership Program Selah Announces New Class
From June 6 to June 8, Selah, Jewish Funds for Justice's leadership program, held the largest gathering of program alumni in its history. The director of the program, Amanda Silver, recapped the event in a post on JSpot.org.
Perhaps the most exciting announcement from the gathering: the launch of a new cohort of leaders, the program's ninth. Selah’s first Executive Cohort is designed for Jewish professionals dedicated to social change who have at least 10 to 15 years of experience.
