January 7, 2002 Vol. 4, No. 1

This Week in WASHINGTON
For more information, contact Reva Price, JCPA Washington Representative, at rprice@thejcpa.org.

All Quiet In Washington: Congress is in recess until January 23, 2002. When legislators return, they will have a very full agenda.  However, with elections looming this fall and the leadership of both Houses of Congress at stake, it is unclear how much legislators will accomplish in the second session of the 107^th Congress. President Bush is slated to deliver his State of the Union address on January 29^th. This will be the third time the President has addressed a joint session of the House and Senate. The first took place last February and the second was on September 20^th.

Odds and Ends: On Tuesday, President Bush is expected to join Representative John Boehner (R-OH) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chair of the congressional committees that deal with education for the signing of the education bill. This long overdue legislation was finalized just as the Congress was adjourning for the year.  It re-authorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which provides for disadvantaged students and mandates reading and math tests for students grades 3-8 beginning in the 2005-06 school year. The signing will take place in Hamilton, Ohio, which is in Rep. Boehner’s District. On December 20^th, Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK) introduced in the House of Representatives an amendment to the Constitution to allow prayer in public schools.  The proposed amendment has only 74 co-sponsors, far short of the two-thirds needed in each house before being sent for ratification by three-fourths of the states.   It states: "Neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed.  The United States and the States shall not compose school prayers, nor require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity." The JCPA opposes all forms of officially sponsored, organized, or sanctioned prayer in schools.

This Week in NEW YORK
For more information, contact Gaby Berger, JCPA Executive Assistant, at gberger@thejcpa.org.

New Partnership for Magen David Adom: A controversy is brewing over the American Red Cross’s (ARC) support for Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA), which has been excluded from membership in the International Red Cross for more than half a century.  The international movement is set to begin proceedings next month to expel the ARC because it has withheld administrative dues for the last two years in protest of the unfair treatment of MDA.  In another development, ARC says it is on the verge of signing an unprecedented bilateral agreement of cooperation with Israel's MDA, in order to send a symbolic message to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, that ARC firmly supports MDA's inclusion as soon as possible.  The JCPA urges member agencies to write ARC Board Chairman David McLaughlin thanking him for his support at American Red Cross headquarters, 430 17th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20006. As always, please copy the JCPA on all correspondence.

Crisis in Argentina:  Please join us for a JCPA conference call regarding the Crisis in Argentina Tuesday, January 8th, at 1:00 PM Eastern.  We will have reports regarding the situation in Argentina, and its impact on the local Jewish community from JCPA national member agencies, including B'nai B'rith and American Jewish Committee, as well as from other involved organizations such as United Jewish Communities, Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish Agency for Israel and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. A question and answer session will follow the presentations. To call in, please dial: 1-888-245-7013.  The password is: "Argentina".

39 Days and Counting!: The 2002 JCPA Plenum is just around the corner!  The Plenum will be take place from February 16-19 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. hotel.  Confirmed speakers include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, this year’s Chernin award recipient; Rabbi Michael Melchior, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister; and Marion Wright Edelman, Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund.  Rabbi Melchior will begin a day of Israel Advocacy at the opening Plenary session, to be followed by a series of workshops designed to help communities build comprehensive Hasbara plans and learn effective strategies for Israel advocacy.  Marion Wright Edelman will address the issues of domestic poverty and strategies for promoting economic justice in our country.  These speakers, in addition to the forums, workshops, plenary sessions, promise to make this year’s Plenum particularly dynamic.  Please contact the JCPA office or visit us online at www.jewishpublicaffairs.org if you need more Plenum brochures or information on how to register.  We look forward to seeing you in February!

Jewish Council for Public Affairs
443 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016
info@thejcpa.org www.jewishpublicaffairs.org
212-684-6950 212-686-1353 fax

Jewish Council for Public Affairs
443 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
212 684-6950
212-686-1353 fax
contactus@thejcpa.org