Chapter Activities

SPONSORED BY PORTLAND BRIT TZEDEK V'SHALOM

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Potluck 6pm
Meeting 7pm
Email us for location

Come to the potluck for delicious food and a chance to shmooz with others who share your commitment to peace & security in the Middle East. Stay for the meeting and get involved in our work. For more information please contact us by email.

Sunday, March 19, 2009
7:00 PM
At the home of a Brit Tzedek member

We will be having a membership meeting where we welcome you to get involved in working for peace with a very friendly group of people. For more information and to get the location of the metting, please contact us by email.

Sunday, March 1, 2009
4:00 – 5:30PM
Congregation Shir Tikvah/Bridgeport UCC
621 NE 76th
Portland, OR

The Politics of Water in the Middle East & the Developing World.

Speakers will be Congressman Earl Blumenauer who will address “Water for the Poor: Confronting the Challenges of a Global Water Crisis” and Dr. Jeff Albert, Water Resource Specialist at the Aquaya institute in San Francisco, who will address “Freshwater scarcity and its effect on the struggle for Arab-Israeli peace.”

Joining Dr. Albert on the podium will be Mousa Diabat, an Arab-Israeli who has worked for the Israeli Ministry for Environmental Protection and as a research assistant on a transboundary watershed project. He is currently a Fulbright scholar at OSU.

Co-sponsored by Congregation Shir Tikvah and Bridgeport UCC.

For more information contact us by email or (503) 249-1957 (503 504-5118, day of event)

Thursday , February 26, 2009
7:00 PM
For Location info email: portland@btvshalom.org

Get involved for peace through our chapter meeting! Join us as we make our final plans for our March 1 event as well as discuss our future programs and activities. For more information contact us by email.

Sunday, January 18, 2009
7:00PM
1610 NE Tillamook #3 (ring bell for Polishuk)
# 8 bus

First-hand Report from Israel

Jonathan & Ruthie Moss, an Israeli couple currently living in Portland,
recently returned from visiting family in Israel. They were there when
the conflict in Gaza began and will share their observations and
feelings about the current situation.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009
6:00PM Potluck, 7:00PM Meeting
5707 NE 15th
(1/2 block north of Killingsworth; # 8 bus)

In addition to responding to the current crisis, we have lots of ongoing
projects and plans.

On the advocacy front: we just met with Congressman-elect Kurt
Schrader’s DC staff. We have a meeting scheduled with Congressman Earl
Blumenauer’s Portland director and have been promised a meeting with
Senator-elect Jeff Merkley in February.

We are also in the planning stages for some speakers and programs–your
input and assistance always welcome.

For more information contact us.

Sunday, January 4, 2009
7:00PM
5707 NE 15th
(1/2 block north of Killingsworth; # 8 bus)

Many of us feel a need to get together to talk about what’s happening in
Gaza. We offer a safe space for Jews to express their thoughts, fears
and feelings in a non-judgmental atmosphere. This will not be a
discussion, solely listening to each other.

Sunday, November 2, 2008
7:00PM
Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park, Portland

Film: TO SEE IF I'M SMILING
ISRAEL 2007
Director: TAMAR YAROM
$ 8, students, seniors and museum members $7

Join our discussion about the move at: http://smilediscussion.wordpress.com/

Israel is the only country where 18-year-old girls are drafted for compulsory military service. TO SEE IF I'M SMILING is a disturbing look at the actions and behavior of female soldiers in the Israeli army who, stationed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, help maintain the 40-year-old occupation of Palestinian territories. One woman recounts how she posed for a photo with a Palestinian corpse; she searches for that picture, saying, "I wanted to see if I'm smiling." At a time when women in the military are increasingly on the frontlines, this powerful film explores the ways that gender, ethics and moral responsibility intersect during war. (59 min)
Sponsored by the Marc Zwerling Fund for Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Portland Chapter with a panel discussion to follow the film moderated by Rabbi Joey Wolf.

