H eadlines
Abortion Continued from Page 1
“We feel very strongly, as
most of the Jewish community
does, about the importance of
women’s reproductive freedom,”
said Elizabeth (Liz) Downing,
the vice president of advocacy
for the Greater Philadelphia
section of the National Council
of Jewish Women.
The Greater Philadelphia
NCJW signed on to an amicus
brief for the case of Allegheny
Reproductive Health Center et
al v. Pennsylvania Department
of Human Services being
heard before the Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Court in
2019. The case argued that
the abortion coverage ban
violates the Equal Rights
Amendment and the equal
protection provisions of the
Pennsylvania Constitution.
Members of the Greater
Philadelphia NCJW participated
in the Philadelphia Bans Off Our
Bodies March on Oct. 2.
“The mother should have
the freedom to decide what
medical procedures will work
best for her,” Downing said.
“Every woman should be able
to decide that for herself.”
Downing has advocated for
greater abortion access since
before the 1973 Roe v. Wade
decision occurred.
“I have many friends who
had back-alley abortions when
I was in college before Roe v.
Wade, and many of them were
never able to have children
after that,” Downing said. “I
don’t want to go back there,
and I don’t want the young
people today to ever have to
know what that feels like to not
have those services available if
and when they need them.”
Local politicians have
also made their thoughts
on abortion known. If Roe
v. Wade was overturned,
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decisions around abortion
access would return to the
local level, putting an obliga-
tion on state politicians to have
these conversations.
“Abortion, sadly, has become
a lightning rod that’s used as a
political sword to weaponize
the political sphere and gain
political points rather than
being treated as thoughtful
policy,” said Democratic state
Rep. Jared G. Solomon, who
represents the 202nd Legislative
District, which includes
Philadelphia County.
Like Downing, Solomon
emphasizes the gestational
parent’s right to choose
whether to have an abortion.
According to Ben Waxman,
the Democratic state represen-
tative candidate for the 182nd
House District seat, which
represents Center City, there’s “a
lot of stigma about [something
that] is a medical procedure.”
Community members have
been eager to discuss the topic
of abortion with Waxman.
Wa xman’s
potential constituency and Solomon’s
constituency are both heavily
Democratic and Jewish, yet
the politicians emphasized the
importance of reaching out
across the aisle to discuss the
contentious topic.
“The most revolutionary
thing you can do is have a
conversation with someone
with different beliefs than
you,” Waxman said.
The lack of conversation
around abortion in political
spaces has made it a polarizing
and stigmatized topic. Solomon
believes these conversations
are difficult but necessary to
craft laws that are realistic and
driven by values, not political
power grabs.
“We’re going to disagree,
but we need to be able to have
that discussion and a reason-
able debate,” Solomon said.
The arguments against
abortion have been monop-
olized by some Christians
arguing that life begins at
conception, according to Rabbi
Abi Weber of Temple Beth
JEWISH EXPONENT
Members of the Greater Philadelphia section of the National Council of
Jewish Women at the Oct. 2 Bans Off Our Bodies March appear
in Philadelphia.
Courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Section of the National Council of Jewish Women
Zion-Beth Israel. She said that
this view has caused Jewish
spiritual leaders to be clear in
their ideas about abortion.
“What you’re seeing much
more are rabbis, particularly
American rabbis, feeling a
need to really assert some of
these very old Jewish ideas that
are different from Christian
ideas,” Weber said.
Jewish leaders have empha-
sized that although the
political obligation of Jews to
advocate for abortion access
is clear, the personal decision
to have an abortion is delicate
and complicated.
According to Eisenberg,
“A fetus is considered to be a
human being minus epsilon,”
meaning being the closest to,
without actually being consid-
ered, a born human being.
Because of this consider-
ation, the life of the person
carrying the fetus takes prece-
dence over the fetus itself.
Therefore, an abortion is
permissible if the gestational
parent’s health is in danger.
Weber believes
that individuals need to consider
mental health needs as part
of the gestational parent’s
overall health. Therefore,
if the gestational parent is
suicidal, or factors from the
pregnancy place a severe
strain on the person’s mental
health, abortion would also
be permissible.
Jewish thoughts on abortion
have changed over time. After
the Holocaust, Jews took a
much more conservative stance
on abortion due to interest in
Jewish futurity, Weber said.
However, Waxman, who
considers himself a progressive,
said that Jewish experiences
with authoritarian powers
in the past have made some
Jews more cautious of govern-
ment restrictions, including
for abortion.
Like most considerations
in Judaism, although clear
halachic guidelines to follow
exist, each scenario for an
abortion must be considered
on a case-by-case basis. Any
government restrictions on
abortion, Weber and Eisenberg
said, would deny this process
to take place — a process
which is personal, painful and
profoundly complicated.
“I know the experience of
having potential life grow in
my body, and there’s no doubt
that it’s sacred, beautiful and
special and can be such a
wonderful experience for so
many people,” Weber said.
“And having been through that
experience, I’m all the more
aware of the toll that it can
take on people. As a society,
we need to be focusing on the
person carrying the child.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
F TAY-SACHS
R F R E E E E
H eadlines
Review Continued from Page 1
January Jewish Educators Talk About
How Things Have Changed
During Pandemic
After having a semester to
adjust to the pandemic condi-
tions, with circumstances
feeling a little less “unprece-
dented,” Jewish day school
leaders began the spring
semester anew. Some schools
set up indoor classrooms; other
administrators opted to rotate
students in and out of the
building with hybrid learning.
