OJMCHE Director Judy Margles was invited to speak recently at an Oregon Women’s History Consortium event in anticipation of the 100th anniversary, in 2020, of the ratification of the 19th amendment, which placed women’s voting rights in the U.S. Constitution. In her remarks she reflects on the way in which voting is a core principal of Judaism and suggests some possible directions that may be taken by future voters.
Indeed we have come a long way! After all, not long ago the very idea of women voting meant for some of its opponents nothing less than the moral collapse of the nation. Judaism has something to say to these opponents. In my brief comments this evening I’ll describe the way in which voting is a core principal of Judaism and suggest some possible directions that may be taken by future voters.
According to the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, Jews are religiously obligated to follow the law of the land in which they live. This principle, called “the law of the land is the law” literally makes voting an obligation under Jewish law. More generally, Jews are obligated to improve the world in which they live; for the Jewish community as a corporate body, civic involvement has always been a requirement. Along with this cooperation with the larger community, Judaism brings its central ethical concern. Care for those who cannot care for themselves evidences in the revolutionary ethics of the Torah, through appeals to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger. So from a Jewish perspective, voting is a duty, the way that every citizen can propel democratic and pluralistic principles. Voting has the potential to lead to real action and social transformation. If we do not stand up for our values and advance our ideas, who will?
Today, fortunately, all women living in Oregon with American citizenship have the right to vote. Barriers to equality still exist; they are just more nuanced.
And women are displaying more creative energy than ever. Movements such as MeToo and Time’s Up, the number of women on ballots in local, state and national elections, women in leadership positions – these are positive trends for both women and men. Protest has become a form of patriotism. Indeed commemorating the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment should be triumphantly celebrated – women’s votes have made a difference.
But there is also lament – I am reminded of the bright yellow swastika defacing a public statue of Vera Katz, who served for 12 years as Portland’s mayor, or most tragically, the horrific murder of two young men who rose to the defense of two young women of color riding Portland’s light rail last May. Last month the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that violence by white-nationalist groups continues to expand in the US, and that Oregon appears to have a disproportionate number of hate-based organizations within its borders. One active white nationalist in Oregon has announced his intention to run for US Senate. Voter suppression, gerrymandering of congressional districts in other states, lack of education, these are issues that have an impact on women’s access to the polls. Any of us with the opportunity to support the efforts of individuals and organizations that combat voting inequity must ourselves get out there and work for this effort.
Not so long ago, none of this was taken for granted—in fact it was virtually unimaginable. In 1893 Alice Friedlander, a 17-year old Jewish suffragist, spoke at the Portland Press Club and passionately proclaimed “a woman’s golden era” – a time when “the whole great world of activity is calling upon women …[and] neither the attainable information nor skill unfits a woman for home and its sacred duties.” Josephine Hirsch, already an advocate of women’s rights, was so dedicated to her work with the Portland Equal Suffrage League that she installed “a telephone plug in every room in her mansion, so that she could get incoming suffrage calls to her, wherever she might be.” Oregon’s pioneering suffragists set the banner high for demonstrating how women’s votes can propel change. Women have been rising to the challenge ever since – in the legislature and through lobbying.
I’ve been reminded of brave teenage Alice Friedlander in the past month. The equally brave and inspiring responses of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors in Parkland Florida bring her to mind. These post-millennials, now a movement across the country, represent the largest generation of eligible voters. They are spiritedly advocating for change and shaping a political future, unseen since the late 1960s. Some of these students will be eligible to vote this fall, and most others will come of age by the 2020 elections.
Protest has always been one of the highest forms of patriotism and these young women and men for me – and I am sure for you too – boost our optimism in an often glum political landscape. These young activists learned quickly that political change is slow. But they also understand the importance of voting. Here, then, is my simple takeaway for you: Let’s all seize our civic obligation to make sure that aspiring voters turn out at the polls.