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.
Echoes of Sinai: How can an ancient text inform global issues today?
This week, we celebrate Simchat Torah and begin the cycle of Torah readings anew. Many Jews know the Torah as the scroll that they read weekly in synagogue. But in the rabbinic tradition, “Torah” means much more than that.
No One Should Live in a Sukkah Year-Round
On Rosh HaShanah, Hurricane Matthew hammered Haiti and the Dominican Republic, leaving behind a new trail of destruction on an island still reeling from the earthquake of 2010. Now, as we celebrate Sukkot—a time when we contemplate fragility, shelter, and resilience—I’m thinking about the people of Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere, who have endured unimaginable destruction.
#18Words Gives Me Hope in the New Year
With the worldwide wave of hate and intolerance and the devastation left behind by Hurricane Matthew weighing on my mind, I celebrated the High Holy Days with a renewed commitment to tikkun olam.
Riding for their Rights
After months of planning, it wasn’t clear whether Awaaz-e-Niswaan’s bicycle rally was going to happen. More than 70 teenage girls waited near a busy Mumbai intersection, fanning themselves every so often in a vain attempt to stave off the afternoon heat.