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.
I’ve spent my career largely in public service, most recently as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. And having grown up with little Jewish background, for most of my life, if you had asked me what Judaism meant to me, I would have said something like, “working for social justice is how I do …
This week, the world is watching as the Burmese State (Myanmar) stands accused of crimes of genocide against the Rohingya people, a religious and ethnic minority in Burma persecuted because of their identity. I had the privilege of joining several AJWS Rohingya allies and grantees to bear witness to this historic trial. The Gambia has …
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving at a time of climate crisis, I am pausing to share my gratitude to Indigenous Peoples and others around the world who live close to nature, care for the earth and battle climate change. Through my travels for AJWS, I have been fortunate to meet, break bread with and …
This week’s Torah portion, known by its first word “Vayyera,” or, “And (God) appeared,” is unusually rich in developing the character of our ancestors Abraham and Sarah, and the nature of our relationship with God. Early in the Torah, some 19 verses into Genesis Chapter 18, God expresses that because there is to be a …
When Vaishali Sen was 9 years old, she loved to watch “Indian Idol.” Like its American counterpart, the show featured amateur singers hoping to launch their careers. Secretly, Vaishali wanted to do the same. She’d always loved to sing. But in her rural village in Rajasthan, India, good girls weren’t supposed to dream big. They …
