PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – August 2026
Rabbi Bieber has had us ask, “Ribono Shel Olam, Ruler of all that is good in our world,what has happened to the ones who are making decisions in our country? What has changed their minds to create more pain, hunger, hurt and anger among us, the citizens of our great and noble country?”
It seems that our elected officials have something other than the lives of those of us who elected them as a priority. It also seems that what they are practicing is more gamesmanship than statesmanship.
Heather Delaney Reese, in her blog It’s a Lovely Life says she has come to realize that:
(I)t was never about country. It was always about proximity to power and money. That is why they entered politics. They didn’t do it to serve or to build something that outlasts them. They came to Washington for access and proximity to power and money. They care more about having influence than they do about upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution.
(W)e have lost the foundational idea that public service means putting something larger than yourself ahead of your own comfort.
For 250 years, that principle existed. Not perfectly, but enough to carry us through all sorts of tragedies, threats, scandals, and crises we would not have been able to survive if not for competent and dedicated public servants. Yet these days, far too many of the people entrusted with protecting our democratic standards seem to have forgotten why they are there in the first place. They are supposed to serve the country, protect its institutions, and leave them stronger for the people who come after them. These people do not make decisions for the better of their fellow human beings or the longevity of this country. They are short-sighted, and only think of themselves and their immediate needs.
The other thing I am seeing is a large gap in perception. There are still decent and thoughtful people who consider themselves apolitical. They either sat out the last election or held their noses and voted, then moved on….they think we are still playing the same game we were playing (before). We are not.
So what do we do between now and then? We get involved like our country depends on it. Because it does.
Recently, on MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow show, Reverend Dr. Earle J. Fisher, a Memphis activist and pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, urged a course of action.
Sometimes it means sending your people this way (to where local races need vounteers), sometimes it means sending money, sometimes it means raising your voice. Everybody can make a phone call, everybody can send a text message or share a social media post. The more light that we shine on the darkness, the better our opportunity come November.
The November elections are less than 3 months away. Make your plans now. Take the action you can. Make sure you are registered to vote, and actually vote. It is our obligation as citizens to hold our elected officials to account for the things that they do, and the things they do not do. It is our obligation as Jews to repair what is broken in the world — Tikkun Olam.
— IRA L GOLDSTEIN, President
