Following the success of the First International Conference on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community, held this past July in Baltimore, MD, JWI is planning the next conference for March 20-23, 2005 in Washington, DC. To become a sponsor, contact JWI Executive Director Loribeth Weinstein at 1.800.343.2823 or lori@jwi.org. Keep an eye on www.jwicalltoaction.org for updates on the conference and other sponsor and speaker opportunities!

In an effort to build on the energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to combat domestic abuse that was generated by the July conference, JWI is creating the CALL TO ACTION NATIONAL NETWORK™, a virtual community forum that will both provide technical assistance and support the important work you are doing in your communities. Over the course of the next year leading up to the 2nd International Conference, the CALL TO ACTION NATIONAL NETWORK™ will hold a series of eight 90 minute facilitated conference calls. Each call will include technical assistance and training, and time for questions and answers.

For more information on becoming a part of the CALL TO ACTION NATIONAL NETWORK™, contact Deborah Rosenbloom @drosenbloom@jwi.org

The final stages of JWI’s domestic violence Needs Assessment project are now underway: We will unveil both the National Needs Assessment and the Chicago community-based Needs Assessment in March 2004 through a series of press conferences, press releases, key roundtables and conference call briefings.

Family abuse of people with disabilities prompted the UJA-Federation of New York Task Force on Family Violence and the Task Force on People with Disabilities to sponsor Critical Connections Between Family Violence and Disabilities, a full day training session on November 18, 2003.

A Woman’s Place, Bucks County’s domestic violence agency, held its annual Candlelight Vigil and Domestic Violence Awareness Day in Doylestown, PA this fall.

"SAVING BEAUTY FROM THE BEAST: How to Protect Your Daughter From an Unhealthy Relationship" (Little, Brown 2003) has been chosen as a finalist in the Relationship category for the Books for a Better Life Awards.

In less than two years, the Task Force on Domestic Abuse in the Chicago Jewish Community has blossomed to over 30 members representing more than 15 organizations.

Rachel Coalition – a partnership of ten northern New Jersey organizations responding to domestic violence – is holding its 4th annual Run for Rachel on Sunday, May 23 in Livingston, NJ.

Jewish Women's Aid and WIZO in the UK held a joint event in London on November 25th, the UN International Day to Stop Violence Against Women.

The Jewish Family and Children's Service of Pittsburgh, PA, helped to develop and provide leadership for a community task force whose mission is to heighten awareness of domestic abuse in the Jewish community.

More than 100 Project Kesher groups across Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Kazakhstan recently participated in "16 Days to End Domestic Violence," an international campaign to end violence.

The mission of NCJW's Teen Dating Violence Program is now being strengthened by a new video, which will accompany the highly acclaimed project into high schools in the Essex County, NJ area.

Project S.A.R.A.H. (Stop Abusive Relations At Home), the New Jersey Statewide domestic violence program based in the JFS of Clifton/Passaic, reports a number of successful recent programs:

JFS has been partnering with CHANA (Counseling, Helpline,& Aid Network for Abused Women) and the House of Ruth in Baltimore to provide a range of services to abused women in the Jewish community.

CHAI/JFS puts JWI's Call to Action into practice with a string of anti-DV activities following the First International Conference on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community.

A poll released by a women's advocacy group says worries about domestic violence and sexual assault come in way ahead of preserving abortion rights.

Health educator, consultant, social worker, actress and JWI board member Hedda Matza-Haughton gave two presentations at JWI Canada's National Conference, "JWI--A Force For Social Change," in Toronto this past fall.

Project SARAH of Princeton Mercer Bucks, organized out of the Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Mercer County (Princeton, NJ) successfully ran SARAH'S TENT II: A Day of Jewish Learning For Women By Women.