Jewish Justice Group Gears Up for Trump Administration

Latkes, jelly doughnuts and the opportunity to devise strategies to counter the proposed policies of the incoming Trump administration drew approximately 60 people to Roland Park’s Bolton Street Synagogue on Dec. 22 for a program sponsored by the Baltimore chapter of Jews United for Justice

For Fran Bowman, an Owings Mills educational consultant who campaigned for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Donald J. Trump’s victory and his subsequent cabinet appointments have created an “indescribable” sense of anxiety “as a Jewish person.”

“It’s not even that I disagree with everything he says and does,” said Bowman. “It’s that he is so disrespectful, and I feel that it will erode the character of our country for years to come.”

Last week’s gathering, she said, provided an opportunity to “do something.”

Molly Amster, Baltimore director of Jews United for Justice, told the audience, “When the election happened, many people were in mourning. More recently, I’ve heard a lot of people saying, ‘I’m so sick of talking about this.’ There’s been a sense of fatigue within ourselves and the community. That got me even more scared.

“[The political situation] can be paralyzing, but it’s really important and a powerful statement that you all came out tonight,” she said. “Now, we need to talk about what we can do locally and nationally. Hopefully, we will leave tonight with more direction and less fatigue.”

Amster asked attendees to break into small groups in which they could briefly share reactions to the election results and identify their greatest fears about the incoming administration.

In one group, Bolton Street congregant Susan Bennett said she was worried about Trump’s prospective Supreme Court appointees, and how the poor and homeless would be neglected and blamed for their situations.

“My first and most abiding reaction [to the election results] is grief and sadness,” said Mount Washington resident Eliza Feller. “I have a lot of disbelief that so many people could vote for someone who fanned the flames of so much hate. I feel so sad about the ramifications for the people I love.”

One of those individuals is Feller’s 4-year-old son, who is supposed to begin kindergarten next fall. “We were committed to public school,” she said. “Now I wonder, will there even be a public school system for him?”

After the breakouts, Amster created a list of the group members’ concerns, which ran from stewardship of the environment and women’s reproductive rights to LBGTQ issues and international relations to the dissolution of civil liberties.

“It’s not going to be effective to just be putting out fires. We have to start locally,” Amster said. She stressed that calling legislators to voice concerns is one effective way to make change.

“Calls make lawmakers feel that they must show up,” Amster said. “Not only does it put political pressure on them, but legislators want to do what we want [them to do], they need to feel we have their backs.”

Amster said her organization is focusing on four statewide campaigns. Of special interest to people in Baltimore, she said, is a police accountability campaign that JUFJ is working on with the Campaign for Justice, Safety & Jobs. The campaign aims to make the Baltimore City Police Department a city agency, rather than a state agency, a designation that originated at the time of the Civil War.

This change would make the police department accountable to the Baltimore City Council. Additionally, JUFJ is working to transform the power balance of Baltimore City Rent Court, an organization that according to Amster was originally set up to benefit renters but now benefits landlords and results in more than 7,000 evictions in Baltimore annually.

“All of these things are in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies,” she said. “Even though we are working on issues in Maryland, they affect federal issues.”

Amster said citizens can also become involved in JUFJ efforts by attending the Maryland Statewide Legislative Kickoff on Jan. 8; the Inauguration Justice Shabbat on Jan. 20; the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21; and JUFJ in Maryland Statewide Lobby Night in Annapolis on March 13.

For information on JUFJ, contact Molly Amster at molly@jufj.org or 301-529-3875.

Photo of Molly Amster speaking at Dec. 22nd meeting provided