unBIASed message
Dear Friends,
I am honored to be writing this column as the chair of unBIASed. For the past three years, under the leadership of Edith Osman, along with our dedicated committee and Rabbi Aklepi, our unBIASed antisemitism initiative has grown in both participation and impact. I am proud to have been a founding member of this project since Rabbi Barras challenged TBAM congregants to come up with ideas to address the growing antisemitism in our world. That was more than a year before the horrific events of October 7.
How our world has changed since then! But the critical need to address antisemitism and the consequences of bias and hate has not changed. In fact, the need today is ever greater.
unBIASed Mission
“Temple Beth Am’s unBIASed initiative strives to address antisemitism and all forms of hate in our community through programming, learning opportunities, partnerships, and youth engagement.”
Why have I become involved in unBIASed?
I am a Miami native, born and raised in this vibrant multicultural community. I attended Miami-Dade County public schools and had playmates, friends, and classmates of all different religions, races, and ethnicities. We all got along and thrived. My family joined Temple Beth Am in 1969. I was confirmed here. Rabbi Baumgard was our rabbi and teacher, imparting important lessons laced with notions of social justice, tikun olam, community engagement, and pride in our Judaism.
My family members remain active at TBAM. Many of you know my husband, Jay, famous for his pretty impressive shofar blowing. Rabbi Baumgard officiated at our wedding in 1979. Our three children attended Beth Am Day School and were b’nai mitzvah and confirmed here. And now two of our grandchildren attend Rambam Day School.
I was a preschool and public high school art teacher before enrolling in law school at the University of Miami School of Law in 1980. Upon graduation, I began teaching at the law school, which I continued to do as a law professor and administrator for the next 30 years.
I also worked as an attorney guardian ad litem and served on several boards, including the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB), ultimately serving as CRB chair. CRB is an advisory board to the mayor and county commission focused on issues relating to intergroup relations (and tensions) in this diverse county.
My CRB work took me to many areas of Miami-Dade that were unfamiliar to me, despite being a Miami native. I worked alongside residents from all walks of life, religions, races, cultural heritages, ethnicities and economic differences. Our goal was to learn from one another and keep a pulse on what was happening and what concerns were important to people in our various communities. I participated as a Jewish woman, but I always felt welcomed, included, and well-respected no matter where I went.
Imagine my surprise to learn that Rabbi Baumgard, my rabbi and confirmation teacher, had been an early member and chair of the CRB, which was formed during the Civil Rights Era by MDC religious leaders who wanted to literally “come to the table together” to address the differences in this community and avoid the racial violence, antisemitism, and hate that was spreading all over the United States.
To me, unBIASed has a similar focus and can serve a similar critical need. When we develop honest relationships across differences, we build allies because we then become allies. I believe this is extremely important work.
As Rabbi Aklepi said, “unBIASed is a vital part of our temple community and the Miami-Dade community. We share our lived Jewish experiences with diverse groups, and we listen to them share their experiences. In this way, we build bridges and create relationships to decrease antisemitism in our community.”
Please join us!
L’shalom,
Joanne Harvest Koren