My vivid Passover memories from childhood have stayed with me through my entire life, inspiring me to fight for freedom and dignity for all people, everywhere. When I was growing up, our whole family looked forward to celebrating Passover with each other. We would cram together—at least 30 people—at my aunt and uncle’s small apartment …
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The treatment of children on our southern border has many Americans asking—“Why?” Why are so many children being separated from their families, kept in detention and treated like criminals? How could 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo and 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, both from Guatemala, have died in our custody? On our watch?
Read More Edgar Pérez Archila is an expert in righting wrongs. As a human rights attorney and director of the human rights law firm Bufete Jurídico de Derechos Huamnos de Guatemala (The Law Office of Human Rights in Guatemala), he and his team defend fellow Guatemalans from egregious abuses. He has represented survivors of genocide seeking convictions …
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Just recently, the New York Times shared the tragic story of Donelda Pulex Castellanos, whose 6-year-old daughter was held in an immigration detention center for two months. Castellanos and her daughter were then reunited and abruptly deported back to their home in Santa Rosa de Lima, a poor rural municipality in Guatemala.[1] The article reminded …
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The Torah teaches: “If you see a donkey of someone you hate struggling with its burden, and you are hesitant to help that person—you must help that person.”
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The Torah teaches: “If you see a donkey of someone you hate struggling with its burden, and you are hesitant to help that person—you must help that person.”
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Jewish liturgy encourages us to think intergenerationally. Every day the traditional prayers proclaim “L’dor vador,” from generation to generation. And each holiday, when we recite the divine attributes (from Exodus 34:6-7), we hear God’s concern for how our actions impact the third, fourth, and even thousandth generation. Four generations from now, or about a century, is …
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Just Thought is a series of essays from AJWS applying Jewish wisdom to the pursuit of tikkun olam today. Drawing upon Jewish history, Torah sources and the latest headlines, we plumb pressing questions about human rights and global justice from a Jewish perspective through monthly essays by noted scholars, activists and AJWS staff. We like to …
Read More Just Thought is a series of essays from AJWS applying Jewish wisdom to the pursuit of tikkun olam today. Drawing upon Jewish history, Torah sources and the latest headlines, we plumb pressing questions about human rights and global justice from a Jewish perspective through monthly essays by noted scholars, activists and AJWS staff. Last month, …
Read More Just Thought is a series of essays from AJWS applying Jewish wisdom to the pursuit of tikkun olam today. Drawing upon Jewish history, Torah sources and the latest headlines, we plumb pressing questions about human rights and global justice from a Jewish perspective through monthly essays by noted scholars, activists and AJWS staff. I was …
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