Twenty-four years ago, I made a promise that has shaped my life and my work ever since. My beloved partner, Eddie, a talented musician, was dying of AIDS. At the time, we felt powerless, isolated and angry. In 1992, there were no effective medical treatments and there was no hope for recovery. There was too …
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Human rights advocates from major Western nations and organizations are protesting against a United Nations decision to bar 22 LGBT-affiliated groups from taking part in a high-level U.N. AIDS conference next month. Because the 193-member U.N. General Assembly operates by consensus, the countries calling for the ban – Russia, Tanzania and 52 countries in the …
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U.N. Decision to Exclude Organizations Representing Most At-Risk Populations from the U.N. AIDS Conference Is a “Narrow-Minded Decision that Places Politics and Prejudice above Public Health and Human Rights”; AIDS Epidemic Will Not End Unless Affected Populations Have a Seat at the Table Statement by Robert Bank, Incoming President of American Jewish World Service, in …
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The headlines from almost every corner of the globe in the past few weeks have been endlessly depressing. February may be New York’s coldest month since 1934. And yet, I’m feeling rather elated because something spectacular just happened. On Friday, February 27th, AJWS President Ruth Messinger and I traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent AJWS at Secretary …
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As 2014 comes to an end, we’re reflecting on a year with both progress and setbacks for human rights around the globe. Read our round-up of our top 10 human rights events in 2014. 1. Ebola devastates West Africa As undoubtedly the largest public health crisis in 2014, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has …
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Giving as a philanthropic family with its roots in social justice
Read MoreThis week’s Dvar Tzedek was originally published in 2009. In Parashat Eikev, Moses reflects on the journey through the wilderness and prepares the Israelites for their transition into a new life of responsibility in the Promised Land. He begins, “And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that …
Read MoreAnu Mokal was four months pregnant the night policemen brutally assaulted her at a bus stop in Satara, India. They beat her so severely that she suffered a miscarriage. When she later filed a complaint against them, no investigation took place, despite the presence of witnesses. Why? Because she was a sex worker, and the …
Read MoreParashat Ki Tetze contains 74 interesting and illuminating commandments—including one that, at first glance, gets my hackles up: “A man’s apparel should not be on a woman, and a man should not wear a woman’s clothing, for whoever does these things is an abomination before Adonai your God.”[1] For many of us—and especially for those …
Read MoreEach year when we reach Parashat Dvarim I experience a rush of exhilaration when I imagine the scene: the Israelites are gathered high on the steppes of Moab, having finally reached the end of their 40-year ordeal in the desert. As they wait for Moses to deliver his final address, they look out at the expanse below, and see the Promised Land at last. For a few moments, perhaps, their thoughts of the traumas behind them and the battles ahead are eclipsed by the simple joy that home is within their sight.
Read MoreIn this week’s double portion of Tazria-Metzora we read of the purification ritual for the metzora, the unfortunate person struck with tzara’at—a preternatural skin disease that resulted in a status of ritual uncleanliness and temporary banishment from Israel’s encampment. The surprising intimacy of the purification ritual underscores the importance of restoring dignity and community to …
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