unBIASed: Gratitude & Reflections
DEAR FRIENDS,
With a grateful heart, I write this, my final column as chair of the unBIASed initiative at Temple Beth Am. Working on this significant project has been an incredible opportunity. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, it held deep personal meaning for me, and I am eternally thankful. Three years ago, Rabbi Barras invited me to join him in meeting a challenge issued to fifteen temples nationwide by a URJ/ADL partnership. The challenge required each temple to devise and present a program to address antisemitism. Instead of a single program, Rabbi Barras suggested a more significant and sustained initiative. I willingly accepted and quickly comprehended the daunting nature of such a project. Developing a program from scratch to fight the world’s oldest hatred was a significant task.
Early discussions revealed the Temple Beth Am community’s urgent desire to counter the rising tide of antisemitism. And following October 7th, the spike in anti-Jewish sentiment around the world devastated us, and we found refuge and support within our temple community. Our antisemitism initiative stepped in to help fill the void.
We established a board, developed a mission statement, and began working toward our goals. Thanks to the Beth Am community and our partnerships, the unBIASed initiative has consistently expanded, improving the quality and range of programming and educational opportunities in our fight against antisemitism and bias-based hate. We established a strong community presence, and we have received media coverage across various platforms.
Having chaired this organization for three years, I am immensely proud of the progress my board and I have made in setting standards, expanding our services, educating our community, and fostering dialogues. This success would not have been possible without our small, dedicated board of directors’ tenacious, creative, and tireless efforts—the true driving force behind our vision. Our original board included Joe Jacoby, Joanne Koren, Susan Lampen, Pamela Lear, and Lisa Gitlin. They were later joined by Jeff Agron, Steve Brownstein, Joan Marn, Pam Misrahi, and Caroline Miller. Their extraordinary contributions, support, and assistance have been invaluable.
The exceptional support of Rabbi Jaime Aklepi, our clergy liaison, has been a blessing to unBIASed. She has guided and supported our efforts, actively participated as a valued team member, and presented as a speaker, facilitator, and panelist at countless community events. Of course, Rabbi Jeremy Barras,thedrivingforcebehindthisinitiativeandabeaconin the battle against antisemitism, has always been a source of inspiration, urging us forward to achieve our goal.
My team and I are thankful for the generous help and support from many temple staff members. Favi Budyszewick designed the logo for unBIASed prior to the launch of our first program. Since then, Favi and her talented marketing team—Marian Lopez, Jessica Hernandez, and Sanaa Simmons—have created impactful advertising for all our programs and Commentator pages. Their dedication, hard work, and patience are much appreciated. The invaluable assistance of Phylicia Cook, Andrea Kay, Janice Baisman, Mindy Robbin, and Executive Director Sharon Levi ensured we could operate efficiently and effectively. Finally, we have also been fortunate to collaborate with Tamara Donnenfeld on our outstanding youth engagement programs.
I am immensely proud of the progress we’ve made through hard work and dedication, and I will continue to be actively involved. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our Temple Beth Am community. I look forward to our continued progress and success as we work together to fight bias-based hate.
Lovingly yours,
Edith Osman
Chair, unBIASed Antisemitism Initiative Temple Beth Am