Sammie Moshenberg
Sammie Moshenberg is a consultant in DC, specializing in strategic grassroots capacity building and engagement. She recently stepped down from her post at the National Council of Jewish Women, where she headed the Washington office for 30 years.
News and Politics
A Personal Reflection: After Election Day, Moving On
No matter what the pundits and polls say, there is often a moment early on during marathon Election Night coverage when those of us glued to the TV and Twitter decide it may not be so bad after all –- that surge of protective optimism that keeps you up way too late. For me, that optimism came from reports of higher-than-usual-midterm-election turnout.
News and Politics
DC DISPATCH Hold Your Breath: Upcoming Supreme Court Cases Worth Watching
You could be forgiven if you perused the docket for the 2014-15 US Supreme Court term and yawned. To be sure, there are important cases, but the lineup so far lacks the hot-button attention-grabbers, with issues like marriage equality, abortion rights, health care, and voting rights largely absent from the list. Even so, it’s worth paying attention this term. Here’s why.
News and Politics
Supreme Fireworks: Reflections on Independence Day 2014
This Fourth of July, I’ve got a front-row seat to the fireworks set off by the Supreme Court’s Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision, a strong body blow to some very basic democratic values — equality, religious liberty, voting rights.
News and Politics
Mourning Mandela on the Heels of Hanukkah
I learned about Nelson Mandela’s death on my way back to the office from the White House Hanukkah reception yesterday. The news was not a complete surprise to anyone as the 95-year-old Mandela had been suffering with an intractable respiratory infection for many months. But it caught me short and saddened me deeply. With Hanukkah themes fresh in my consciousness, I could not help but see connections between the holiday and this great leader’s life.
Life and Action
Handcuffs to Synagogue: A New Year, A Recommitment to Action
Tonight at Kol Nidre services, I will chant the prayer that absolves me from all oaths taken the previous year. The thing is — just yesterday I took an oath, alongside 119 women on a very hot day in the shadow of the US Capitol building, an oath that I (with the organization I represent, the National Council of Jewish Women) plan to keep. In part, we promised to:
create a House United for fair immigration reform, a House United through my family, my community and my place of work, a House United for justice and equality for all and especially for the women and children who make up three-quarters of all immigrants but whose needs are woefully ignored by our failed system.
And we put our bodies on the line to reinforce our commitment to this promise.
Life and Action
Two Tributes to a Social Justice Hero: Elissa Froman (1983-2013)
“She was more than a colleague and friend — she was our conscience.” Zeek presents two celebrations of Elissa Froman, from best friend Emily Pearl Goodstein and NCJW colleague and friend Sammie Moshenberg. Both are adapted from March 24 eulogies for Elissa, who passed away on Friday, March 22, at 29.
![[the current issue of ZEEK]](../../image/2/100/0/5/uploads/leftistethicistgraphic-52842c6a.png)
- 5000 Pages of Zeek
- Founded in 2001, Zeek was the first Jewish online magazine, and we have over 5000 pages online to prove it, all available free of charge. Read more in the Archive.
