Author: CJC-Admin
Online event 01.02.2022: ‘A Jewish Woman’s Journey to Success’
‘A Jewish Woman’s Journey to Success’ an online #Jewish# Women‘s #networking event with Dr Janét Aizenstros, Chairwoman and CEO of Ahava Digital Group
CJWN is a network of remarkable Jewish women who come together to share experiences, positively impact on the wider world, provide a platform and support structure and we are delighted to partner with the NCJWC Canada to invite you to a rare opportunity to meet with Dr Janét Aizenstros and network with Jewish women from across the Commonwealth.Janét Aizenstros is the Founder and CEO of Ahava Digital Group – a women-led digital consultancy working with Fortune companies to help them connect with women consumers using data and technology.
She is an award-winning Canadian businesswoman with several leadership awards – making her the first Black-Jewish Canadian woman in history to scale a nine-figure organisation!
Click here to register https://form.jotform.com/213353976774468
Commonwealth Jewish Women take a stand against gender based violence
This Shabbat the Commonwealth Jewish Women’s Network asked #Rabbis from across the Commonwealth to use the story of #Dinah for their sermons and encourage their congregants to talk about the elimination and prevention of #genderbasedviolence – an issue relevant to all our women and communities.
The United Nations has designated 25 November to 10 December 2021 as the #16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence which follows on from the Parsha for November 20th is the story of Dinah and this makes a wonderful catalyst for our campaign.
The following has been prepared by JewishCare NSW in Melbourne and we include it for you to use if you wish.
DINAH
This Shabbat is Parashat Vayishlach. It is very apt that this particular parsha should coincide with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.In this parsha (Torah portion), Dinah is abducted and raped: “Shechem saw her; and he abducted her, lay with her and afflicted her” (Genesis 34:1-2). Some commentaries of Dinah’s story cite her curious and outgoing nature as a contributing factor to her rape.
There is an element of blame that is eerily familiar now:
“What was she wearing? Why was she out so late? Did she provoke him?”
The 16 Days is a fantastic opportunity to have conversations about respect, equality, and the role we can play in helping to end violence.
Perhaps the 16 Days, and this parsha, could inspire a conversation at your Shabbat table this week. For instance:
• What does respect look like in a relationship?
• Has there ever been a time when you felt unsafe because of your gender?
• What are some of the expectations we have for men and women in society? How are they different? How do they relate to violence?
• What are the impacts of victim-blaming, and what is our responsibility in calling this out? How does this relate to our Jewish values?
• Do you think the world would look different if men and women were equally represented in leadership roles? In what why?
• Dinah has no voice in this parsha; in what ways are women silenced in our world today?
To learn more about the 16 Days of Activism, visit https://www.unwomen.org/…/in-focus-16-days-of-activism…
Statement by the President of the Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lord Mendelsohn
Statement by the President of the Commonwealth Jewish Council, Lord Mendelsohn
Climate Challenge and the Jewish World
COP26 gives the world, its leaders and its people one last chance to pull out of the destructive trajectory we currently face.
The Jewish People knows to it cost the consequences of great social upheaval and unrest. For this reason, and also simply because it is right, Jews are always to be found in disproportionate numbers fighting for social justice and against discrimination.
As leaders of one of the great international umbrella bodies of Jewish communities around the world, all my colleagues recognise that the likely outcome of failing to address the problems arising from climate change will not only impact first on the world’s poorest but will then spread around the world to the detriment of all.
We draw to the Jewish community’s attention the Commonwealth Jewish Council’s campaign on behalf of small island nations, ‘Small Islands: Big Challenges’, recognising, as Jews must, the fear and insecurity of feeling small and potentially friendless in the face of international pressures and the terrifying existential reality of lacking any confidence in the security of your home.
Further, we applaud the work of Eco-Synagogue, nurtured by the Board of Deputies, to encourage synagogue communities to address the environmental responsibilities they face. In this statement, I call upon all Jewish community institutions and organisations to follow suit, hoping to ensure that, in the urgent timescales that COP26 must address, Jews and Jewish communities are, as ever, at the forefront of constructive change.
We at the CJC are of course proud of the achievements of the State of Israel, especially in the field of water management and conservation, developing technologies which have improved agriculture, saved lives and are now commonplace worldwide. We urge the world’s governments, scientists and civil society to benefit from the remarkable technological prowess of this tiny country.
Finally, I urge the world’s leaders to recognise the potential for good of religious communities around the world. There are few more motivating powers than religious communities and constructive engagement with religious leaders and their followers could unleash untold energy for the benefit of the world’s future.
Lord Mendelsohn, President of the Commonwealth Jewish Council.
27 October 2021
Five things Jewish communities can do to get involved in COP26
The CJC has issued suggestions as to five things that Jewish communities can do immediately to shift the current damaging and deteriorating trajectory of the world in a more constructive direction.
CJC to attend COP26 in November 2021
The Commonwealth Jewish Council is taking a leading role on environmental issues and will be participating in COP26, the global United Nations climate change conference taking place next month in Glasgow.
The climate talks will be the biggest international summit the UK has ever hosted; bringing together heads of state, climate experts, young people, civil society, trade unions etc, to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change.
CJC will be hosting a hybrid online and in-person panel, ‘Are Religious Leaders Rising to the Climate Challenge?’
The Commonwealth Jewish Council recognises that religion is one of the most potent and motivating forces in human society.
Unfortunately, far too often the power of religious communities is overlooked in international affairs and only perceived as a source of trouble rather than idealistic action for the good of Humankind. If religions and their leaders are not on board with the need to address climate change, arguably, huge proportions of the world’s population will not be moved to take the matter seriously.
This panel will explore not only what religions have to say about the topic but, more importantly, what religions are doing and can do to improve the world on this front.
Join us at 13:30 (UK) on Monday 1st November 2021 in the Science Show Theatre, Glasgow.
Rabbi Netanel visits the Jewish Community of Arusha, Tanzania
Check out this video of Rabbi Netanel’s visit to Arusha Jewish community in Tanzania and learn about the Yeminite Jews in Africa with Jewish community leader Yehuda Amir.
