About Us . . .

A FAITH IN THE FUTURE.  A BELIEF IN ACTION.  Simply stated, these are the watchwords of the National Council of Jewish Women, a volunteer organization that has been at the forefront of social change for over a century.  Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW courageously takes a progressive and visible stance on issues such as child welfare, women's rights and reproductive freedom on all governmental levels – local, state and federal.  But NCJW doesn’t limit its advocacy to government.  NCJW, Sacramento Section, maintains and supports programs which directly affect the daily lives of individuals in our local community. 

One such program is Family Shalom.  The Family Shalom program was developed as an effective way to respond to domestic abuse within the Jewish community.  Domestic abuse crosses all economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds.  Family Shalom is part of NCJW's national “Stop the Violence” campaign, and our team works locally to stop the violence and the abuse that occurs within relationships.

Family Shalom also seeks to educate the youth in our Jewish community through its teen program called “Developing Healthy Relationships.”  In addition, Family Shalom aims to educate the local Jewish community about domestic abuse through its speakers’ bureau, the distribution of literature and annual community awareness campaigns.

Family Shalom was initially funded through a grant by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, and startup funds from NCJW, Sacramento Section, and individual contributions.  To learn more about Family Shalom, call the Family Shalom Talk Line at (916) 204-8777, or access its website via our Family Shalom link.

NCJW, Sacramento Section, also participates in public affairs events that impact our community, such as “Issues and Action Day” at the State Capitol, and “Women Take Back the Night.”  The Sacramento Section provides an annual Chanukah party for Seniors and financial support to Yad b’Yad, which serves at-risk children and their families in Israel.

The women of NCJW, Sacramento Section, make a difference in the local Sacramento community in varied and important ways.  If you are interested in contributing to the future welfare of women, children and your local community, the Sacramento Section of the National Council of Jewish Women is the vehicle for you.   For information on other projects and how to join, check out our Membership link.

NCJW: Civil Rights Leader, Then and Now

            Founded just 28 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, NCJW became involved in civil rights as early as its 1908 National Convention. Stunned by violence against blacks and race riots in Springfield, IL, NCJW urgently called for federal anti-lynching laws. By 1940, NCJW had condemned racial discrimination as a "danger to the unity and solidarity of the nation." But it was not until after World War II that NCJW was drawn completely into the civil rights struggle. That war, fought against fascism, racism, and anti-Semitism abroad, inspired a new generation to intensify the challenge to racism and discrimination at home.

            NCJW joined wholeheartedly in the struggles of the 1950s and 60s, assisting those fighting segregation, working to promote equal opportunity, and supporting federal civil rights legislation. NCJW also engaged in an introspective process that examined the dual role of Jews as a minority that felt a special responsibility to resist discrimination against others while being part of a larger majority that enjoyed the advantages of white skin.

            NCJW members supported all the major civil rights legislation of the era and many participated in "Wednesdays in Mississippi," a series of weekly meetings that brought black and white northern women to the South to meet with their counterparts to learn of conditions and open a dialogue on civil rights issues. NCJW became a leading player in Women in Community Service (WICS), an interracial, interfaith, intercultural coalition organized to recruit and screen low-income women for the Job Corps, which enabled young women to move out of poverty through educational and training programs. WICS also demonstrated that black and white women could work together. One reader wrote to the NCJW Journal from Mobile, AL, to credit the effort with achieving "an entirely new interracial interplay...women of both races are working side by side, sharing the problems and joys of this project."

            In 1978, NCJW was the only Jewish organization to support the affirmative action side in the Bakke case involving higher education admissions policies. As the Supreme Court grew more conservative, NCJW joined with other organizations to speak out on the more egregious decisions and support laws to overturn them where possible, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Members lobbied for the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and helped launch a virtual revolution in the treatment of Americans with physical and mental disabilities by barring discrimination in such areas as employment, public accommodations, and transportation.

            After many years of leadership in the struggle to strengthen and expand federal hate crimes legislation, NCJW celebrated passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 with President Obama at the White House. The law expands the definition of a hate crime to include those violent offenses motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, or disability, and assists local law enforcement agencies in fighting bias-motivated crimes.

            NCJW continues its civil rights tradition by working to end discrimination based on sexual orientation. Ending the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military has been a top priority. Still awaiting passage are the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would bar job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the Respect for Marriage Act, which would end discriminatory treatment of legally married same-sex couples by the federal government and repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed in 1996. In the meantime, NCJW sections across the country are weighing in on the fight to extend marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples at the state level.

            In 1964 an NCJW Journal editorial writer asked, "As for you and me, one day we will ask each other: Where were you during the great civil rights drives?"

            NCJW can answer, now as then, "We were there on the frontlines, and we still are."

Advocates for Family Welfare: NCJW Then and Now

From 1985 until 1998, NCJW operated its own internal research institute; the NCJW Center for the Child. The center promoted the well-being of children and families by increasing awareness of children’s issues, improving programs for children, and influencing public and private policy affecting the welfare of children and families.

Center studies, such as “Mothers in the Workplace,” evolved into programs to support families and assist caregivers – the Challenge for Community Action and the Family Day Care and Work/Family projects. And research findings provided support for legislative initiatives impacting children and their parents.

In 1993, based on the center’s work, NCJW developed a special national project: NCJW Day of the Working Parent. On September 9 of that year, volunteers joined with government leaders, corporations, celebrities, nonprofit agencies, and American workers to focus attention on those who balanced job responsibilities with child and elder care. “Food for Thought” lunch boxes, filled with information were distributed around the country and to the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Today, NCJW continues to work for quality, comprehensive child care, early childhood programs, and school-age programs that are affordable and accessible for all. We were proud to play a role in supporting passage of $2 billion in funds for the Child Care Development Block Grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.

NCJW has also been active in the fight for children’s health insurance, backing the original passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP, in 1997 and its reauthorization and expansion, which was finally achieved in early 2009.

 In June 2009, the New York Jewish Week published an op-ed by NCJW President Nancy Ratzan entitled "A National Call to Jewish Mothers: Support a Federal Budget that Protects our Children."  NCJW continues to lobby for final passage of a family-friendly federal budget. As President Ratzan said in her op ed:

“Addressing the needs of children with a focus on both the chronically disadvantaged and the victims of the current recession is not only a moral imperative, but a utilitarian one. When a sizeable portion of our population does not participate equitably in our economy, our need for publicly funded social services goes up and our collective ability to pay for them goes down.

“The welfare of children is a test of our will to ensure the well-being of future generations – those now in poverty and those more fortunate. The new federal budget must mark a new beginning for our children, and it is up to us, the Jewish mothers as well as the rest of the nation, to make sure that it does.”

And NCJW is working on passage of the Healthy Families Act (HR 1902/S 932), introduced last April by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). The Healthy Families Act would guarantee workers the opportunity to earn up to seven paid sick days per year -- days that could be used to care for themselves, their children, or a family member when they are ill, as well as to deal with the consequences of domestic violence. Nearly half of private employees do not receive the same consideration. As such, men and women are forced to go to work sick, send a sick child to school, or improvise less-than-ideal solutions when a family member is sick.