The Portland Chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom is looking for people to help staff our literature table at the Social Justice Institute? You don’t need to know everything about us; it’s
enough to talk to people about why you belong to/support Brit Tzedek. E-mail Joel to sign up for a shift: jmglick@msn.com

3) Save the Date
Sunday, Nov 2 at 7 pm
Our chapter will be partnering with the NW Film Center on the showing of
last year’s winner of best documentary at the the Haifa International
Film Festival and the Silver Wolf and Audience Awards at the Amsterdam
International Documentary Film Festival (and other awards!): “To See
If I’m Smiling” directed by Tamar Yarom (59 mins.)

More Details to Follow

Thursday, July 31, 2008
7:00PM
RSVP at spbtvs@easystreet.net for location

Five members of the Portland chapter of Brit Tzedek participated in this year's Grassroots Leadership Training Institute and national Advocacy Days in Washington DC, June 21-24. They are very excited to share what they did and learned with you!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
8pm
MJCC 6651 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, OR

Yom Hazikaron Observance

Wednesday, May 7
MJCC 6651 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, OR

Yom Ha'atzmaut
60th Anniversary Celebration of Israel

January 31, 2008
7:30 PM
Kol Shalom Center, 1509 SW Sunset Blvd., Suite 2H

Talk & Slide Show: Majed Aloush and Yassin Hamdan, Palestinian Social Workers

For more information please contact the Portland Chapter.

January 13, 2008
6 PM (potluck) and 7 PM (meeting)
Sandy Polishuk’s home

New Year Potluck and Chapter Meeting

Please join us to for a potluck and Chapter Meeting where you can eat yummy food and get to know others who support a just peace in the Middle East. We will have a chance to talk about our exciting upcoming projects and news! This is a great chance to meet with other local Brit Tzedek supporters and get involved!

For more information please contact the Portland Chapter.

Sunday, November 18, 2007
7 PM
Home of Sandy Polishuk

Film: “Occupied Minds: A Palestinian-Israeli Journey Beyond Hope & Despair”

Thursday, October 11, 2007
7 PM
2483 NW Overton, Portland

Film: “The Iron Wall”

Please join us in watching and discussing this 52-minute film, which addresses the issue of Israeli settlements and their impact on Palestinian life. The film features key Israeli and Palestinian voices on the issue and explores how settlements undermine prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. For more information about the film you can read “Breaking Down the Iron Wall: A talk with filmmaker Mohammed Alatar” by Hillel Schenker printed in Palestine-Israel Journal by visiting http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=415.

For more information please contact the Portland Chapter

Tuesday, September 4, 2007, 7:00pm
Brit Tzedek Program Meeting: Jewish Dialogue Group
5707 NE 15th Ave.
Portland, OR 97211 (#8 bus) [map]
503 287-8737
Preceded by a potluck at 6pm

We open the year with an exciting program!

The Jewish Dialogue Group: Working to promote constructive dialogue within Jewish communities about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other controversial issues.

In June a member of the Jewish Dialogue Group of Philadelphia led a
sample session in Portland. Unfortunately, the size of the group was
extremely limited and there was room for only four Brit Tzedek members to attend.

Now we are offering an opportunity for everyone who would like to
experience this to do so. Read more on the group’s philosophy and work below—there’s even more on their website http://www.jewishdialogue.org/

Many Jews are looking for more useful ways to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be extremely difficult. People with strong convictions about the
situation often find themselves in bitter conflict with others who hold different views. At the same time, people who feel ambivalent or confused often have trouble finding a place where they can discuss their
feelings, ideas, and questions openly, without being attacked from one side or the other. Many people avoid discussing the conflict because they feel they don't know enough, or because the issues seem overwhelmingly painful or confusing.

The Jewish Dialogue Group came together to provide resources to help our community to grapple with these problems.

We have found that carefully structured and facilitated "dialogue
sessions"— conversations that are set up to foster respectful listening and collective exploration, rather than argument and debate—can enable people to have conversations that would otherwise not be possible.

Through dialogue, people with seemingly irreconcilable positions can find ways to talk with and listen to each other, to understand each other, and to look for common ground. We believe that dialogue can strengthen Jewish communities; foster personal clarity and healing; and indirectly, contribute to a resolution to the conflict.

Please join us September 4th

July 8, 7 to 8:30pm
A Brit Tzedek v'Shalom gathering at the home of Hilda and Bill Welch
Come here a report on their training, advocacy and the Portland Chapter’s Future from Megan Brown and Hilda Welch.

From June 16th to 21st, three members of our chapter, Joel Glick, Megan Brown and Hilda Welch, were in Washington D.C for Brit Tzedek’s grass roots and advocacy training followed by visits to Oregon’s congressional representatives: Darlene Hooley, David Wu, Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden. Hear what they learned, their appraisal of Brit Tzedeks’s national growth and possibilities for our own work and development to bring peace between Israel and the rest of the region.

Please RSVP by sending us an e-mail or by calling us at 503-227-4981

May 30, 2007, 6pm potluck and 7pm meeting at the home of Hilda Welch. Please send us an e-mail for more directions and more information.

April 15, 2007 7pm
Chapter Meeting
2705 NW Pettygrove (just above Chapman School)

We’ll be talking about the upcoming Grassroots Leadership Training Institute & National Advocacy Days, the Let’s Talk campaign, and have the option of watching a DVD from the Combatants for Peace tour featuring Elik Elhanan and Sulaiman Al Hamri. (Elik is the Israeli coordinator of C4P. He was the Israeli speaker for the first portion of the tour on the East Coast).

Please join us for an evening of fellowship and discussion. No dinner potluck this time but perhaps there will be dessert!

March 11, 2007
Brit Tzedek Potluck, Viewing of Academy Award Winning West Bank Story and Meeting
6:00pm: Potluck, 6:40pm: West Bank Story, 7:00pm: Meeting
2326 N. E. 14th Ave. (between Thompson & Brazee, # 8 bus)
Join us for a delicious potluck dinner, good company, a hilarious movie (now recognized as best of the year by the Motion Picture Academy of America), and an informative and important meeting.

'West Bank Story' is a musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands in the West Bank. David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier, Fatima, despite the animosity between their families' dueling restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 2000 year old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chic pea in the Middle East?

At 7:30 we'll talk with national staff member Carinne Luck via speaker phone about the "Let's Talk" campaign.

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Portland invites you to join Brit Tzedek activists who will be meeting with Kerry Tymchuk, local staff of Senator Gordon Smith.
The meeting will take place in Sen. Smith's Portland office on Monday, March 12 at 4:00 pm. A member of Brit Tzedek's Rabbinic Cabinet will be invited to participate in this meeting as well. Congressional advocacy is a central component of Brit Tzedek's "Let's Talk" campaign. If you are interested in serving on this or other congressional delegations, please contact Joel Glick at (503) 293-9092 or send him an email.

February 11, 2007
Brit Tzedek Potluck and Meeting
6:00pm, 3147 NE 22nd
Agenda includes: Great food, Combatants for Peace report, visits to Congressional representatives, our new national campaign "Let's Talk" and steering committee elections Everyone welcome. We want and need your input!

February 5, 2007
Combatants for Peace
7:30pm, Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful, Lane
Sponsor: Portland Chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
For more information, contact Sandy Polishuk by email or (503) 249-1957/ (503) 504-5118
For more information on the Combatants for Peace Tour, including bios of the speakers and a description of Combatants for Peace, please click here.

February 6, 2007
Combatants for Peace
3pm, Portland State University MultiCultural Center, 228 Smith Memorial Student Union
Sponsor: Portland Chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
For more information, contact Sandy Polishuk by email or (503) 249-1957/ (503) 504-5118

February 6, 2007
Combatants for Peace
7pm
BBYO meeting
Mittleman Jewish Community Center
6651 SW Capitol Hwy
Free. All high school students welcome
For more information, contact Sandy Polishuk by email or (503) 249-1957/ (503) 504-5118

November 29, 2006, 7:30 PM
Rabbis for Human Rights director Arik Ascherman Speaks
Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights, will speak on "Human Rights, Jewish Values and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict," Wednesday, November 29 at 7:30 PM at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave. There is no charge for the talk, which is jointly sponsored by Congregations Havurah Shalom and Shir Tikvah. For more information please email us - portland@btvshalom.org.

