David Fishback's Blog: Temple Emanuel's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Shabbat Service

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Temple Emanuel's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Shabbat Service

Thank you to ACLU-MD Public Policy Director Toni Holness for her terrific presentation last night at Temple Emanuel's annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Shabbat Service. The ACLU's Statewide Priorities for 2020 ( https://www.aclu-md.org/sites/default/files/statewidepriortities_onepager_dec2019.pdf.) will help us get closer to the Beloved Community envisioned by Dr. King.

UPDATE: On Jan. 29, The Washington Jewish Week published this report on Toni’s presentation. https://washingtonjewishweek.com/63763/at-temple-emanuel-learning-in-order-to-do/editorial-opinion/

We were so happy to have former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher join us. And thank you to Cantor Lindsay and to all the members of the Congregation who made it a memorable evening.

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David S. Fishback, a retired attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, is Advocacy Chair for the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). His involvement in social justice efforts began as a college student in the 1960s, when he ran a tutoring program in Washington, DC. Following a year as a VISTA volunteer at a prison in Memphis, TN, he went to Harvard Law School and worked on Democratic Party reform issues.

After graduation, he joined the Office of General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. In 1983, David went to the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, where he litigated environmental tort matters, most notably the government's successful defense against lawsuits brought by asbestos product and Agent Orange manufacturers, who were seeking to shift their tort liability to the federal taxpayers.

In 1984, David became co-president of the PTA at a magnet integration primary school in Silver Spring, MD, beginning his efforts as an education activist in Montgomery County. He began advocating for LGBTQ youth in 2002 when he was appointed to the County Board of Education's Citizens Advisory Committee on sexuality education issues. During his time as chair of that committee and later through PFLAG, he was integrally involved in the ultimately successful effort to bring intelligent discussion of LGBTQ topics into the secondary school health curriculum and guidance offices.

A past member of the Temple Emanuel of Kensington MD Board of Trustees, David and his wife Bobbi co-founded and co-chaired (from 2002 to 2019) the Temple's Kulanu Committee for LGBTQ outreach. He is also a long-time member of the Temple's Social Action Council. In 2020, David was appointed to the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism.