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August 4 , 2001 Vol. 3, No. 23 This Week in New York… For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Director of Community Relations and Special Projects at bga@thejcpa.org STANDING TOGETHER -- SOLIDARITY RALLY WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL MAKE PLANS FOR YOUR COMMUNITY TO BE REPRESENTED! Join your fellow pro-Israel activists as we show our support. "Standing Together" – Solidarity Rally with the People of Israel will take place Sunday, September 23rd at 1 p.m. along Second Avenue, beginning at 47th Street, in Manhattan. Tens of thousands of Jews and other supporters of Israel are expected to attend the rally, along with regional and national leaders and Israeli officials. JCPA is a cosponsor of the rally, and is working with member agencies across the country to bring delegations of Israel activists to New York to stand in solidarity. There are only 55 more days until the rally! Contact the JCPA today to learn what your community can do!
Solidarity Now! Tip of the Week: This week’s highlight comes from Chicago, where the JCRC convened a special luncheon briefing July 26 for the local-based foreign diplomatic corps. These Consular officials, representing over a dozen countries, were provided background and analysis outlining serious problems involving the upcoming United Nations World Conference Against Racism and were urged to convey those concerns to their embassies/ministries. A major focus of the session was the revival of the old "Zionism is Racism" canard. The luncheon was part of an on-going series of relationships and programs that are drawn upon from time to time and that have proven very meaningful.
This Week in Washington... Contact Reva Price, JCPA Washington Representative, at rprice@thejcpa.org
Israel and Middle East Matters: On Tuesday, the House of Representatives picks up on the Foreign Operations spending bill, with legislators set to consider nearly 30 amendments before moving on to other work. This is the spending bill that provides foreign aid to Israel. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to "mark-up" its version of the bill on Thursday, July 26. That same day, the Middle East and South Asia subcommittee of the International Relations Committee chaired by Rep. Ben Gilman (NY) will hold a hearing on US policy regarding the Palestinians, with William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs scheduled to testify. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chaired by Joseph Biden (DE) is expected to finish work this week on the State Department Authorization bill. The House and Senate are expected to consider the Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) this week. For more information on ILSA, see JCPA’s May 21, 2001 memo, "Israel Solidarity Action Package. Contact rprice@thejcpa.org for more information
What’s Up with WCAR: The House International Relations Committee subcommittee on International Organizations chaired by Representative Ileana Ros Lehtinen (FL) has delayed until next week a hearing on the UN Conference Against Racism scheduled for Durban, South Africa August 30- September 7, 2001. Those scheduled to testify include Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Dan Mariaschin of B’nai B’rith. Representatives from the State Department will include Michael Parmly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and Michael Southwick, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Organizations Affairs. A letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary General Kofi Anan is still being circulated to Members of Congress by Rep. Joe Crowley (NY) (See JCPA memorandum, July 18, 2001) JCPA member agencies are reminded to ask elected officials to sign the letter in the next two days.
Charitable Choice Update: As you will recall, on January 29, 2001 President Bush signed two executive orders. The first created the office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives in the White House and the second asked the Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to each establish within their respective departments a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The purpose of the executive department Centers is to coordinate department efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the provision of social services. The order asked for a report on progress no later than 180 days after the issuance of the Executive Order, which corresponds to some time in the next several days. See JCPA News Release, July 19 2001 for comments on House passage of H.R.7.
Elsewhere on the Hill: The House Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on "Genetic Non-discrimination: Implications for Employers and Employees." Meanwhile the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing mid week aimed at efforts ensuring that genetic information not be used to discriminate in hiring and in access to insurance. (See JCPA Resolution on Genetic Testing, Discrimination and the Jewish Community, 1997) The Senate Judiciary Committee has put the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (Hate Crimes Legislation) on its agenda. The House Agriculture Committee is expected to begin to mark-up farm legislation this week which will contain reauthorization language for nutrition programs, including food stamps. There is concern among our coalition partners that the level of funding to be authorized for Food Stamps over ten years will be insufficient to meet the needs of recipients, and that the bill will ignore efforts to simplify the program to make it easier for working families to access the benefits.
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