The above video was created by JUFJ leader Joe Magar. Subtitles will be added shortly.
Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the month of Av) is a day of communal mourning for Jewish people, commemorating numerous catastrophes that happened on that day throughout history. This year, JUFJers across Maryland came together to mourn and organize around contemporary tragedies: racist and inequitable policing, ICE’s targeting of immigrant communities, and an affordable housing and eviction crisis exacerbated by COVID-19. Through ritual, prayer, and protest, we highlighted the tragic and devastating impacts these crises are having on Marylanders and called on elected officials to take meaningful action to help prevent further harm.
More than 50 JUFJers gathered in minyanim in front of Baltimore City Hall, the Howard County Detention Center, and on Zoom to to connect our collective mourning to specific action we can take together to end these human-made tragedies.
In Baltimore City, we called on Senate President Ferguson to lead the legislative effort to return control of the corrupt and racist Baltimore Police Department to Baltimore City’s local government. With this change, residents will be able to demand action year-round, leading to greater accountability. You can help amplify this effort by completing and sharing this action alert: https://jufj.org/state-police/
In Howard County, we continued our efforts from last year’s Tisha B’Av action by demanding that County Executive Calvin Ball and Councilmembers Opel Jones and Christina Rigby, join Councilmembers Deb Jung and Liz Walsh in calling for an end to the County’s IGSA and collaboration with ICE, which detains immigrants in the County’s detention center. You help us continue calling for an end to this collaboration by completing and sharing this action alert: https://jufj.org/hoco-ice/
Our virtual convening focused on the ongoing housing crisis as hundreds of thousands of Marylanders are now facing eviction during this pandemic. We urged Governor Hogan and the General Assembly to prevent this wave of evictions by establishing a statewide evictions moratorium and expanding rental assistance to individuals and families across Maryland. You can join this effort by completing and sharing this action alert: https://jufj.org/stop-evictions/
You can view a recording of the Baltimore City action here and the Howard County action here. Thanks to all of the JUFJ leaders who helped organize, plan, and facilitate this day of action and to everyone who participated!
