Dear Family and Friends,
Like many of you, I woke up last May to a New York Times headline that read, "As Obama Heads to Florida, Many of It's Jews Have Doubts." The article reported that it's not all Jews in Florida who have been slow to support Obama - it's the elderly Jews.
The Times article got me thinking about how to change the minds of elderly Floridian Jews - people near and dear to my heart. By the end of the day it had come to me: THEIR GRANDCHILDREN. If there is anyone a Jewish grandparent will listen to it's their (brilliant, gorgeous) grandchild. I wrote up a couple of pages of ideas for a marketing campaign, sent it to everyone I knew, and within a few days I was on the phone with a friend's (Jewish, brilliant, gorgeous, recently engaged) son who has a (big) job at a (big) ad agency in New York City.
My idea is about to become a reality: A campaign is underway to help Senator Barack Obama become president, by educating and changing the minds of Jewish voters in Florida. (I know that I don't have to remind you of the importance of this swing state). Our messengers will be their own beloved grandchildren, who, like us, recognize the importance of an Obama victory. The campaign is called THE GREAT SCHLEP.
TheGreatSchlep.com website will target, engage and activate Jews 18-24 years old - the Facebook generation. A viral internet campaign will allow the Jewish young people, a.k.a. Schleppers, to communicate with and meet other Schleppers. Then, on Columbus Day weekend (October 10-13), Jewish kids from all over the United States will schlep to Florida to spend the weekend with their grandparents, a.k.a. Bubbie and Zadie. Organized dinners at Chinese restaurants, pool parties, rec room discussion groups, etc. will faciliate intergenerational pro-Obama discussions. The kids will arrive in Florida with the facts about Obama-- facts that will counteract the false rumors many of their grandparents have heard.
I'm writing today to ask for your financial support of this project.
So, Marla, WHO is ORGANIZING the GREAT SCHLEP?
The Jewish Council for Education & Research (JCER), a political action committee, was created to develop and disseminate information to voters around the issues of concern to the Jewish community. Its premier initiative is JewsVote.org, a campaign that supports core public values, including cultural liberalism, a strong but not beligerant foreign policy, and support for Israel. The website provides users with a range of tools to increase support of Obama, including personal emails and videos. JewsVote.org is where the iPhone meets the local kosher deli. The target market for the site is middle-aged Jews. JCER was founded by Mik Moore and Ari Wallach, two smart, young movers-and-shakers in the Jewish community.
TheGreatSchlep.com is a JCER initiative that will appeal to younger Jews. Its goal will be to give them the tools they need to persuade their grandparents, both on-line and in person, to support Obama. Because not everyone will be able to make the trip to Florida, the site will allow kids to do "virtual schleps" over the course of the election cycle. They will be able to send their grandparents video-grams, and they'll be asked to sign pledges to call their grandparents frequently during the weeks leading up to the election.
Marla, I'm on Board. Where do I SEND MY CHECK?
Click on the attached pdf that says Donor Card. Fill that in, and send your (whopping) check -- campaign laws allow you to give up to $5,000 -- directly to JCER. Remember, JCER is a PAC, which means it is INDEPENDENT of the Obama Campaign. This means that the money you give to the organization will NOT apply towards the maximum contribution you can make to the Obama campaign.
And if I SEND a Check, What Will it be Used for?
The money will pay for the websites, travel scholarships for Schleppers, Florida events (the Early Birds are cheap!), travel for organizers, Schlepper persuasion materials, advertising, marketing, and general Schlepper Support. Donations to JCER are NOT tax-deductable.
Well, Marla, I Still Have a Few Questions. Do you Have Answers?
Of course. I have attached to this email a couple of documents that go into more detail about JCER and its founders. And of course, feel free to call me with any questions or concerns.
Marla, Can I do ANYTHING in ADDITION to DONATING MONEY?
Yes. Forward this email to as many people as possible. The more money JCER brings in for The Great Schlep, the more schleppers and their grandparents we'll reach. And remember:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE JEWISH TO SUPPORT A SCHLEPPER.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Marla
JCER contact info:
Ari Wallach , Co-Executive Director
Jewish Council for Education and Research
ari@jcer.info
p: 646.202.2846
Marla contact info:
E. Marla Felcher, Ph.D.
325 Harvard Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 441-9714 (phone)
(270) 517-6038 (fax)
mfelcher@comcast.net
5 comments:
As a Jew I'm a bit confused..maybe you can help me. I should ignore the fact that Obama was a member of a church that put louis farrakan on the front cover of it's monthly magazine 3 times. I should ignore Rev. Wright's attempts as demonizing Israel with the use of half-thruths ans outright lies. I should ignore his Gen Mcpeak, an obana foreign policy advisor, when he asserts that a certain group of voters in miami and new york have too great an influence on america's foreighn policy(maybe he means the cubans,right?) And i should ignore former obama advisor sam powers who wants to end aid to israel and instead give the money to the peace loving palistinians..oh and put the us military on the border of the gaza strip and israel and call it aprotective force(protecting whom she doesn't say). I'd ignore these but I can't. I'n not a Judenrat.
Please go to www.bubbiesforobama.com & make your voice heard!
I encourage Bruce, who thinks he's not a Judenrat, to read Obama's memoir "Dreams from My Father" and also "The Audacity of Hope." He should listen to Obama's discussion of the Wright issue, instead of soundbites.
He will learn that Obama does not share, in any way, the mentality presented by that stupid Utube of Rev. Wright. Obama is less like Rev. Wright than we Jews are like each other. Obama's went to Chicago to learn about what he was deprived of in his background--the black community. He went there like a Jew goes to an Orthodox shul, even when he doesn't agree with its politics. In his books, he analyzes the pros and cons of many misguided folk.
Obama is a thinking person. He's an original thinker who looks for solutions. If anyone will
embrace peace in the Middle East, it will be he.
The rest of Bruce's "concerns" are distortions that he'd rather believe than look into the truth. I'm sorry the smears were aimed at the Jewish community. I'm shocked so many Jews embraced those smears--with gusto!
Judenrat-types are those who were only too happy to fall prey to the stereotyping, the likes of which, by the way, Jews have suffered for centuries.
Obama has a Jewish heart. More than any man, yet in the White House.
American Jews are obviously torn. Even if young Jews will not be able to persuade their grandparents to vote for Senator Obama, they at least got to see their grandparents and enjoy the Sunshine State. Whatever the results in Florida will be, Obama is the winner—he brings young and old Jews together.
ISRAELI GENERALS DUPED INTO OBAMA AD
“PURE AND SIMPLE DECEIT”
Associated Press Oct 6, 2008
Uzi Dayan, a retired army general, and Efraim Halevy, a former Mossad chief, were included along with six other high-ranking retired members of Israel’s security establishment in a pro-Obama film. A third official, former Mossad agent Yossi Alpher, also said he was misled.
Leading Israelis say they were duped into Obama ad - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_obama
"Jewish Council for Education and Research" (JCER.INO) and Ari Wallach and Mik Moore chose DECEIT over TRUTH.
No need to fast for Yom Kippur - We know what book they will be written into this year...
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