Two Activists in “Occupy Philadelphia” Movement To Speak About Its Future at Sholom Aleichem Club Meeting

“Occupy Wall Street” created a movement across the country. Philadelphia was an involved player, but two months later, the “occupiers” in many cities have been evicted from their locations and questions abound about its effect and purpose. What were they trying to accomplish? Who do they represent? How long can they occupy? Is it true there has been no coherent message and leadership? What is Occupy’s future?

     Two activists in the “Occupy Philadelphia” demonstration, long-time labor leader Alice Hoffman, and Max Rosen-Long, who was on the local Outreach Committee, will attempt to answer some of those questions at the Sholom Aleichem Club meeting on Sunday, December 11 at the Bala Cynwyd Library, 131 Old Lancaster Road, in Bala Cynwyd. The program will begin at 2 p.m. Admission is free and the meeting is open to the public.

     Ms. Hoffman, who lives in Haverford, has worked with the leadership in “Occupy Philadelphia”. Professionally, she serves on the Board of the Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), as well as an instructor at the Comey Institute of Industrial Relations at St. Joseph’s University. Ms. Hoffman co-founded the Pennsylvania Labor History Society and has served as its Secretary and President as well as being an advisor to the Philadelphia Unemployment Project and the Education Committee of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO. She has received numerous distinguished awards including: Humanist Scholar of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council; from the United States Department of Labor for service to the people of Poland; from Pennsylvania AFL-CIO for significant contributions to the labor movement, and Philadelphia AFL-CIO Women's Committee Woman of the Year. Ms. Hoffman began her career in 1966 as an educator in the field of worker education in the Department of Labor Studies at Penn State University. 

     Mr. Rosen-Long, a graduate of Haverford College, helped the Outreach Committee to spread information and welcome new people into the movement.  He feels that the Occupy movement provides an opportunity to build dialogue about new ways to bring about change in our society.  He was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he learned about Judaism in the context of culture, community and social justice. He recently returned to West Philadelphia after 15 month of living and teaching English in Honduras, Central America.

     The Sholom Aleichem Club, a local Secular Jewish organization in its sixth decade, meets the second weekend of the month. The Club offers dynamic, stimulating and entertaining meetings dealing with Jewish culture, Secular observance of Jewish holidays, and a wide variety of current, social, cultural and international issues. Member participation is also encouraged in such groups as Peace and Social Action, Yiddish reading, and publications. Members come from throughout the Delaware Valley. The Club is affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations of North America, the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews and the Kehilla for Secular Jews of Greater Philadelphia, which includes seven Secular Jewish groups that plan joint activities such as the High Holidays observances. For more information on this meeting or the Club, please call 215-233-2668, or visit the web site: http://www.sholomaleichemclub.org.