What to Watch, Listen, & Read this Season

Eleyna recommends the following three resources: Watch, Listen, or Read

Watch: 

New resource from Bend The Arc on Dismantling Antisemitism Messaging Guide

This is an important new guide from Bend The Arc, that proposes new ways to talk about antisemitism in the current moment. 

Listen: 

TischPDX alumni and friends recently attended  Let My People Sing, a weekend of Jewish singing for liberation on the east coast and came home with this song, by Jewish artist, Aly Halpert. I invite you to listen here.

Podcast: Rabbi Josh Rose and I talk about Jewish community building in these times. Listen here

Read: 

Safety Through Solidarity
This is a new book out, written by local author Shane Burley and Ben Lorber, a researcher at Political Research Associates. It has  timely and good information to add to your list of resources and thinking around resisting current day antisemitism.

Recent News: Grants, Cohort Updates, and more

Welcoming New Board Members 
TischPDX welcomed three new board members: Devra Polack, Dorit Lev-Price, and Thomas Garnett Grubb! Read their bios here.

On August 1st, TischPDX welcomed three new board members: Devra Polack, Dorit Lev-Price, and Thomas Garnett Grubb. They have a wealth of experience in Jewish community organizing, mediation and dialogue, entrepreneurship, and a passion for building justice-filled Jewish communities. 

Cultural Shift Project
TischPDX is convening an advisory committee and beginning training alumni with Kirva’s DRIO program to integrate mussar into anti-racism work.

Following the results of our 2023/24 Jews of Color in the Pacific Northwest Survey, TischPDX is convening an advisory committee of local, regional, and national folks to help guide us moving forward. This committee will begin meeting in the fall and we will be sharing updates and recommendations as those meetings proceed. TischPDX alumni will also be training with Kirva to understand how mussar (Jewish ethical learning) can be applied to anti-racism work through their Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out Cohort (DRIO) program.

Cohort update
This fall, TischPDX will support a series of alumni-led educational cohorts.

This fall, instead of our Emerging Jewish Leadership Cohort, TischPDX will begin supporting a series of alumni-led educational cohorts- deepening Talmud learning, digging into Mussar, dialogue and mediation through a Jewish lens. Our first pilot cohort will be led by Rabbi Emily Kapor-Mater and will be focused on teaching Svara style Talmud learning.

Grants & Fundraising Corner
TischPDX is excited about two new grants and grateful for the new donations and monthly donors we received at our June Shavuot event.

UPSTART GRANT: TischPDX has been accepted in the Upspring 2025 cohort. From Upstart’s website: TischPDX staff “will participate in a 12-month program, gaining access to the expertise, community, and capital to create long-term sustainability and scale their ventures’ impact. They join the ranks of over 100 alumni organizations that are working to create a positive impact and inspire new experiences in the Jewish community and the world we share. “

We welcome new funder, Shards of Light, supporting us with the Cultural Shift Project.

Fundraising: We welcomed new donors and new monthly donors at our Shavuot event! Many thanks to all the presenters, organizers, volunteers and attendees that made our June event so special.

Alumni Support Program Report 2023

TischPDX’s Alumni Support Program (ASP) is a pilot program launched in 2022 with the support of Seeding Justice, the Women’s Giving Circle and the Jewish Liberation Fund.

Its primary goal has been to sustain TischPDX’s mission of bolstering the leadership of marginalized Jews in Portland, OR through supporting the 20+ graduates of TischPDX’s Emerging Jewish Leadership Incubator. 

In 2022, we were able to hold quarterly gatherings and provided microgrants of $550 to each alumni who completed our cohort program. We were able to support 17 alumni led projects and events led by TischPDX’s network of Jewish organizers and community builders through these microgrants.