AJWS Blog
The AJWS community has a lot to say about what's happening in the world. Read our insights about the struggle for justice and human rights around the globe — and meet the activists on the frontlines of the fight to build a better world.
Organizing, Fundraising and JOIN’s National Summit
What exactly is “organizing”? It’s a term people are using a lot more these days. From Wall Street to Tahrir Square, people are organizing for different kinds of change. But the idea of organizing from the ground up toward a common goal often makes people uncomfortable. Why is that? As a fundraiser at AJWS, I …
An Ethiopian Girl's Journey to Build a Better World
From April 19-22, AJWS staff and 25 grantees attended the AWID International Forum on Women’s Rights in Development in Istanbul, Turkey. Seventeen-year-old Naboni Etansa from Ethiopia traveled to the Forum with the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization (JeCCDO)—an AJWS grantee and a partner in the Nike Foundation’s Grassroots Girls Initiative. Below are Naboni’s reflections …
A Jew in India: Orwell Had it Wrong
Originally published in The Berkshire Jewish Voice. “It’s great that you are going to India. But why do you have to travel over there? There is so much to do for your own people here. Or in Israel.” As I boarded the British Air flight lugging my pack overflowing with antibiotics and sunscreen, this question, posed by a family …
Defending Defenders: Providing Support to Grantees at Risk
Originally posted on the Nonprofit Quarterly blog. In mid-March, following the news that Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a warlord from the DRC, had been convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), activists lauded the long-awaited verdict, calling on the ICC and the Congolese government to implement the arrest warrants of others who are …