As teachers learned how to
instruct their students over the
pandemic, the students showed
resilience and adaptation to the
new school structure.
Jewish Groups Respond to
Early Biden Agenda
Shortly after President Joe
Biden’s Jan. 20 election, Biden
laid the groundwork for plans
to combat the coronavirus, as
well as create an agenda to
make immigration to the U.S.
easier, expand refugee admis-
sions and condemn violent
extremism, including antisem-
itism. Area Jewish leaders
lauded Biden’s proposals.
February Elkins Park Trio Helps Seniors
Get Vaccines
Beth Sholom Congregation
member Danielle Otero
teamed up with Sarah Levin
and Rebecca Klinger and
partnered with the Kehillah of
Old York Road during the early
days of the COVID vaccine
rollout to help older commu-
nity members schedule their
appointments to get the jab.
March One Year of the Pandemic:
Those We’ve Lost
In April 2020, the Exponent
created a segment called “Those
We’ve Lost,” documenting the
lives and deaths of those lost
to COVID. In commemora-
tion of the anniversary of the
pandemic’s onset, we compiled
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM the profiles of those named in Complaints
the segment. COVID deaths
A disinvitation of the
in the United States have now Moshava Israeli food truck
from a Philadelphia food
surpassed 800,000.
festival prompted an uproar
April from community members.
From Building an Ark to Vaccine Organizers Eat Up the Borders
Awareness: B’nai Mitzvah Plans and Sunflower Philly disinvited
Get Creative
Moshava for fear of poten-
Jewish tweens came of tial boycotts of the event, as
age in 2021 in a way much there was no Palestinian food
different than the previous truck also present at the event.
generation. Celebrating Jewish AJC, Jewish Federation of
adulthood over Zoom fell short Greater Philadelphia, Jewish
for some families who missed Community Relations Council,
the presence of clergy and Anti-Defamation League, Jews
relatives. Other families held in ALL Hues and the Board of
in-person gatherings with strict Rabbis of Philadelphia met with
COVID precautions, and some the event organizers in July.
becoming b’nai mitzvah used
the pandemic as inspiration July
for mitzvah projects, such as Ventnor Couple Victims of
supporting the vaccine rollout. Surfside Condo Collapse
On June 24, a condo in
Summer Camps Plan 2021
Surfside, Florida, collapsed,
Safety Protocols
resulting in the deaths of
After a year of canceled almost 100 residents and
summer camps, camp direc- visitors, many of whom were
tors were committed to having Jewish. Among the lives lost
campers return in 2021 to were the couple Bonnie and
participate in the treasured David Epstein, Northeast
Jewish tradition. Campers Philadelphia natives who spent
created their own pods, ate many of their summers down
meals outside and signed the shore.
community covenants asking
them to follow their camps’ August
policies. With smaller atten- Coming Home: An Interview
dance, camps were able to With New Jewish Federation
ensure COVID exposures President and CEO Michael
were minimized, and only a Balaban
On July 1, Michael Balaban
few camp activities were elimi-
became the Jewish Federation
nated for the year.
of Greater Philadelphia’s new
May president and CEO. In an
Israel Supporters March
interview with the Exponent,
Down Parkway
he outlined his plans to combat
May saw the most recent antisemitism and build a more
bout of violence in the Israel- Jewish future by adapting the
Hamas conflict, and some Jewish Federation’s business
Jewish Philadelphians were model during his tenure.
quick to show their support of
Israel following the series of September
rocket attacks. Organized by the Ida Floods Jewish Community
Israeli-American Council, the Services Building, Sports Hall
Philadelphia march to support
In the aftermath of
Israel was one of 19 held nation- Hurricane Ida, which flooded
wide. This particular rally was the Schuylkill River, brackish
attended by nearly 100 people. water filled the basement
of the Jewish Community
June Services Building, destroying
Israeli Food Truck
the Philadelphia Jewish Sports
Disinvitation Prompts
Hall of Fame and displacing
JEWISH EXPONENT
myriad Jewish organiza-
tions in the area. The Sports
Hall of Fame seeks to relocate
after having rescued and
restored many of its objects.
October & & TAY-SACHS
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FOR DETAILS
e-mail: ntsad@aol.com;
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■ Security Initiative
Screening for other
Jewish Federations of
Jewish Genetic
Diseases North America President
also available.
and CEO Eric Fingerhut
This message is sponsored by a friend of
announced on Oct. 2 a grant
program to help Jewish
organizations bolster their
security. The creation of the
Nat’l Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases
Association of Delaware Valley
grant came after a surge of
antisemitism in the United
States since 2016, according to
the Anti-Defamation League, December
which included the shooting Central Bucks Leaders
at the Tree of Life synagogue Condemn Antisemitism
complex in
Pittsburgh In November, members
in 2018.
of the Pennsbury school
board received threats, some
November of which were antisemitic
Holiday Gatherings Back On
in nature, after a school
This Year
board meeting to discuss
After many Philadelphians the district’s equity policies.
received their
vaccines, At a Dec. 6 school board
they were eager to return to meeting, members of the
in-person Chanukah celebra- board, including President
tions. Many families who Dana Hunter and Central
reunited during the holiday Bucks Superintendent Abram
cited the vaccine as the reason Lucabaugh, condemned the
they were able to do so, saying antisemitic remarks. l
they all felt safe gathering
indoors after receiving their srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
COVID vaccines.
215-832-0741 DECEMBER 30, 2021
9