Two years ago on June 29, 2009, in the middle of the night, Honduras’s democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped at gunpoint in a military coup d’état and sent to neighboring Costa Rica. Before his ousting, Zelaya planned to follow through on a public referendum to reform the Constitution by extending the maximum term …
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Originally posted on Gender Across Borders: A Global Feminist Blog. Last February, I sat across from 50 Ugandan prostitutes who sought my legal advice. They wanted me to get the police to stop raping them. I was the legal consultant at Platform for Labour Action (PLA), a Ugandan non-governmental organization that provides marginalized workers with free …
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Originally posted on Pursue: Action for a Just World. “Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in love with the place and can’t live without her. Africa is the only continent you can love… Be sure to leave the strong impression …
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A specter of violence and conflict hangs over Parshat Balak. Fearing attack by the approaching Israelite nation, Balak, king of Moab, hires the prophet Bilaam to curse the Israelites. Balak entreats Bilaam: “come then, put a curse upon this people for me, since they are too numerous for me… for I know that he whom …
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This series on storytelling for justice is guest edited by Deji Olukotun. AJWS’s grants department supports organizations in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Most grant recipients are marginalized people struggling to realize their human rights related to natural resources, health, self-determination or sexual diversity. These groups have been denied the ability to tell their own …
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We read in Parshat Chukkat about the death of Miriam: “Miriam died and she was buried there. There was no water for the assembly, and [the Children of Israel] gathered against Moshe and Aharon.” This odd and disjointed sequence of verses is puzzling, and leads the Talmud to connect Miriam’s death with the disappearance of …
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“…and we argued passionately but always rested assured that our arguments were indeed ‘for the sake of heaven.’” These words, used to close the graduation ceremony for my cohort from Brandeis University’s Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program, struck me as especially thought provoking. The quote references a passage in Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the …
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Today we’re kicking off “Text with Texture”—a new weekly blog series (featured on Tuesdays) that explores the rich and textured material found in On1Foot in connection with what’s happening in our world today. So, let’s get started! It feels like the last couple of years have been marked by a progression of horrible natural disasters—the …
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Pursue is very pleased to announce that we are offering partial scholarships for the Hazon Food Conference to participants interested in developing their leadership and networks in food justice work and activism. Scholarships are competitive and needs based. Recipients will be responsible for room and board but can apply to cover up to 100% of registration …
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Sixty years have passed since the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was adopted, but refugees across the globe still face insecurity and uncertainty. As I write this, a new refugee crisis is forming on the Burma-China border.
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