August 15, 2012

8/15/2012 JVNA Online Newsletter

August 15, 2012
1. Jewish New Year for Animals
2. Israel bans starving hens, overcrowding
3. Israel proposes fur ban
4. New videos on Judaism and factory farming
5. Eating veg makes you happier


 1. Jewish New Year for Animals!



JVNA is spearheading a coalition of Jewish groups and rabbis in reviving the ancient Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah LaBeheimot, and we've been getting a lot of press about it! Read about it in The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Haaretz, Tikkun Daily, Rabbis for Human Rights, and other newspapers and radio shows.

Be part of history by joining one of our seders on Sunday, August 19, in New York City, San Francisco, and Jerusalem! Contact us for more info.

Can't make it? Hold your own vegetarian seder -- contact us for resources! Tell your rabbi, and Jewish community about this celebration, and ask them to take this opportunity to talk about Jewish teachings on concern for animals.



2. Israel bans overcrowding hens in cages
Israel bans starving hens
Government decision prohibits starving of hens, increases cage size. Farmers will no longer be able to starve their hens for prolonged persiods in order to increase egg output. (These practices remain legal in the US.) Read more.




 3. Israel proposes fur banIsrael proposes fur ban

A Knesset bill introduced would forbid most sales of fur in Israel. Animal rights activists praised the legislation. Read more.



4. Moving videos on Judaism and factory farms

Check out (and share) these new videos that contrast Jewish teachings with the reality of animal factories:

 Vegetarian makes happy5. Eating veg makes you happier

Some Jews feel obligated to eat meat on yom tov because they believe "there is no joy without meat." Science shows that just the opposite is true. Read more
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July 10, 2012

7/10/2012 JVNA Online Newsletter


 Keep Up With JVNA
JVNA has been busy... Our president Richard Schwartz has a new book, Jeffrey Cohan has a new blog, we have important organizational changes are underway that will make us more effective, and so much more! Keep up with the active vegetarian Jewish movement on FacebookTwitter, and G+. And don't forget to ask for free DVDs, leaflets, and other materials you can use to spread the word in your community!


 1. Tisha B'Av and Vegetarianism
Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. Today the entire world is threatened by destruction by a variety of environmental threats, and modern intensive livestock agriculture is a major factor behind most of them. Read More.


 
2. Is Milk Kosher? Some Rabbis Say No.
On our wedding day last year, my wife and I decided that, due to our Jewish convictions, we would no longer drink milk or consume any dairy products. Then we found out that one of the greatest Jewish legal  authorities in America, Rabbi Herschel Schachter, has made public that he had stopped consuming dairy products due to kashrut concerns. Read more


 3. Ten Ways to Create Change

Inspiring ways for Jewish vegetarians to create change: Watch the video
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 4. "God is Good to All": Compassion in Judaism
Rabbi Dovid Sears write that the Torah espouses compassion for all creatures and affirms the sacredness of life. These values are reflected by the laws prohibiting cruelty to animals and obligations for humans to treat animals with care. Read More.


 
5. California Bans Foie Gras July 1


Israel has banned foie gras. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the great 20th-century Orthodox halachic authority, prohibited milk-fed veal on the grounds of this needless suffering. Rabbi Seth Mandel, who oversees kosher meat production for the Orthodox Union in North and South America, told me that veal or foie gras violates other Jewish values. Read More.


 
6. New Veg Kosher Restaurant Certification

There are 7.3 million Americans who are vegetarians, 1 million vegans, and 22.8 million people who keep a vegetarian inclined diet. The Shamayim V'Aretz Institute believes that it is time to create a paradigm shift in the way we eat whether it is in your kitchen or at your local restaurant. Read More.

 
7. Would You Wear Vegan Tefillin?

Could we create vegan tefillin? By vegan tefillin, I do not, of course, mean tefillin made from corn. That would not fulfill the holy mitzvah. Read More.