By Marya Axner

Reprinted from the Jewish Journal, April 11th

Puah and Shifrah are my two favorite characters in the Passover story, and they have a particular relevance to my work at the New England Jewish Labor Committee.

In the Passover story, Pharoah feels threatened by the Jewish people in his land. He decides there are too many of them, and he sets a policy of decreasing their numbers. He orders the Egyptian midwives to kill every Jewish male child that is born. Puah and Shifrah, two midwives, refuse to go along with the Pharaoh’s orders. They say it is impossible to carry them out because the Jewish women have their babies quickly, before they can arrive.

Puah and Shifrah have chosen the role of being allies. Allies are people who are not directly targeted by an oppressive ruler or oppressive society, but choose to take a stand on behalf of others who are being targeted.

We have all experienced what it is like to be treated badly. We are targeted at some point in our lives, or throughout our lives, as working people, people of color, women, Jews, young people, LGBT people, differently-abled people, and all the other groups I haven’t mentioned. And at the same time, we are members of groups that are not directly targeted. We have a choice as to whether we want to be allies, bystanders, or whether we want to carry out the orders of the oppressive rulers.

What was it like for Shifrah and Puah to go against the Pharoah’s orders? They took some risk. Did they trust each other enough not to turn each other in? They decided not to go along with the lies of an oppressive society, but instead, turned their hearts, minds and whole beings against the force of oppression. They had to look into themselves and decide it was more important not to sell out their own humanity. In doing so, they were standing up for themselves, as well as for the Jews.

In my position at the New England Jewish Labor Committee, I am lucky to work with the Jewish community to stand up for all workers — Jewish or not.

I have the privilege of being an ally. And as a Jew and a worker, I know what it is like to depend on allies. In Albania, Bulgaria and Denmark, Jews were saved by allies during World War II. In the Chicago neighborhood where I grew up, most of our neighbors told their children not to play with my brother, sister and me because we were Jewish. However, one family who lived next door broke from the neighborhood code and befriended us. This meant everything to my family.

If we can all figure out how to be allies, we could turn this society around in short order. We could change everything.

Marya Axner is the Regional Director of the New England Jewish Labor Committee.

By Joanne Goldstein

I feel so fortunate to be able to have a career that combines my Jewish values with my commitment to economic and social justice. I began as the first female union-side labor lawyer in Boston.  I knew I had the job when I received my interview reimbursement check with the memo line: “girl to be hired.” For so many years I represented and fought for working people, initially as a lawyer for local unions and employees and then as General Counsel for a national union. Seven years ago I entered state government as chief of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Fair Labor Division and, most recently, as the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development under Governor Deval Patrick for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  I will shortly move on to a new and exciting opportunity—at Northeastern University as Associate Vice President for Workforce Development and Employer Engagement.  There I will focus on employability of college graduates, to help insure that the next generation has meaningful, family sustainable employment as well as a superb education. 

How did I take this pathway? I come to it naturally. The answer is embedded in my family background--in its Judaism, its politics and its culture. My father was a student activist in New York City during his younger years and deep into their old age I knew some of his fellow activists. Amidst unprecedented social dislocation and gathering foreign storm clouds they fought for a fairer, more compassionate America.  He was also a proud, committed Jew. My mother helped Jewish refugees from Egypt and, later, immigrants from the USSR.  She volunteered tirelessly for the National Council of Jewish Women and instilled in her children the ethic to count our blessings and make sure to give back.

We were a fully engaged Jewish household.  When we celebrated Passover and Hanukkah, we stressed their lessons of freedom and justice for all.  On Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) when we prayed for forgiveness, we included the sins of overweening pride, covetousness and indifference.

I was also a child of the ‘60’s, of that singular era of social, political and cultural revolt in American life, largely fueled by African-Americans of all ages and by the youth of various races and backgrounds.  In that milieu I learned my labor history and the importance of unions.  I learned “who gave us the weekend.”  I learned that you have to struggle to bring about racial, social and economic justice.  I learned not long after that, when I appeared in court for my clients, that it was not acceptable to me when judges called me “honey” from the bench.

I married a man who had parallel beliefs and passions, who shared in taking care of our kids and the house so I could pursue my passions.  He carried our kids on his shoulders to visit me on the picket lines so they could see what a just struggle is and what their mother was all about.

I know that the Jewish Labor Committee was in Roosevelt’s Democratic coalition and how it contributed to electing President John F. Kennedy.  I heard about its effectiveness – comparable or even greater than that of other, larger Jewish organizations – in trying to save Jews from the Nazis.  I learned of its longtime relationships with unions and social justice organizations.  I learned to respect the JLC and to cherish its existence. I have been a member for decades.

The labor movement is one of the institutions in our society that can look beyond its own self-interest and work for the common good.  Here in Massachusetts, I was gratified serve as Labor Secretary to safeguard the place of unions at the table during times of governmental and economic reform. Unions are still built on integrity, community and a willingness to provide a voice for those without one.

How gratifying that my Judaism has provided me with the value system and the platform to pursue a career consistent with those values and beliefs, and to live an honorable life.  

Joanne Goldstein is the Former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development for the State of Massachusetts.  A Massachusetts native, she has spent her entire professional career fighting for the interests of working men and women across the Commonwealth and the nation. She is currently working for at Northeastern University as Associate Vice-President of Workforce Development and Employer Engagement in the College of Professional Studies.