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Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby
Nick Mosby represents the 7th District in Baltimore City. He was elected in 2011. A Baltimore native, Mosby believes in this city, and is dedicated to improving the community through various initiatives and projects. Recently, he was inducted to serve on the Board of the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel.
6 Questions for Councilman Mosby....
I ran for public office because... As a very young child, I saw what the election of Kurt Schmoke meant to my community, specifically my mother and grandmother. My goal
was to have the same opportunity to invoke change in my community and my city. So, after graduating from
Tuskegee University in Alabama, I returned
home to Baltimore and
ran for office.
The achievement I am most proud of is... My recent success in passing my first law which bans minors from making purchases in liquor stores.
My first car was... A 1997 Black Nissan Maxima I purchased after graduation.
My fondest high school memory... Playing in the last Poly-City game at Memorial Stadium, and winning Mr. Poly.
My favorite lunch spot is... Teavolve!
I want to be remembered for... My lifelong commitment to ensuring that the youth of this great city have exceptional opportunities to excel and become committed Baltimore City residents.
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Holocaust Remembrance
Commission
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SUMMER TEACHERS INSTITUTE
Applications are being accepted for the 2012 Summer Teachers Institute, the annual three-day workshop for area teachers. This year's theme is
Rescue and Resistance: Responding to Evil during the Holocaust. In addition to a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the participants will hear presentations by Stanlee Stahl, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) and an educator from the Jewish Partisan Education Foundation (JPEF). Ms. Stahl will focus on the "precious few" who risked their lives and the lives of their families to save Jews; the JPEF session will focus on resistance, using the JPEF curriculum "Teaching with Defiance," based on the film, "Defiance," about the Bielski brothers' Partisan group. Participants are eligible for one MSDE credit. The $25.00 registration fee includes breakfast on Monday & Wednesday and transportation to the USHMM. For more information, contact Jeanette Parmigiani at jparmigiani@baltjc.org or 410-542-4850. To learn more about the Jewish Federation for the Righteous, click here To learn more about the Jewish Partisans Education Foundation, click here |
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A Message from the BJC...
Summer: time to plan...
Summer is here... can you feel it? While staff from the Baltimore Jewish Council will be taking some time off during the summer months, we still have work to do. This time of year allows us to step back, look at the bigger picture, and plan for the program year.
This will be the last issue of Council Matters for the summer. Please look for our next issue at the end of August... just before our fall programs begin. We wish you and your families a relaxing and peaceful summer. Stay cool...
The BJC Staff
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LEGISLATION
The Government Relations team is busy planning three policy statement review meetings, which will occur shortly. The reviews will include policies regarding capital punishment, education and the environment.
An issue the BJC has been following closely, along with our coalition partners at Energy Advocates, Maryland Alliance for the Poor and the Maryland Interfaith Legislative Coalition, is the $113.5 million Customer Investment Fund (CIF). As a condition of the merger between Exelon and Constellation Energy, the Public Service Commission ordered the creation of the CIF to help improve the service area through energy efficiency, education and low-income assistance programs. We have strongly advocated for programs benefiting low-income consumers and energy efficiency, and will continue to do so regarding CIF.
The Dream Act has also been a point of focus for the BJC. The upcoming referendum campaign is in full swing. The newly enacted legislation ensures immigrant children who attend and graduate from Maryland schools regardless of immigration status, who show multiple years of filing Maryland income taxes and attend community college, will be able to apply for in-state tuition to four-year universities. Immigrants helped build our great nation, but in recent times have been denied opportunities to succeed. For many immigrant children, the United States is the only country they have ever known and we are compelled to help them reach their full potential by contributing in meaningful ways to our society.
The team is also busy working on the Healthy Maryland Initiative with advocate Vinny DeMarco. The Initiative
 looks to build on the success of enacting a life saving tax increase on smokeless tobacco and previous cigarette tax increases. These tobacco
tax increases have discouraged youth smoking, and saved about 70,000 lives. Although the BJC is signed onto this initiative, we need ALL of our Congregations and organizations onboard to make sure our community's voice is heard. If your organization is not currently signed on, please contact our Director of Government Relations, Cailey Locklair.
The Government Relations team has been busy meeting with our Council representatives in Baltimore City to strengthen our relationships. We have had the opportunity so far, to meet with Council President Jack Young, Councilwoman Rikki Spector, Councilman William Cole, and Councilman Nick Mosby and thank them for their time and support. We will continue to reach out to the rest of the members of the Baltimore City Council and look forward to those meetings.
Finally, we will be meeting with Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Ben Cardin next week in conjunction with Senator Cardin's bill with Senator Mark Kirk, which will add Holocaust Survivors as a specific category of recipients to the Older Americans Act. Because survivors have such unique needs, receiving preferential treatment in obtaining benefits is critical to their health and welfare.
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 The Baltimore Jewish Council is actively recruiting for the 2012-2013 Leadership Development Program (LDP). LDP is a one-year commitment, with monthly, hands-on programs, typically held on weekday evenings. Jewish individuals of different backgrounds, ages and interests are encouraged to apply. Participants meet with government officials and community leaders who address local, national and international issues to develop an understanding of all aspects of Jewish community relations and public affairs, along with key leadership skills.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday, July 31, 2012. Applications are available on the BJC website. For more information about LDP, please contact Toba Rainess, Deputy Director of the BJC or Judith Tortora, Chair, LDP.
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Sign the "Letter in Hope" today
Beginning this Saturday, June 30, 2012, delegates to the Presbyterian Church (USA) will gather in Pittsburgh for their General Assembly. Church leaders will consider a report that calls for divestment from three companies for their sales to Israel.
Our collective voice is strongest when we stand together. Please join us by signing and sharing this "Letter in Hope" urging the Presbyterian Commissioners to support productive efforts to promote peace rather than divestment efforts.
This letter builds on one signed by 1,300 American Rabbis from all four religious streams and all 50 states that has been sent to Presbyterian Church (USA) delegates. This current letter has over 20,000 signatures. Please add your name and your voice to this effort.
SAVE THE DATE - June 2, 2013
 The Baltimore Israel Coalition has already begun planning for Baltimore's celebration of Israel's 65th birthday. Please mark your calendar for June 2, 2013 and watch for coming details.
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Elijah Youth Program in Israel
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This week, the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel (ECYP) held an overnight retreat at Pearlstone Conference Center for the upcoming senior class. The students leave this Sunday, July 1, 2012, for a month long trip to Israel.
 The retreat began with a welcome from a representative of the Israeli Embassy, followed by history and Hebrew lessons from ECYP Director, Jason Fair. Later in the day, guest speaker Chana Siff, from the Baltimore Jewish Council (BJC), discussed culture and traditions practiced by people of the Jewish faith. In the early evening, the Fellows had the opportunity to learn about Pearlstone and bond before their trip, visiting Pearlstone's farm and later building their own campfire.
 Day Two was filled with activities, beginning with a morning yoga session. The group then heard from an expert on mediation, an expert on Israeli cultural practices, and later, from Holocaust Survivor Bluma Shapiro, who shared her riveting story of survival. The retreat concluded with a dinner for the Fellows, their parents, and members of the ECYP Board of Directors
You can go along on the Fellow's journey... virtually. Join our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ECYPIsrael and view daily blog posts and trip photos!
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