Tag Archives: Jacksonville Human Rights Ordinance

Communities, Families

Ally Profile: Rabbi Joshua Lief

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Rabbi Lief_FP_Print_R3Rabbi Joshua B. Lief is the Senior Rabbi of historic Congregation Ahavath Chesed. He grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia where he was active in all sports, music, and was an Eagle Scout. He attended Princeton University, where he swam on the varsity squad, competed on the debate team, and graduated with a degree in History.

After Princeton, Rabbi Lief attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.  After living in Jerusalem for the first year of the seminary, he completed his studies at HUC-JIR’s campus in Cincinnati, Ohio where he was ordained as a Rabbi in May of 2003.

Prior to moving to Jacksonville, Rabbi Lief served as the Rabbi of Mizpah Congregation in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he helped grow the congregation and reached out to the larger community. Here in Jacksonville, he serves on the boards of ONEJAX, JCCI, and the Community Hospice. He is an avid athlete, a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, member of the Downtown Rotary Club, a graduate of the Leadership Jacksonville New Leadership Summit, enjoys and supports the arts, and is honored to engage in civic activities.

Rabbi Lief is married to his beautiful wife Rebecca. They are delighted daily by their adorable daughters, Leah and Ellie, and are proud to make Jacksonville their home.

As a Rabbi, I am relieved that Judaism only demands of me that I make myself the best person that I can possibly be.  I am not required to change anyone else to be more like me.  Indeed, with my faith in a God who is wholly (and holy) beyond my comprehension, and a conviction that all people are made in the Divine image, how could I ask anyone not to be who they are?  Many people are fond of taking Biblical verses out of context and frequently Leviticus 18:22 is cited as an injunction against homosexuality.  From my perspective, the operative verse on the issue of civil rights is actually to be found one chapter later, at Leviticus 19:17, “Reprove your neighbor, but come to no guilt on his account.”  The issue is not the perceived rightness or wrongness of any individual’s private behavior.  Rather, the issue is the absolute wrongness of public discrimination against our fellow human beings for simply being who they are.  It is quite fitting that the very next verse is Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord.”  Would that we could all reach that level of holiness.  Let’s keep trying.

To contact Rabbi Lief, please email him at rabbi@thetemplejacksonville.org.

Co-Workers

Steve Halverson, President and CEO of Haskell

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Steve Halverson is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Haskell Company, one of the nation’s largest integrated design-build organizations. Steve believes that employees want to work for a company that is both fun and exciting, but also safe and fair. Work should be a “place that they feel comfortable” and a “place that is tolerant”. To see his full profile, click here: http://wp.me/p3PnKk-cb

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Co-Workers, Press

PRESS: Florida Blue

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Huge THANK YOU to Pat Geraghty, Florida Blue CEO, for his continued support of our “We Are Straight Allies” campaign!

“Honoring the dignity of every person is an ethic that I wholeheartedly believe in. In addition, respect is one of our core values at Florida Blue. The company is an inclusive organization that honors and draws upon the diverse experiences, abilities and backgrounds of our employees. This is what helps us attract the best talent and create an environment of teamwork.

In demonstration of this commitment – I have joined the We Are Straight Allies campaign as a Straight Ally in support of a Human Rights Ordinance in the City of Jacksonville…To reinforce the We Are Straight Allies message, “nothing is more important than our humanity,” and everyone has a right to the same opportunities.”

To read the rest of Pat’s article, click here.

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Communities

Straight Ally 101 Recap

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We Are Straight Allies would like to extend our gratitude to the 25 beautiful souls who attended our inaugural workshop at the Historic Springfield Learning Center (in partnership with Wells Fargo and the Jacksonville Urban League).  We had a diverse group of people from small business owners to corporate executives, faith leaders to city council candidates, allies and members of the LGBT community, gathered together to create meaningful dialogue around what it means to be a better ally.

Attendees discussed the issues the LGBT community faces, learned more about inclusive language, proper pronoun usage and correct terminology.  We shared stories about our own experiences with discrimination and how important it is that we practice everyday advocacy for those in marginalized communities.  There were great questions posed by the group as to how we can all work together to insure passage of a comprehensive Human Rights Ordinance in the city of Jacksonville, and how we can go out in the community and empower others to join us as allies as well.

A very special thank you to City Xtra Magazine for sponsoring this event! and thank you for your valuable feedback on what additional workshops you would each like to see for future workshops  as well!  We are planning the next community workshop for September – date, time, location, and more information on that coming soon!

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Co-Workers

Ally Profile: John Delaney

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After serving as Jacksonville’s mayor from 1995-2003, John A. Delaney became the University of North Florida’s fifth president in 2003. As mayor, Delaney spearheaded major initiatives including The Better Jacksonville Plan, a $2.2 billion improvement plan that gave the city new public facilities and other amenities. He also created the Preservation Project, a massive land conservation program giving Jacksonville the distinction of having the largest urban park system in the United States. Prior to that, he served as the chief assistant state attorney, the number two prosecutor for Northeast Florida and as the general counsel for the City of Jacksonville.

As UNF President, John A. Delaney oversees a campus of more than 16,000 students, 600 faculty and more than 1,000 staff. The 1,381 acre campus in Northeast Florida is considered a driver in the region, with an annual economic impact of nearly $1 billion. Under his direction, UNF reaffirmed its commitment to students, by offering individualized attention and offering transformational learning opportunities.

Delaney is considered UNF’s chief fundraiser, nearly doubling the university’s privately funded endowment. In April 2013, the Power of Transformation campaign exceeded its goal, raising more than $130 million. The campaign was publicly launched in 2009 with an ambitious goal of $110 million. His presidency continues a distinguished career as a public servant. Delaney has also served on numerous non-profit and corporate boards. He and his wife Gena have four children and twin grandsons.

John explains why the Human Rights Ordinance in the city of Jacksonville is important, not only to him, but to the city of Jacksonville: “If we want a strong workforce and a strong educational system, we need to recognize the rights and contributions of LGBT individuals in the workplace and throughout society.  It’s the smart thing to do as well as the ethically and morally right course to follow.”