Wednesday, November 8, 7:00 PM
Brit Tzedek Portland Chapter Meeting
Join Brit Tzedek Portland for an important chapter meeting this Wednesday, November 8 at 7:00 PM. Currently Portland Brit Tzedek is focusing on two projects: "Meet the 110th Congress" national home district advocacy campaign and the Combatants for Peace tour. We will soon be launching the "Meet the 110th Congress" advocacy campaign, and at this meeting we'll have a report on the telephone conference held Oct. 29 with national followed by a discussion on how our Portland chapter can most effectively and systematically carry out advocacy work with the Oregon congressional delegation. In addition, we will be planning for the Combatants for Peace tour that will be coming to Portland on February 5 and 6. Bring your ideas of how make the best use of our visitors' time in Portland. For more information or if you can't make it to the meeting but are interested in participating in visits to congressional representatives or in working on the Combatants for Peace tour please email us - portland@btvshalom.org.

September 6, 2006
Chapter Meeting and Potluck
Please join Brit Tzedek Portland for the first chapter meeting and potluck of the year, even though the new year doesn't arrive for another month. The potluck begins at 6:30 and the meeting will follow at 7:30. We are not planning a formal topic for the potluck discussion; we anticipate catching up with each other after our summer break and conversation focused on the Israeli crisis.

As for the meeting, there is lots to report and plan: the executive committee has been meeting; three of our members attended the advocacy days in DC; we are hoping to host a very exciting tour, we should know by then and more. Your input and energy is most desired especially now with new challenges for our organization in responding to recent events. For directions, please email us.

August 23, 2006
Brit Tzedek Portland Chapter Discussion
Even though a cease-fire is in place between Israel and Lebanon, many of us still have thoughts and feelings we'd like to express and share in a safe environment. We will have another gathering at 7:30 PM. Everyone present will have an opportunity to talk. The gathering will take place at the home of Rebecca Budner. For directions and to RSVP please contact Rebecca by email.

August 16, 2006
A Gathering for Peace in Israel and Lebanon
7:30 pm at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave, Portland. Join us August 16 for a Gathering for Peace in Israel and Lebanon to pray, to express our fears, our grief and our hopes, to sing, to speak with one another quietly, and to hear from one or two of us who do the real work of building bridges in that part of the world. Get the word out to friends who are worried during this awful time and please join us with best prayers and wishes for clarity and hope and sanity. For more information please contact Melinda Miller at Havurah Shalom at (503) 248-4662.

July 26, 2006
Brit Tzedek Portland Group Discussion and Sharing
We will present another evening for sharing thoughts and feelings on the current Middle East crisis at the home of Rebecca Budner on Wednesday, July 26 at 7:30PM. The last meeting was very much appreciated by those who were able to attend so we are doing it again. You are welcome whether or not you were at the previous one. The meeting will run from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. For directions or for more information please email us.

July 18, 2006
Brit Tzedek Portland Chapter Meeting - Forgive us the short notice for this get together - things are moving too quickly, we decided, to wait. You could call this an emergency meeting in response to the continuing and escalating violence in the Mideast. We find that many of us feel a need to get together to talk about the current developments.

For the first hour we will try to provide a safe environment for everyone to be able to talk about their feelings (and be heard) during this difficult time of pain and confusion. At about 8:30 we'll move into a discussion of how our chapter should be responding to the current situation. Feel free to come for the entire evening or for either portion. We'll also have some reading material available, both analysis and information. For directions please call (503)249-1957 or email us. We hope to see you there!

May 21, 2006
Screening of Land of the Settlers, Episode 1: Did You See A Green Line?
6:00 pm ? 8:00 pm. Chaim Yavin has been the anchor of Israel's Channel 1's news broadcasts since the founding of Israeli television in 1968. He has been called "Mr. TV," "the face of Israeli news" and, simply, "Israel's Walter Cronkite." Now, though, the 72-year-old Yavin has taken on a different role-and has created a storm of controversy throughout the Jewish state.

For two and a half years Yavin-known and revered for his objectivity when delivering the nightly news-wandered the West Bank and Gaza Strip with a small hand-held camera, talking to and filming dozens of settlers, soldiers and Palestinians, people of all political persuasions. The result is a five-part documentary, "The Land of the Settlers," in which Yavin willingly abandons his newsman's objectivity to bring a message to the country, a message that he himself describes this way: "If we want peace, we have to dismantle the settlements."

"It isn't possible to spend time in the territories and reach conclusions different from those I reached, unless you're lying to yourself," Yavin told Israeli reporters. In Yavin's own words, in an op-ed he wrote for The Boston Globe, "[The series] created an uproar. The settlers demanded my resignation, while others said the series was an eye-opener."

Some have compared "The Land of the Settlers" to a special report that Walter Cronkite made in 1968, when he visited Vietnam after the Tet offensive and declared that the United States' efforts were failing there and the country was "mired in stalemate," in a famous phrase from the report. Yavin told a New York Times reporter that he remembers the report and its impact-five weeks after it aired, President Lyndon B. Johnson said he would not seek re-election-but denied that his own film could have such grave repercussions.

May 1, 2006
7:30 pm - Potluck and Chapter Meeting. Potluck at 6pm, meeting at 7:30 - come when you can!

April 5, 2006
Potluck Dinner, Post-Election Discussion and Chapter Meeting - 6:00 potluck, 6:30 discussion, 7:30 meeting. Our discussion this month will focus on the Israeli election which took place last Tuesday, March 28. This will be our first business meeting since forming an executive committee; members are Rebecca Budner, Joel Glick and Sandy Polishuk. The committee planned the agenda for the April 5 meeting, which will include reports on the San Francisco conference and our election forum on March 12. In addition, we will be planning screenings of Land of the Settlers as well as other upcoming projects. Please plan to join us! For more information, please email us.

March 12, 2006
FORUM ON THE ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS, 2:30 – 4:00 pm, Mittleman Jewish Community Center. How is the “political earthquake” going to shake out in the Middle East? Does Hamas have anything to offer the peace process? How will Israelis react to the change in the political landscape in the election on March 28th? Join us for a lively presentation and discussion about the recent Palestinian and the upcoming Israeli elections. Leading our forum are Aaron Vitells, David Barkai, and Frank Afranji, who are local community activists with close ties to the Middle East. The forum will include presentations by the panel followed by an opportunity for questions from the audience. The Forum on the Israeli and Palestinian Elections is sponsored by the Portland chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom. This event is free and open to the public. For any questions about this event please call 503-293-9092.

October 26, 2005
Noam Chayut and Avichay Sharon: Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence is about the psychological effects of the occupation on the soldiers and, more broadly, the psychological effects of war on soldiers and citizens alike.

September 29, 2005
Water, Justice, and Middle East Peace with Water Resources Specialist and Brit Tzedek board member, Dr. Jeff Albert, PhD. Dr. Albert is the co-founder and CEO of the Aquaya Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research, testing, and promotion of water resource innovations in the developing world. Dr. Albert also teaches at the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies in Israel and has an adjunct faculty position at Brown University. Between 1998 and 2001, Dr. Albert was on the staff of the Water Commission, the Israeli government agency with prime responsibility for water allocation decision-making.

The first lecture is at noon and will be held PSU Campus Ministries. Co-sponsored by the PSU Campus Ministries and is sponsored by the Portland chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom. The second lecture will be at Havurah Shalom. Sponsored by the Portland chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom.

June 2, 2005
On June 2, a delegation of Portland chapter activists met with Senator Wyden’s state director. The chapter identified that the principal value of this first visit was in introducing ourselves to the office and opening the door for us in the future. We look forward to a continued relationship with Sen. Wyden's office. To find out how you can become involved in the chapter's advocacy activities, send an email.

March 3, 2005
Yonatan Shapira, Israeli Air Force refuser, was interviewed on radio station KBOO 90.7 at 9:00am. News coverage

He spoke at 2:00pm at Portland State University, as part of a program sponsored by the PSU graduate program in Conflict Resolution and Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministries.

Shapira also spoke at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 7:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public; however, donations to benefit the Refuser Solidarity Network will be greatly appreciated. For more information, send an email or call (503) 249-1957. Event flyer

January 9, 2005
Art on the Wall: Spend a Sunday afternoon connecting to others committed to Israel?s well-being and the achievement of a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Choose from one of three groups or visit them all. Write poems about Israel inspired by slides and poetry. Use watercolors and create collages, using images that evoke our personal feelings about Israel and being Jewish. Listen to Israeli and Palestinian music and create a paper wall of graffiti and drawing. Respond to the wall and to people who live on both sides. Finger foods, munchies and beverages will be provided. 1:30 – 4:30pm, St. Mark Presbyterian Church.

November 18, 2004
The Portland Chapter hosted a members-only evening potluck with Marcia Freedman, national President of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom. For more information, send an email.

November 19, 2004
Marcia Freedman, President of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, spoke about The Road to Peace in Israel: The Role of the American Jewish Community at 7:30 p.m. at the Pollin Chapel in the Schnitzer Family Center of Temple Beth Shalom. The event was free and open to the public. For more information, call (503) 231-4160 or contact send an email.

September 11, 2004
The Portland chapter sponsored a workshop as part of the Jewish community’s Education Shuk. Sid Lezak and Sandy Polishuk, Brit Tzedek members, made a workshop presentation on “An Alternative American Jewish Voice for Peace in the Middle East: On the Road from Geneva.”

August 18, 2004
Meeting with Congressman Blumenauer!
Members of the Portland Brit Tzedek chapter were invited by Congressman Earl Blumenauer to join an exclusive invite-only meeting last week of the district’s Jewish leaders. Amidst an illustrious crowd that included the president of the local American Jewish Committee and the Executive Vice-President of the Portland Jewish Federation, chapter chair Sandy Polishuk and Sid Lezak, a former U.S. attorney, discussed the upcoming “Open Letter from American Jews to the Next President campaign” and engaged all those present in a lively and primarily positive discussion about the pivotal role of the United States in the Middle East. Congressman Blumenauer was extremely supportive.

January 26, 2004
The Portland Brit Tzedek chapter hosted over 150 community members in a Brit Tzedek presentation, information session, and discussion on the Geneva Accords.

May 5, 2003
The Portland Chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom presented Rabbi Arik Ascherman,Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights, at Congregation Neveh Shalom.

June 3, 2003
Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 7:30pm. Video “Inside God’s Bunker,” about the settlers in Hebron.

June 29, 2003
Israeli author Oz Shelach read from his “novel in fragments” Picnic Grounds (City Lights Publishers, 2003). In a series of vignettes, Oz writes of growing up in Israel and specifically Israeli's relations with Palestinians.

“There’s something so captivating about these ’fragments,’ about their beguiling simplicity, about the things they so eloquently withhold, something so pure and unpretentiously fresh. Oz Shelach, in the first person plural, is probably the most relentlessly restrained cartographer of the current Israeli scene, and this novel is the most intricately subtle commentary on that unsettled scene that I've read in years. A stunning literary achievement.” Anton Shammas.

April 20, 2003
Middle East Study Group. We discussed chapter 3 of “Righteous Victims” by Benny Morris.

April 27, 2003
Program meeting - Presentation of our Call to Bring the Settlers Home Petition.

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

Portland, Oregon