This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Ki Tetze, contains 74 interesting and illuminating commandments—including one that, at first glance, gets my hackles up: “A man’s apparel should not be on a woman, and a man should not wear a woman’s clothing, for whoever does these things is an abomination before Adonai your God.” For many of us—and …
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Why would someone who works for the American Jewish World Service attend an international meeting of sex workers? At AJWS, we support people who chose to work as sex workers by making grants to their organizations and sending volunteers to work with them. As an organization committed to realizing human rights—including access to health care, …
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Even though I live in New York, Uganda is often on my mind; especially the LGBTI Ugandan activists who are working to advance their human rights in an environment of violence, hostility and homophobia. Why do I think of Uganda and my LGBTI friends there so often? Because I work for American Jewish World Service, …
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New York, NY; August 7, 2012— American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger today issued the following statement on behalf of the staff and board of directors of the human rights organization in response to the tragic shooting at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin: A man holds his hands in prayer as he …
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Originally posted on the blog of Human Rights and HIV: Now More Than Ever and on RH Reality Check. Two years back, our Minister of Ethics and Integrity blocked a sex workers’ regional workshop that we had organized in Kampala. Because sex work is illegal in Uganda, he insisted that all our activities are illegal. He even called …
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A few weeks ago, I attended the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG) conference with several other AJWS colleagues. My first time at IHRFG, I decided 2 furiously abbr., #hashtag & @mention for 2 days str8 (AKA Live Tweet) the sessions I attended in an effort to document the fascinating conversations going on at #IHRFG2012NY. …
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Last Monday, I took part in a gathering of global change-makers. Not only did I have the incredible opportunity to attend the International AIDS Conference, but I also participated in AJWS’s “Grantee Meet and Greet” event, where close to 24 of our grantees from Africa, Asia and Latina America networked, learned together, and shared experiences …
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New York, NY; July 30, 2012— American Jewish World Service (AJWS) announced today that it has appointed Stuart Schear to serve as its Vice President for Communications. Schear brings 30 years of communications experience to AJWS, where he will direct all communications activities to advance AJWS’s global mission, inspired by Judaism’s commitment to justice, to …
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At the International AIDS Conference, I’ve been spending a lot of time in The Global Village, a space with more than 280 organizations from all over the world demonstrating their ingenuity to fight HIV and AIDS by organizing networking zones, booths, art exhibits, theatre productions and film screenings. I took a tour of The Global Village …
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SEROvie, one of the only Haitian organizations offering services to LGBT communities, wins prestigious U.N award New York, NY; July 25, 2012— American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, is proud to share that its grantee SEROvie has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Red Ribbon Award. SEROvie, along with the …
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