In a rare and welcome display of bipartisan support, the United States Congress just passed the Electrify Africa Act, ensuring the continuation of the Obama administration’s Power Africa initiative to expand access to electricity in Africa. Now that this legislation will become the law of the land, we urge the U.S. government to succeed by asking …
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In his speech entitled, “The Modern Development Enterprise,” delivered at an event hosted by the Center for Global Development, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah praised AJWS’s international development work.
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AJWS is accepting applications from Jewish young adults throughout the U.S. for its 18th Volunteer Summer program. The year-long service-learning program brings participants, between the ages of 16 and 24, to developing countries where they live and work alongside grassroots non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for seven weeks to learn about international development principles and the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam.
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Delivery of more than 100 rice bags to USTR headquarters highlights interfaith campaign for trade policy that supports global food security Washington, D.C; Nov. 25, 2009— A coalition of 14 faith groups, led by American Jewish World Service (AJWS), delivered more than 100 “gift bags” of rice today to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) demanding …
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AJWS president Ruth W. Messinger has issued a statement in response to this week’s report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which concluded that hunger now affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. On World Food Day, Messinger is calling on Americans to challenge international trade policies that favor corporations at the expense of the world’s poorest people.
Read MoreThe Book of Dvarim is the beginning of a transition in the lives of the people of Israel. About to cross over the Jordan to the Promised Land, Moses recounts the laws and life of the Israelites in their wandering in the desert. Moses recalls that the people have been carried by God through the wilderness, fought for by God, shown where to camp and when to move, fed with manna and provided for in every way. Yet in the transition from Moses to Joshua and from wandering in the wilderness to entering the Land, there is a sudden shift in tone. No longer catered to, the people must begin to fend for themselves.
Read MoreWhile the Israelites are still wandering in the desert, God instructs them in the laws of the shmita year, which will take effect once they enter the Promised Land. Once every seven years, instead of farming, they are to let the land lie fallow. The people of Israel will forage communally from the trees and the fields, eating the fruits that grow naturally in the land. The shmita year, we learn in Parashat Behar, parallels Shabbat—the seventh day of rest—on a grander scale: a year of rest for the land, once every seven years.
Read MoreParashat Tazria opens with a passage that makes many contemporary readers bristle at its seemingly obvious gender discrimination. Describing a woman who has just given birth, the text relates that not only is she impure, but the length of her impurity doubles for a daughter in contrast to a son. While the gender-based distinctions in the text may arouse anger or confusion, they provide an opportunity to reflect on the topic of gender and they may also offer insights into how gender plays a role in our own lives and in the lives of people around the world.
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