The fellows include seven rabbis and one cantor who will travel to the Dominican Republic to meet grassroots activists and later to Washington, D.C. to advocate for U.S. foreign policies that champion human rights in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the leading Jewish organization committed to promoting global human rights and ending poverty, will welcome eight clergy from around the nation to its 2025 Global Justice Fellowship.
The fellows, who include seven rabbis and one cantor from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and identities, were selected for their visionary leadership in their respective communities and their deep commitment to international human rights.
“With escalating threats to human rights everywhere, announcing the next cohort of AJWS’s Global Justice Fellowship could not have come at a more critical time. Now, more than any other moment in recent history, we need a strong chorus of voices calling out injustice and demanding fairness,” said AJWS President and CEO Robert Bank. “This is an impressive group of faith leaders with the unique capacity to inspire. We are honored they will help strengthen the fight for the rights of marginalized communities around the world.”
The Global Justice Fellowship is designed to inspire, educate, and train American Jewish clergy as national advocates for global human rights. The Fellowship, which resumes after a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19, includes an educational trip to the Dominican Republic in late February. Fellows will meet and learn from grassroots activists leading the fight in their communities for equality and freedoms.
The visit comes mere weeks after the Trump Administration halted nearly all U.S. foreign aid — funds used to build hospitals and schools, fight poverty, provide lifesaving health care, and support communities struck by natural disasters. On the same day the freeze was announced, the administration re-instituted the Global Gag Rule, a policy that denies funding to any overseas organization that counsels patients on or provides abortions, even with their own resources.
In the Dominican Republic, where the clergy will travel, these reckless decisions threaten to exacerbate human rights violations against Haitian migrants, Dominicans of Haitian descent and Black Dominicans. The government has been unlawfully raiding homes, detaining and deporting people (even those legally allowed to be in the country), including breastfeeding mothers and unaccompanied minors. And all this while violent gangs continue to terrorize neighboring Haiti, a nation grappling with unrelenting political instability.
Through interviews, site visits, and informational sessions, fellows will gain an in-depth understanding of the complex challenges facing Dominicans of Haitian descent, who remain stateless following a 2013 court ruling that removed their citizenship.
In the weeks following the educational trip, Global Justice Fellows will take part in advocacy and media training sessions. Fellows will then travel to Washington, D.C. during the first week of April and meet with elected officials on Capitol Hill to advocate for U.S. policies that directly affect AJWS partners in the Global South, including the political situation in Haiti and the recently reintroduced Global HER Act, which would permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule.
“Our Jewish values compel us to speak out against oppression and inequality. As clergy, we have unique power because elected leaders listen to us, even when they don’t agree with everything that we are saying,” said Rabbi Elizabeth Richman, AJWS’s Associate Director for Jewish Engagement and Advocacy. “As we learn about reckless U.S. foreign policy decisions that are hurting communities worldwide and needlessly costing lives, we have to take action and speak out as moral leaders.”
The 2025 Global Justice Fellows are:
Rabbi Julia Andelman, (former) Jewish Theological Seminary, Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Jonathan Berkun, Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, Aventura, FL
Cantor Jason Kaufman, Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Alexandria, VA
Rabbi Sandra Lawson, Reconstructing Judaism, Burlington, NC
Rabbi Lydia Medwin, The Temple, Decatur, GA
Rabbi Robin Nafshi, Temple Beth Jacob, Concord, NH
Rabba Rori Picker Neiss, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp, Judaism Unbound, Cincinnati, OH
For More Information
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