Jan 21, 2025 08:00 PM EST - Zoom
Organizing for Justice in the Era of Trump 2.0
A Conversation with Rabbis Benjamin Barnett, Sarah Brammer-Shlay, and Elliott Tepperman
by Reconstructionists Expanding Our Conversation on Israel-Palestine
How should we, as Jews, confront the second Trump presidency? Can Jews be co-conspirators in progressive coalitions and stand in solidarity with communities directly targeted by the Trump administration – immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people? What should be the place of the struggle for Palestinian rights and for the right to speak out on this issue in the agenda of the broad array of forces that must be mobilized to resist the “America First” MAGA program? How can we navigate staying in progressive political alliances when Israel/Palestine is either strategically used as a wedge issue or there are real differences of opinion?
Speaker bios:
Rabbi Benjamin Barnett graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2006 and has served as the rabbi of Havurah Shalom in Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was involved, both as a facilitator and initial board member, with the organization Encounter, which brings Jewish leaders into East Jerusalem and the West Bank to meet with Palestinians and begin to understand Palestinian realities. His life and leadership were shaped by those encounters, and he strives to integrate their insights and model into his work as a rabbi.
Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2022. She serves as the Dean of Religious Life and Chaplain at Grinnell College in Iowa. At the core of her identity as a Jewish leader and community organizer is the desire for people to get out of isolation and into connection. She has more than 15 years of community organizing experience in a variety of fields, including, but not limited to, Israel/Palestine, labor, feminism, workers’ rights and health care. She was a co-founder of IfNotNow and has served in various roles for the Center for Jewish Nonviolence.
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman has been the spiritual leader of Bnai Keshet, in Montclair, NJ since 2002 when he graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. There he has worked to foster spiritually courageous Judaism as a springboard for building community and engaging with the world. He has served as President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, sits on the JOIN for Justice Board and is the current Co-Chair of the J Street Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet.