Tikkun Olam

Anti-Racist Pledge

February 1, 2021 By Melissa Schapiro in Tikkun Olam, Uncategorised, Uncategorized

Congregation Beth Israel, centered in Bellingham, Washington, stands with Jews all over the world in affirming the principles of equal justice and equal respect underlying the declaration that Black Lives Matter. Believing in the dignity of every individual, we deplore the structural racism that has denied people of color the rights and opportunities enjoyed by their fellow citizens. We strongly support the Constitutional right to peaceful assembly and condemn all forms of violence against peaceful protestors.

Our Bible and our sages, our liturgy and our vision of a just society, teach us the value of every human being. The centuries of defamation and oppression Jews have suffered help us understand the suffering people of color have endured in the United States from the founding of our country to the present day.

Those of us who are white Americans may have wittingly or unwittingly contributed to that suffering. We will work to eradicate any traces of racism in our lives as a congregation and as individuals, and will take any steps within our power to promote the equality our founding documents proclaim as the right of all people.

— Approved by CBI Board of Directors, Nov. 10, 2020

Mitzvah Day 2017

April 18, 2017 By urjnetworkadmin in Tikkun Olam

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 7

mitzvah day tikkun olam logo Everyone is invited to participate in Beth Israel’s annual Mitzvah Day. Come at 10 a.m. for a Bagel and Nosh and sign up for the projects of your choice. Our guest speak will be Dennis Connor from Whatcom Land Trust.

This is an “all-congregation” event! There is sure to be a project in which you can participate, and we hope you will join us.

Projects will run from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and include:
Helping with trail restoration at the Stimpson Family Forest
Participating in a grocery scavenger hunt for slavery-free food items
Making cookies for distribution through the CAST meal program
Beautifying our Beth Israel Cemetery (bring work gloves & equipment)
Making hygiene kits for Northwest Youth Services (more details below)
Creating hand-made cards to be distributed by the Care Committee
Writing advocacy postcards to legislators on issues of public concern

Donations are needed…
…of personal care items like travel soaps, shampoo toothbrushes and toothpaste, that will be packaged up on Mitzvah Day and distributed to homeless teens. You can drop off these items to the baskets outside the Social Hall between now and May 7.

Projects Through the Jewish Year

October 11, 2013 By urjnetworkadmin in Projects Through the Jewish Year

Get involved with Congregation Beth Israel and our Bellingham/Whatcom County community through the Social Action Committee. We have seasonal and year-long projects. To volunteer with the Social Action Committee contact Linda Blackwell at blackwellbham@gmail.com or (360) 739-1492.

High Holy Days

The High Holidays are a time to reconfirm the Jewish tradition to repair the world Tikkun Olam. We have a very successful food drive for the Bellingham Food Bank; congregants bring dry goods to donate during Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur

We have an annual Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Registry. We would like to interest all ages in participation to create a giving community.

Autumn

We participate in the annual Coat Drive with Interfaith Coalition in late October. Coat donations as well as volunteering to distribute coats is a great way to connect to the Bellingham community.

We organize a Thanksgiving Dinner for the Women’s Shelter with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County each year. Money and food are collected to provide a warm, safe meal for victims of domestic violence.

Spring

Congregants commit to reduce homelessness with the Interfaith Coalition Auction in March. We often sponsor two to three tables as a Jewish community.

During Passover we collect chametz and other non-perishable foods for the Bellingham Food Bank.

Our biggest gathering of the year is Mitzvah Day with our Kesher Center for Jewish Learning, usually in late April or May. Multiple environmental and social justice projects are offered for congregants of all ages and abilities to participate .

Summer

Shavuot is celebrated with donations of Milk Money, baby food and diapers for Bellingham Food Bank .

We encourage all congregants to participate in the Pride Parade in July. Participation is to support the LGBQT community

Year-round activities

CBI as a member of the Interfaith Coalition contributes to ongoing projects.

The biggest Volunteer Opportunity is with the Family Promise Program. As a supporting congregation, Beth Israel supplies meals and volunteers at the Day Center and at a sister congregation. This program offers temporary housing and case management for families who are homeless.

We have knitters from CBI making hats for Project Warm Up every Tuesday.

Members of CBI clean and maintain the “Little House” for a family in transition from homelessness. We hope to organize more as a group to distribute sandwiches through the C.A.S.T program.

We have a Social Action Bookclub that meets quarterly.

About Social Action (Tikkun Olam)

October 28, 2011 By urjnetworkadmin in Tikkun (Social Action)

Social Action Throughout the Year

Social Action Committee projects include collecting donations for the Food Bank, making hats for the homeless and other volunteer opportunities throughout the year. See our Projects Through the Jewish Year page for more information. Contact Committee Chair Linda Blackwell at linda.blackwell@bethisraelbellingham.org or (360) 739-1492.

Fighting Hate Together July 2023

Congregation Beth Israel’s Social Action Committee hosted One Whatcom’s Fighting Hate Together event, on on July 29, 2023, at the synagogue. The countywide anti-racism event included collaboration with the Chardi Kala Project, BetterTogether Lynden and Connect Ferndale. These anti-racist groups wanted to honor Holocaust survivor Noemi Ban (z’l) and also offer support to our Jewish community in the face of rising anti-semitism, by making connections, creating and deepening friendships between our organizations, sharing a meal and coming together to fight hate crimes. Here is an article about the event, published in the Salish Current:

One Whatcom forms local network to counter violence and racial intolerance

Pride Parade July 2023

Congregation Beth Israel continues to represent at Bellingham’s annual Pride Parade, showing Bellingham a welcoming Jewish community. Looking forward to next year!

Read about Congregation Beth Israel’s initial participation in the 2016 Bellingham Pride Parade, in this letter from Rabbi Samuels:

Letter to Communty from Rabbi Samuels

Mitzvah Day

Each year the Social Action Committee organizes Mitzvah Day, which includes a selection of projects for all ages and abilities, usually in April.