Political satirist Al Franken to open
UJC Washington 14 Conference

Nearly 2,000 young Jewish leaders expected to convene in nation's capital March 21-23

Al Franken, best-selling author, Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, and Grammy Award-winning comedian, will address thousands of young Jewish leaders from across North America at the opening of the United Jewish Communities (UJC) Washington 14 Conference, taking place March 21-23 in the nation's capital.

Washington 14, sponsored by the UJC Young Leadership Department, attracts participants representing Jewish communities across the continent who will hear from top American, Israeli and Jewish political, media and community figures, meet other socially involved Jews and discuss critical issues affecting the Jewish community with their representatives on Capitol Hill.

The conference theme, We Can Make a Difference, underscores the power that the next generation of Jewish leaders has, collectively and individually, to create positive social and political change, and to practice tikkun olam, repair of the world.

Franken's address will incorporate his unique political observations and his connection to the Jewish community.

Franken was part of the original writing staff for NBC's Saturday Night Live.  He co-wrote the 1994 Touchstone Pictures movie When a Man Loves a Woman, and is the author of Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations (Dell, 1999); Why Not Me: The Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency (Dell, 2000); Oh, the Things I Know!: A Guide to Success, or Failing That, Happiness (Dutton, 2002); and Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (Penguin, 2003), all of which reached The New York Times bestsellers list.

"The leadership of Washington 14 is creating an energetic and experiential conference that provides participants with the know-how and inspiration to make a difference," said conference co-chair Judith T. Sydney of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and a member of the UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet.

Conference programming will include major plenary sessions, workshops and interactive breakout sessions designed to inspire and empower attendees to make a difference locally, nationally and internationally. Washington 14 sessions will focus on such issues as anti-Semitism, terrorism, Israel's image in the media, domestic violence, and social justice.

Other guest speakers include: Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to the United States; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada); Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.); Steven Emerson, award-winning author and commentator specializing in national security, terrorism and Middle East affairs; Rabbi Shoshana Gelfand, vice president and acting director of the Wexner Heritage Foundation; Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership; Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta; Dennis Prager, radio talk show host on KABC, Los Angeles; and Dr. Sabi Shabtai, internationally recognized authority on terrorism.

"Washington 14 will follow the tradition of unparalleled programming established by the previously highly successful Washington conferences, while moving in a new direction," said Washington 14 co-chair Jonathan A. Mayer of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and a member of the UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet.  "We will inspire participants while we are in Washington, and also ensure that the conference serves as a vehicle to connect attendees to their local Jewish communities and provide long-term opportunities for Jewish communal activism."

Unique to Washington 14 is a community action initiative to engage participants and make activism a priority in their lives.

"Programs before and after the conference will create hands-on experiences for conference attendees, capture their energies and passions and provide them with connections and on-going opportunities for involvement in their communities," Mayer said. "This will not only foster individual leadership and Jewish activism, but will also help build a new generation of committed activists."

These programs will engage participants in social, Jewish and political activism, Sydney said.

"The conference will provide participants with the inspiration to get involved, the tools with which to do so and an interactive experience to draw upon," Sydney said.  "In addition, Washington 14 will energize and raise the level of activism of participants, and increase their awareness of how important it is that we be responsible for the global Jewish community and those who need our care and support."

Washington 14 program and registration information is posted at www.ujc.org/w14.  The registration deadline is March 1.

United Jewish Communities (UJC) represents 156 Jewish Federations and 400 independent communities across North America. Through the UJA Federation Campaign, UJC provides life-saving and life-enhancing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and translates Jewish values into social action on behalf of millions of Jews in hundreds of communities in North America, in towns and villages throughout Israel, in the former Soviet Union, and 60 countries around the world.