We are, by nature, creatures of habit. We find comfort in things that are familiar, carving out routines that give our lives order. But repetition also leads to the curious subduing of awareness that we call “autopilot”—the feeling we get when we arrive at work having absolutely no recollection of the roads or steps we …
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As AJWS’s senior writer and editor, my job is to put AJWS’s complex work—helping marginalized people in the developing world realize their human rights—into words. I tell stories about activists around the globe, trying to bring their lives and challenges alive for AJWS supporters who’ve never met them—or who may have never seen this kind …
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Each year when we reach Parashat Dvarim I experience a rush of exhilaration when I imagine the scene: the Israelites are gathered high on the steppes of Moab, having finally reached the end of their 40-year ordeal in the desert. As they wait for Moses to deliver his final address, they look out at the expanse …
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April, May and June have unleashed a firestorm of media coverage for our grantees in Asia. Check out this roundup of the most significant stories: For the first time ever, our Burma grantees garnered tremendous media coverage in major outlets around the world. But what’s so significant about this coverage? Our grantees are speaking and …
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We have something exciting to share with you! Our brand new annual report is fresh off the proverbial press. Not only is it totally green—no paper, period!—it’s chock full of info about all of the issues that you come to this blog to read about… recovery in Haiti, promoting LGBTI rights, reversing global hunger and …
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Originally posted on The Jew and the Carrot. The issue inspiring the latest Jewish political movement won’t surprise readers of this blog—but it might cause some head scratching among the rest of the Jewish community. It isn’t Israel or the 99%. Nope, it’s… the U.S. Farm Bill! While it may seem like an unlikely target …
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Contradictions are popping up a lot around here lately: By now, you’ve likely heard AJWS say “U.S. food aid saves lives but it’s also causing more hunger.” We’re often uncomfortable with contradictions like these, and instead, crave clear messages that we can embrace: hunger is bad. Aid is good. Too bad things can’t be that …
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AJWS has been saying for a while that shipping surplus U.S. food thousands of miles to developing countries is about as useless in ending global hunger as, well, sending them our old T-shirts. According to this article in Foreign Policy Magazine, here’s a great acronym for the leftovers people send to the poor under the …
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This word cloud is a visual representation of all the text in AJWS’s new 2010 online annual report (pretty neat!). I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out the report itself, but for readers-on-the-go, enjoy this quick snapshot of AJWS’s work for global justice in 2010. As you can see (click the word cloud for more …
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Sunday’s New York Times editorial on Haiti’s refugee camps, rightly focuses on one of the most critical issues facing the hundreds of thousands of Haitians still living in Haiti’s decrepit tent settlements: rape. The editorial encourages policymakers to do something about the terrible conditions—a lack of streetlights and not enough police protection—that lead to relentless …
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