ajwsstaff

AJWS Staff


It’s been five years since Haiti’s earthquake. And the ‘redevelopment’ hasn’t been about helping Haitians.

Originally published in The Washington Post. Five years ago this month, a terrible earthquake struck my country. I was in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, when suddenly the earth shook and buildings around me and across the city collapsed—taking with them hundreds of thousands of lives and the hopes of my nation. The world stood with …

Read More

Human Rights in 2014: Our End-of-Year Top 10

As 2014 comes to an end, we’re reflecting on a year with both progress and setbacks for human rights around the globe. Read our round-up of our top 10 human rights events in 2014. 1. Ebola devastates West Africa As undoubtedly the largest public health crisis in 2014, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has …

Read More

A Message from Cynthia Nixon

  I’m Cynthia Nixon. As an actor, I’ve played the roles of many different women—from Juliet to Miranda Hobbes to Eleanor Roosevelt. I love bringing the stories and struggles of women to life, on the stage and on the screen. It’s a tremendous pleasure and privilege. Yet, there are millions of women all over the globe whose stories are never told on the world stage. These women suffer many forms of discrimination. They are victimized by sexual violence. And when they raise their voices in protest, too often they …

Read More

Dvar Tzedek: Parashat Bereshit 5775

On the subway the other day, my four-year-old daughter piped up with the observation, “There are more white people than brown people on the train today.” I was immediately discomfited, looking around to see if anyone had heard and then probing to see if her comment had any valence beyond the simple truth that there …

Read More

Why Yom Kippur Tells Us To Fight Ebola

Originally published in The Jewish Daily Forward. As Jews around the world prepare for Yom Kippur — a day when we pray to be “sealed in the Book of Life” for the year to come — the people of West Africa are struggling to save the lives of their loved ones from the Ebola outbreak, …

Read More

Meet the 2014 AJWS New York City Marathon Team

On November 2nd, AJWS’s mighty marathon team will embark on a journey that will test their physical and mental strength: 26.2 miles! Inspired by the Jewish commitment to justice, these 15 runners have already spent months tirelessly training to run the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. In addition to training for the race, the …

Read More