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Human Rights Shabbat 5779 (2018)

5 Dec, 2018 | Latest, Protecting Human Rights in the UK

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Welcome to the Human Rights Shabbat Resource Pack for 5779 (2018). Whether you are a synagogue, youth movement, University J-SOC, cheder teacher or just an interested individual we hope that you find these resources informative and instructive.

Human Rights Shabbat is always the closest Shabbat to the 10th December, World Human Rights Day, and this year it celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, co-drafted by our namesake, Monsieur René Cassin, known as the father of the Universal Declaration for the role he played in drafting that seminal document.

“Thank you for circulating the brilliant René Cassin resources – and everything you and your colleagues are doing to raise consciousness about human rights in the Jewish community”

-Rabbi Elli, Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue

It is this legacy that has inspired us, René Cassin the organisation, to ‘make the Jewish case for human rights in the UK’, raising awareness on some of the most pressing human rights issues in the UK today, and making sure that the Jewish community, driven by experience and values, is a strong voice in the promotion and protection of human rights in the UK.

As René Cassin himself said: “human rights are an integral part of the faith and tradition of Judaism. The beliefs that man (and woman) were created in the divine image, that the human family is one, and that every person is obliged to deal justly with every other person are basic sources of the Jewish commitment to human rights”.

For this year’s Human Rights Shabbat, we have developed ‘Making the Jewish Case for Human Rights’, a unique resource designed to explore the linked stories of Jewish values, Jewish experience and Jewish human rights heroes, illustrating the profound impact they have had in shaping and forming the modern human rights framework, and the importance of human rights to Jewish people today.

Beyond this Human Rights Shabbat we will continue to mark and celebrate 70 years of legacy to ensure the sustainability and future of this legacy by empowering and inspiring tomorrow’s human rights activists in our community.

Other Resources:

  • Hannukah and Human Rights  – during Hannukah this year we are outlining eight actions that you can take to protect and promote human rights.
  • Art Competition -To mark the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, René Cassin invites you to submit a create a piece of art representing this important human rights legacy.

Today, 10th December, is International Human Rights Day – the 76th anniversary of the signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. 

 

 

The Declaration was a reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust. So, for Jews, today has a particuar significance. 

Although rooted in response to atrocity, the Declaration was forward-looking and optimistic. It spoke for the majority of people who knew a better world was possible. The fact that it’s co-author , the French-Jewish lawyer Monsieur Rene Cassin, could draft such a hopeful document so soon after 26 members of his family were murdered by the Nazis is a testament to his humanity and the power of human rights in general. 

Today, as the organisation that works in Cassin’s name, we are determined to ensure his Declaration’s vision of human rights for all is fully realised. Central to that work is a focus on so called ‘socio-economic rights’ – rights to everyday essentials like food, housing and health. This vision was best articulated in Article 25 of the Declaration: 

‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control’.

Bolstering these rights would ensure everybody has access to the foundations on which to build a dignified, prosperous and meaningful life. They have been neglected for too long.

 

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