Let’s Secure a Safe Jewish Future for Generations to Come

CAN is a grassroots community initiative whose goal is to make a difference through education and by offering support to several antisemitism specific projects. CAN collaborates with all the major professional organizations and other grassroots community initiatives in the spirit of civic engagement and plays a complementary role as we combat antisemitism in our schools, on our university campuses & in our communities.

CAN has established a 501(c)(3) fund housed at SD Jewish Community Foundation, allowing for tax deductible donations. To date CAN has provided support to the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for their symposium on antisemitism, Hillel to provide armed guards to protect students attending the Hillel Center, and other grassroots organizations combating antisemitism.

Can supports the following organizations and programs:

1. The Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (https://jilv.org/) an organization that takes a delegation of civic members, including superintendents, district curriculum developers, and classroom teachers on a trip to Israel. Educators and policymakers need to understand the diversity, complexity, and dynamism of the Jewish and Israeli experience.

PEER K-12 was recently honored in Washington, D.C. Tamar Caspi, Nicole Bernstein and Evie Schwartz engaged directly with top government officials to tackle antisemitism in K-12. They brainstormed solutions with key players, like the chair and members of the House Education Committee, to address the biased curriculum stemming from an Ethnic Studies framework. There is an urgent need for better teacher training and accountability measures. PEER K-12 is ready to do this work.

1. A public relations campaign in collaboration with other San Diego Jewish Organizations to share the truth about the history of the Jewish People, who we are, our contributions to society, and our several thousand-year history in Israel. We must reach out to non-Jewish members of our community, educate them about the truth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and dispel all the misinformation promoted by our adversaries.
2. Supporting Hillel in hosting Mosab Hassan Yousef, “Son of Hamas.” UCSD Tritons for Israel through Hillel of San Diego are in the process of having Mosab speak in San Diego. He is the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yosef. He was an Israeli undercover agent for 10 years, now in USA since 2007. He advocates for Israel’s right to defend itself and speaks up about the horrors of Hamas. He’s a perfect fit for UCSD’s Israel Week, to motivate Jewish students combatting antisemitism on campus.
3. American Jewish Medical Association (AJMA) was founded by Dr Yael Halaas, a plastic surgeon from New York. AJMA is a non-political, non-profit organization of Jewish healthcare professionals. Their mission is to be a safe, enriching community with a unified voice for all Jewish healthcare workers & prevent antisemitism from making medical workplaces unsafe for Jewish doctors.

We are a small but vibrant and strong community living in precarious times. History will judge our actions today as to whether we are able to preserve a safe Jewish future for the next generations.

To learn more, contact Franklin Gaylis & Pamela Nathan, co-founders at cantakesaction@gmail.com. To make donations directly through the Jewish Community Foundation, visit https://jcfsandiego.org/individuals-families/contribute-to-a-fund/.