The IJLB's Provisional Steering Committee: Bund Bulletin #1

Editor's note: This is the republication of the first Bund Bulletin, the newsletter written by the International Jewish Labor Bund's (IJLB) Provisional Steering Committee (PSC). Der Spekter is an independent outlet and does not represent the IJLB. To get updates from the Bund Bulletin, please fill out the IJLB's intake form.

(15 November 2024)

Dear Bundists,

After many months of delay, the Provisional Steering Committee (PSC) of the International Jewish Labor Bund has been elected and certified. This finally allows for decisions to be undertaken by an elected accountable body with a defined mandate to begin building democratic structures for our movement over the next 3 months.

Following the certification of the results, the PSC held its first official meeting. All meeting action points and resolutions adopted by the PSC can be found in this folder on the IJLB Google Drive. We plan to meet weekly, while maintaining contact at all times between. If you have any questions regarding what we are up to, please feel free to message any of us or send an email to psc@jewishbund.org and we promise to respond within 24 hours.

Rebuilding the Bund as an effective organization that can meet this moment of immense crisis can not be accomplished by a handful of organizers from above. THE BUND NEEDS YOU. As outlined in our meetings on June 16 and September 15, 2024 (the latter being when Resolution #1 was adopted) we have decided to organize six committees which we want your help building:

- Administration

- Communications

- Ideology & Education

- Local Development

- Membership & Onboarding

- Moderation & Mediation

We also encourage you to get involved in building your own local Bundist organization. Thus far, these have been initiated in: Krakow, NYC, Binghamton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, DMV (D.C.,Maryland,Virginia), the Carolinas, Towson University, Chicago, Montana, New Mexico, Golden Gate/Norcal, SoCal, and Bellingham. These are autonomous organizational efforts that have an as-yet undefined relationship to the democratic leadership structures we are building. We are currently engaging with local organizers to plan the first official meeting of our Local Development Committee, which will be a key point of interconnection as we build up our organization’s structures. Whether you live near an existing local effort or not, we hope you’ll stay connected and do not hesitate to reach out to us or your nearest local to explore how you can get involved. If you aren’t sure how to contact your nearest local, you can reach us at psc@jewishbund.org and we’ll be happy to help get you connected.

We are in a moment of unprecedented urgency. The world is burning and the powers that be are stoking the flames. Fascism is on the rise globally and a rogue state that claims to be the “Nation-state of the Jewish People” is currently part of its vanguard. The Jewish world needs a revived International Jewish Labor Bund to articulate and advance a positive vision for the Jewish future. It is our responsibility to organize our communities to fight with our neighbors for the liberation of all humanity from the shackles of racism, capitalism, colonialism, and all other tools of oppression.

Don't mourn. Organize!

Your PSC,

Ben (Santa Cruz, CA)

Hallie (Missoula, MT)

Maddan (New York, NY)

Zach (Kraków, Poland / Vienna, Austria)