Friday, January 19, 2024

Fwd: News From Agudah 9 Shevat 5784, January 19, 2024

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Agudah <news@agudah.org>
Date: Fri, Jan 19, 2024, 12:14 PM
Subject: News From Agudah 9 Shevat 5784, January 19, 2024
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>

January 19, 2024 - 9 Shevat 5784

Good Shabbos! In today's News from the Agudah: An important action alert about Israel aid; Agudah's California office partnering with LAPD; register for this year's Agudah Yarchei Kallah; and Pirchei and Bnos newsletters.

Did you get this email as a forward? You can subscribe to the Agudah's updates by clicking here.

Immediate Action Item: Pass Israel Aid Package ASAP, Without Conditions!

Dear Agudah Activist:

Thank you to the thousands of constituents who immediately responded to our action alert about defeating the Sanders' anti-Israel resolution. The Senate heard you loud and clear and defeated the resolution by a vote of 72-11. However our work is only beginning.

Today we need your help to ask the Senate to:

Pass the $14 billion security assistance package to Israel as soon as possible
Do not include additional requirements and conditions on the aid

The Senate will soon take up emergency legislation to provide $14 billion in security assistance to Israel. This is a desperately needed appropriation as Israel's war against Hamas enters its fourth month. The Senate must act soon.

Indeed, time is of the essence!

See below for more; click here to take action.

Stop Hate in LA: Agudath Israel's California Office Partners with LAPD to Ease Hate Crime Reporting Process

Over the last few years, the frequency of hate crime in Los Angeles has been staggering. Shootings, vandalism, verbal abuse, and other forms of antisemitic crimes have unfortunately become all too common. Following the events of October 7, the number of incidents in Los Angeles has risen even further.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has encouraged the reporting of all incidents of antisemitism, even those that do not amount to an actual crime, so that the community can receive the proper attention and allocation of LAPD resources. But many victims did not report their experiences because of the inefficient and time-consuming reporting process. To report a hate incident, individuals would call the LAPD and wait for an officer to arrive on the scene to take a report in person. Often people felt that the scale of the incident was not worth the hassle involved in reporting it.

See below or click here to read more.

Register for the Yarchei Kallah

Click here to view this week's Pirchei newsletter

Click here to view this week's Bnos newsletter

Click here to view this week's Bnos quiz answers

Immediate Action Item: Pass Israel Aid Package ASAP, Without Conditions! continued:

The U.S. aid will help defeat the existential threat posed by Hamas and frustrate its stated intention to repeat the barbaric massacre of Israelis and Jews.

The aid includes funding for Iron Dome and David's Sling, two missile defense systems to defend against rocket attacks. The package also includes, among other things, funding to replace inventories of weapons and equipment, reimbursement for military training, additional ammunition, weapons and missiles.

But more is necessary!

It is also critical that the Senate reject any amendment that would impose any additional requirements or conditions on this aid to Israel. These are not necessary, as there is already a monitoring mechanism in place that ensures that security assistance is being used properly. And the U.S. government has determined that Israel is in compliance with these conditions!

Additional political commitments imposed upon Israel, as some are calling for, have no place here and could only be counterproductive to its security goals. Worse, it is no secret that the primary aim of those supporting conditions on aid to Israel is to cut that aid!

We urge you to contact you senators – as soon as possible — and call on them to support and speedily pass this vital Israel aid package, without additional requirements or conditions.

This is an unprecedented time. We must continue to work on all fronts: supporting Israel, fighting for the safe release of the hostages, and standing up to antisemitism here at home.

Click here to take action.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Rabbi Abba Cohen

Vice President for Government Affairs

Washington Director

Rabbi Yossie Charner

Director for Congressional Affairs

Stop Hate in LA: Agudath Israel's California Office Partners with LAPD to Ease Hate Crime Reporting Process continued:

But reporting antisemitic incidents provides the LAPD with vital information about the frequency of hate crimes and where such events take place, enabling them to provide resources where necessary and prevent such events from recurring. To encourage crime reporting, Agudath Israel of America's California Office, along with other organizations, partnered with the LAPD to add hate crimes to the crime categories able to be reported in the Community Online Reporting System (CORS), the LAPD's easily accessible and user-friendly method of crime reporting.

Accessible through the LAPD website, CORS asks a series of clear questions and provides a space for the person reporting to describe their experience in their own words. Enabling hate crimes to be reported through CORS makes it significantly easier to alert the LAPD about hate crimes, encouraging more people to report such incidents. Agudath Israel will also train trusted members of the community to assist in filling out the police reports.

"Agudath Israel is proud to be a leader on the task force that advocated for and helped develop the updated platform," said Rabbi Yaakov Subar, director of Agudah's California Office. "Streamlining the hate crime reporting system and enlisting the help of our own community members is a vital step in maintaining the safety of our community."

To report a hate crime through CORS, visit https://www.lapdonline.org/file-a-police-report/.