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.
1. The recent floods in Thailand have been the worst the country has experienced in seven decades. The floods have claimed over 600 lives since July when the water began traveling from the north of the country, submerging agricultural and industrial areas before drowning Bangkok in October. Damages have been estimated to reach 300 billion …
In modern-day America, Thanksgiving is not usually about thanks. It is about food. Families come for the turkey, the pumpkin pie, the cranberry sauce and the company. If there is a time for reflection, it takes second billing to football, chatting and dessert. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But what if we made …
This month, in the Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi began India’s independence movement, AJWS’s World Partners Fellows begin their own journey of study and service in India. In a setting of simple living, fellows explore the mutual roots of Jewish belief and concepts of justice, human rights and service. Using AJWS’s curriculum, Live the Questions, fellows …
Following on the heels of the Akeidah, the near-sacrifice of Isaac, Parshat Chayei Sarah (“Sarah’s Life”), opens by immediately announcing her death. Although a connection to the previous narrative is not explicit, many commentators link Sarah’s sudden passing to the Akeidah, imagining that the emotional shock of hearing the news literally kills her. Rashi expands …
President of Liberia and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was just re-elected for a second term of office. But her victory, described as “a boon for women,” was fraught with controversy. Sirleaf’s opponent, Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party, boycotted the election run-off, citing alleged irregularities and systematic …
