Get to Know AJWS
Watch our video to learn how AJWS is supporting people around the world who are fighting to improve millions of lives.
Stories
Popular Story Collections
Take a deeper look at our stories from around the world.
41 stories
Video
Watch our videos to learn how AJWS is supporting people around the world who are fighting to improve the lives of millions.
22 stories
Sexual Health and Rights
We support women, girls and LGBTQI+ people, as they organize to end discrimination, stop violence and live with dignity, safety and health.
8 stories
Ruth Messinger
A tribute to a truly extraordinary leader, AJWS’s former President and its first Global Ambassador.
63 stories
Robert Bank
Get to know Robert Bank! Robert joined AJWS in 2009 as our Executive Vice President. As of July 1, 2016, Robert became the President and CEO of AJWS.
14 stories
Photos
A look at the work we do to end poverty and promote human rights in the developing world.
23 stories
Land Water and Climate Justice
We aid communities and movements organizing to protect the land, water and natural resources that people depend on for their survival.
14 stories
Ending Child Marriage
Each year, 15 million girls worldwide are married before the age of 18—sometimes against their will. AJWS supports efforts to end child marriage by bringing girls and young women together to define their own futures.
21 stories
Civil and Political Rights
We aid communities and movements that speak out against injustice, hold governments accountable to respect the rights of all people, and work to recover from civil wars and other conflicts.
4 stories
Activists Up Close
Witness social change up close through these videos from around the globe. You'll watch a day in the life of an activist AJWS supports and learn how they change lives and build social movements for justice.
27 stories
30 at 30
In celebration of AJWS’s 30th anniversary, we profiled 30 global leaders who have partnered with AJWS to build a better world.
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Building a Better World: American Jewish World Service
Learn how AJWS is supporting people around the world who are fighting to improve the lives of millions. No matter where we live, what we do, or who we are, we can all repair the world.
Indigenous communities defend their land and way of life
Indigenous communities work together to defend their land and way of life. In Guatemala, indigenous people whose families have lived and farmed in one place for generations are now facing rapid encroachment on their land and way of life. Many Mayan communities lack official land titles, despite obvious historic and cultural ties to their land. …
Ruth Messinger on Disaster Relief
“Who is wise? One who learns from all people.” So teaches a passage in Pirkei Avot, an ancient collection of Jewish texts. I’m reminded of this insight’s relevance today when I see how governments and international organizations are responding to disasters—those that strike thousands of miles away and those that hit close to home in New York City.
Ruth Messinger on Darfur
As the President of American Jewish World Service, I went to Sudan and Chad. I met a woman there who had fled her home with newborn twins after her uncle and brother were murdered in front of her. I met a teacher who led his students and their families through the desert and across the border, seeking refuge from destruction.
Ruth Messinger on Civil Rights
As is true for many in my generation, the civil rights movement was a formative part of my Jewish and American identities. In 1965, my mother Marjorie Wyler participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery, as did her colleague Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel—an iconic Jewish thinker who marched arm-in-arm with Martin Luther King, Jr. and who likened civil rights activism to “praying with my feet.”
Ruth Messinger’s Story
Ruth Messinger’s dedication to social justice runs deep. “I feel like I’ve been an activist my whole life.”