Women's League Resolves...

by Bernice Balter

Women's League is committed to tikkun olam, in repairing our world. It’s what we do as individuals and as members of sisterhoods, regions and the international organization. We see problems near and far and we take action. But we all know that we cannot fight every injustice, feed every hungry child, resolve every world conflict with action alerts and letterwriting campaigns. We must, unfortunately, make choices in how we spend our time and our money. How do we pick and choose from the endless parade of pressing issues, changing realities, and sudden crises that confront us as North American Jews?

As Women’s League for Conservative Judaism begins preparations for its 2008 convention, it is also beginning the process of developing the public policy resolutions to be presented to the delegates that will enable and encourage members, individually and collectively, to be effective activists and advocates on a broad array of contemporary issues.

Together with other representatives of the Conservative movement, we are fully engaged members of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. As such, Women’s League benefits from the research and knowledge of the best professionals in the field. We are, as well, allied with the Israel Embassy, World Zionist Organization, NCSJ, Joint Distribution Committee, and countless others, all of which keep our members apprised of current events here and abroad. These affiliations help us define the issues, articulate our positions, and create the necessary broad-based alliances.

Nonetheless, it is up to Women’s League to determine where we expend our energies, knowing that we have limited resources.

As Jews, our primary concern and responsibilities are to our people. Thus, we have promoted increased support of Jewish education for adults and children, as well as condemned anti-Semitism and all hate crimes, and called for prosecution of Nazi war crimes and Holocaust commemoration and restitution. And, of course, Israel enjoys a significant place in our hearts and on our agenda. Although we are concerned primarily with Israel’s security and world standing, we also have taken strong positions in support of the Masorti movement, religious pluralism, and resolving the country’s social problems.

As women, we have supported much of the feminist agenda of the past 40 years, adopting resolutions demanding equal employment opportunities, women’s rights/rites within the Conservative/Masorti movement, and advocacy for women’s health. As Americans and Canadians, and in keeping with our traditions, we care deeply about the quality of life in our communities. We have addressed homelessness, poverty, public education, the environment, and racism, to name just a few.

Through our accreditation as a non-governmental organization at the United Nations, where we maintain a non-governmental observer and alternate status, we are obliged to adopt resolutions on a myriad of UN programs such as the Decade for Women, Year of the Child, Year of Disabled Persons, and so on.

Crafting Women’s League resolutions is a formidable undertaking. Committee members are serious, interested, and knowledgeable, bringing to the table their intelligence and commitment. In a process that takes months, issues are selected, researched, and debated and then draft resolutions are shared with the membership at large. When the thousand or so delegates reach the convention in Detroit in November 2008, they should be well prepared to discuss the proposed resolutions and then to bring them back to their sisterhoods, where members can engage in timely and important work.

Women’s League can be proud of its long history of effective advocacy. By dint of our body of resolutions we have been out front on the major challenges of our times: solidarity with Soviet Jewry, the rescue of Ethiopian Jews, the Equal Rights Amendment, rallies in Washington for Israel and for freedom of choice, rallies at the United Nations, and campaigns to work with our legislators letting them know where we stand as North American Jewish women.

We are proud of the breadth of our concerns and of those many volunteers and professionals who have given life to those resolutions.