2015. What a year. The past 12 months were marked by devastating disasters and filled with life-affirming hope—here in the United States and around the globe.
Read our round-up of 10 human rights events in 2015 that motivate us to bring greater justice, peace and dignity to the world in the year ahead.
Leading Jewish international human rights organization draws on lessons of Jewish history and underscores need to speak against bigotry New York, NY—In the wake of rising calls by politicians, elected officials and others to discriminate against Muslims—increasing in response to terrorist attacks undertaken by Islamist individuals and organizations—American Jewish World Service released the statement below …
Read More
Ruth Messinger and I were sitting in synagogue talking, as is our custom (much to the dismay of the rabbi, my husband). She and I get a lot done in between praying on Shabbat mornings, and it isn’t all gossip. This was during the height of the crisis in Darfur. Ruth had brought American Jewish …
Read More
Many Jews consider tikkun olam, or “repairing the world” to be a spiritual imperative — a call to reach across religious boundaries and seek out justice for all people. American Jewish World Service, an organization that promotes human rights in the developing world, participates in the mission by supporting hundreds of like-minded local charities working to overcome oppression, …
Read More
Leading Jewish international human rights organization lauds Pope Francis’ commitment to human dignity and call for global justice New York, NY – As Pope Francis visits the United States this week, Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) issued the following statement: Statement of Ruth Messinger, President of AJWS “As Jews who are committed to pursuing justice for the …
Read MorePassover doesn’t arrive until April, but Parshat Bo already has us thinking about it. In detailing the first Chag haMatzot,[1] the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the parshah establishes perhaps the most fundamental dichotomy of Passover: chametz vs. matzah. We generally assume chametz and matzah to be opposites, given their oppositional treatment in the text.[2] After …
Read MoreThe Loftiness in Leaving and the Rigors of Return Parshat Lech Lecha opens with God’s command to Avram to leave everything that he has known—his birthplace, family and the pagan culture he grew up with—and move to a land “asher arekha—that I will show you.”[1] Avram is asked to leave behind familial binds and unwanted …
Read MoreWe often say that there are 613 commandments in the Torah. One can certainly list that many, but no one person can do them all: not for lack of will, but because many mitzvot only apply to certain people or in specific situations. For example, some mitzvot are only applicable in the Land of Israel; …
Read MoreThis week, we are pleased to welcome guest writer, Dvar Tzedek alumnus Rabbi Elliot Kukla. Can you imagine what it would be like to kill a person by mistake? We hear of these stories nearly every day—a driver is distracted by a cell phone call, a physician overlooks a vital symptom—one small slip that causes …
Read More