Temple Beth-El teens participate in Social Justice seminar

About a month ago, we traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the L’Taken Social Justice Seminar, an initiative of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. There we met hundreds of Jewish teens from all around the country and learned about pressing social justice issues affecting our communities. While in D.C. we toured several of the Smithsonian museums and famous memorials. Once we were versed on these issues, we chose those that were close to our hearts to draft speeches with which we would lobby our congressional delegation.

I (Liam) chose to lobby about antisemitism because of its growing presence in the U.S. following the Oct. 7 attacks and its increased prevalence in political discourse. Data from 2023 showed a 63% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes, a number that has consistently risen year over year. It feels terrible to see people just like me being oppressed and discriminated against for the sake of their identity. This is why I lobbied for the Countering Antisemitism Act.

The bill takes action in a number of government agencies to curb and suppress the hateful ideologies that allow antisemitism to take root and flourish. Rep. Gabe Amo from Rhode Island’s First Congressional District was a co-sponsor of the bill in the 118th Congress, and we urged him and his Senate colleague, Jack Reed, to reintroduce it as a co-sponsor in the 119th Congress.

We (Julian and Janie) chose to lobby for mental health support. This important issue is not talked about enough, and we feel personally affected as teenagers. One in 6 U.S. youth experience a mental health disorder and many do not receive the help and support they require. We lobbied in support of the Mental Health Services for Students Act. The bill would give significant allocations of money to schools to support mental health services.

Although we understand that four constituent voices may not be enough to tip the scales toward our goals, learning to share our experiences, our fears and our “hope” to our elected officials was a thrill and an honor. We know that we are not obligated to finish the work, but we choose not desist from it.

ANNABEL HERZLINGER, JANIE PALAN, JULIAN DEANER and LIAM ISAACS participated in the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's L'Taken Social Justice Seminar in Washington, D.C. The annual 4-day seminar, held on several weekends in January and February, is designed to expose teens to a variety of public policy issues and explore Jewish values that inform the Reform Movement's advocacy around these issues.