Temple Hillel B'nai Torah

HBT SUPPORTS GBIO DE-ICE CITIZENS BANK CAMPAIGN 

GBIO has a campaign to pressure Citizens Bank to stop financing private prisons and ICE detention centers. Activists are targeting the bank’s role as a major financial partner for for-profit prison operators like CoreCivic and GEO Group.  They point out that other large national banks, not known for social activism (Bank of America and Wells Fargo for just two examples) have decided not to do business with these two for-profit prison companies.

Key Aspects of the Campaign:

●        Target: Citizens Bank's financial relationships with private prison companies that are currently building detention centers for aliens seized by ICE.

●        Long Term Goal: Force the bank to end its role as a key financial backer of companies operating immigration detention centers.

●        Short Term Goal: Get a meeting with decision-makers of Citizens Bank.

●        Action: GBIO and allied, faith-based congregations are protesting, educating through teach-ins, and auditing their own Citizens accounts to put pressure on the bank.  Broadly speaking, the action is to see how much money we have under the control of GBIO, it's member institutions, and the congregants of those member institutions is in Citizens Bank; and then to threaten to withdraw those funds if Citizens does not stop funding CoreCivic and Geo Group.

Explanation of Action Strategy:

GBIO is engaging in a four-stage approach that escalates from stage to stage with different levels of activity as the campaign progresses.  Stage 1 was holding informational meetings with interested groups, signing people on to the campaign, counting our money with Citizen's Bank, and pledging to withdraw it.  Stage 2 commenced when we withdrew $1 million from Citizens Bank.  We currently have roughly $18 million pledged for withdrawal.  Our goal is to control $20 million in deposits.

We’re now in Stage 2, escalating with more public action, more pledges, more informational meetings, and more institutions signing on.  Stage 2 ends on July 4th when we are planning a Citizens Assembly to publicize our progress and bring more public heat, withdrawing $2 million if our demands have not been met by then.  Stage 3 runs through Labor Day.  We begin our final stage then.  Our campaign ends sometime in the fall with the full withdrawal of funds if our demands have not been met.

We’ve received quite a bit of good press attention.  

Clip from WGBH. 

Article in The Bay State Banner weekly:

Column from the Boston Globe (There’s a pay wall, so you may not be able to read it):

Next Steps for interested parties: 

GBIO is encouraging all institutions interested in participating in this campaign to have a conversation with a leader from a GBIO institution, and to hold a teach-in for their congregation/group.  Though we have been focused entirely on institutions in the Greater Boston area, part of Stage 2 is to expand geographically – as Citizens has banks in many other states.  Toward that end, we are happy to talk with someone at an affiliated shul, union, or other organization. 

TIKKUN OLAM – SOCIAL ACTION

Justice, Justice Shall you pursue (Deuteronomy)

At HBT, we bring our energy and commitment to stand up for social, racial and economic justice to make a better world for our families, our communities and around the globe. The Tikkun Olam Committee responds to concerns by members and initiatives raised by other Jewish and Greater Boston organizations. We step up to help pursue voting rights, criminal justice reform, racial justice, women’s reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and immigrant needs through: 

• Education

• Legislative advocacy at the state and federal levels 

• Rallies and public forums 

2024 Protect our Democracy/ Protect the Vote

There is an  urgent need to protect our democracy and voting rights.  Current Supreme Court decisions have put our democracy in greater jeopardy.  We partner with the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) and other voting rights groups to promote voter empowerment and fair elections, overcoming voter suppression and misinformation.  HBT’s “Democracy Warriors” are writing letters to boost turn-out for progressive policies in 2024. We are also joining JALSA’s campaign to oppose the Heritage Foundation Project 2025–an aggressive blueprint to fundamentally alter our country’s future and overturn long-standing government protections. Some of our members join phonebanking sessions speaking directly to voters and hearing their concerns. This work is transformative and directly engages in the democratic process.

Learn about one member’s fight for voting rights.