A Rosh Hashanah Message from JDCA Chair Susie Stern

I want to wish you a Shana Tova U’Metukah, a sweet and happy new year, along with appreciation for you being a part of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) community. We are incredibly grateful for your partnership and support.

As we enter the days of awe, we are also observing the 25th anniversary of 9/11, which is particularly meaningful for me as a New Yorker who lived through that horrific day. Regardless of where you live, as a Jewish American, the new year and 9/11 offer us all the opportunity for remembrance, meaningful reflection, and action.

On Rosh Hashanah, we reflect on what kind of person we have been, what kind of person we aim to be, and what actions we can take to make this year better than the last one. This has been a difficult year for many of us in the JDCA family, and we look forward to a better year to come.

On 9/11, we remember a day that changed America forever. We remember the thousands of lives lost and the heroic actions taken by first responders and ordinary citizens. We consider how we can honor the memory of those lost and build stronger and more caring communities through service.

Service to our community must be more than helping others; it requires each of us to take responsibility for making our communities stronger and more caring. We at JDCA aim to do this through political activism and advocacy, and our Jewish values directly inform our service and engagement.

At JDCA, we are guided by the mandate of tzedek (justice) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), and the imperative to defend our democracy, rights, and freedoms. As we look ahead to the midterm elections, where these values are on the ballot, we find hope in the more than 150 candidates JDCA has endorsed in 2026. If elected, we hope they will bring about political change in Congress consistent with those values.

Election Day is 54 days away, and voting has already begun in some states. JDCA’s 32 campus fellows and thousands of volunteers have already made over 240,000 calls to get out the Jewish vote in the races that will determine control of Congress. We are deeply engaged in electing leaders who share our values, and there’s more work to do in the next seven weeks. We hope you’ll join us at our near-daily phone banks and canvasses between the Jewish holidays and Election Day.

Both 9/11 and Rosh Hashanah remind us that being part of a community comes with responsibility. Voting and participating in our elections are ways we can live our values and help to repair and strengthen the world around us. It is our way of making our voices heard, having an impact, and shaping our shared future, and we are grateful for your role in JDCA, your support of our work, and your meaningful partnership.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and blue new year,

Susie Stern

Board Chair, Jewish Democratic Council of America