Jordan talked with Serena Adlerstein of Never Again Action about the unique role organizing allies can play in long-term organizing for immigrant justice. Jordan and Serena also talked about what coalition-building looks like for an organization that works primarily with organizing allies.
Black Jewish Community During the Israel - Hamas War: Black Jewish Liberation Collective
Jordan sat down with Shoshana Brown and Autumn Leonard, the outgoing and incoming leaders of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective, to ask what it's been like organizing Black Jewish community in this moment, how they've approached their upcoming planned leadership transition, and what's to come in the next chapter of Black Jewish Liberation Collective!
Meeting this Moment as a Movement - Video and Audio
As the JLF team was discussing what, if anything, we would like to offer to our community in response to the escalation of the conflict in Israel / Palestine, we spent some time discussing what JLF’s role as a funder is in a time like this. We believe that one role we can play is to facilitate connections between progressive Jews and the wider Jewish left; to help people feel connected to a strong movement of progressive Jews in the struggle for collective justice and liberation. Particularly in this moment, when many Jews in the US may be feeling isolation or disconnection from one or more of their communities– many Jewish institutional responses and non-Jewish left responses to this moment have felt lacking to our community in different ways– and as that disconnection amid grief and pain threatens to divide us, it feels more important than ever to remind people of the breadth and strength of the Jewish left.
Thus, we’d like to invite you to watch our recording of what was JLF’s outward-facing offering, a conversation between leaders at our four grantee partners whose primary work consists of organizing to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories: Center for Jewish Nonviolence, Achvat Amim, IfNotNow, and Jewish Voice for Peace. This is a difficult moment for all of us. Exercising leadership amidst profound uncertainty, grief, and trauma is an enormous challenge. It is a testament to the leaders at these organizations - and how important the work they’re doing is - that they continue to do it. In this session, you’ll hear from these leaders about what they’ve seen from their communities in the United States and in Israel / Palestine since October 7th, how their strategies intersect, what it means for the broader Jewish left movement today, and how you can take action, not just as a member of one of these organizations or JLF, but as a member of a strong, resilient, Jewish left.
Mending Minyan: Bringing Politics to How We Pray
We sat down with May Ye and Mikveh Warshaw to learn more about JLF Grantee Mending Minyan, a lay-led spiritual community decoupled from Zionism in New Haven, Connecticut.
Ammud: A Pillar of Community for Jews of Color
This month, we sat down with Sarah Fried from Ammud: Jews of Color Torah Academy to learn about what it means to be space to learn Torah for Jews of Color by Jews of Color. Sarah also spoke about some of Ammud's most impactful programming, as well as what she hopes it will mean for Black Jewish and JOC history when we look back in the future. Check it out!
Cultivating JOC Leadership to Build Power with JALSA
We sat down with Maria Isabel Rosario, from the Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action (JALSA), to learn more about their Jews of Color Leadership Engagement Initiative, and how they're building relationships with JOC to create meaningful coalitions to build power in Boston.
Coming Home, with Reclaiming Indigeneity
A video of an Indigenous Woman speaking with Jordan from JLF
Rosa Blumenfeld, from Reclaiming Indigeneity, speaks about what it means to “Come home,” the impact of their curriculum on its Indigenous participants, and the planned impact of their upcoming book!
JLF Event Archive: Who Speaks for the Jews?
An archive of videos from our event series about power in the Jewish Community. Co-sponsored by IfNotNow.
Catalyzing through Connectedness, with Tzedek Lab!
Jordan sat down with Helen Bennett, one of the founders of JLF Grantee Tzedek Lab, to learn about catalyzing the progressive movement through connectedness, growing from 50 to over 300 people, and why it's so important to have generative and restorative communities for organizers.
Decolonizing Storytelling and Building Latin-Jewish Community with Jewtina y Co.
With Hispanic Heritage month kicking off, we spoke with Analucia Lopezrevoredo, founder and Executive Director of Jewtina y Co, about building Latin-Jewish community, the importance of decolonizing storytelling, and how they were able to build programs for that, a leadership fellowship, and cultural archive all on two years of passion from volunteers.
Holding Our Communities Accountable, with Tiyuv Evaluation
This month, Jordan sat down with Ramona Tenorio, one of the co-founders and directors of Tiyuv Evaluation! In this conversation, we learned about Culturally Responsive Evaluation, and the importance of having evaluators who understand the nuances of different communities, as well as Tiyuv's work to build a cohort of JOC evaluators to hold the communities working towards more inclusive Jewish community more accountable.
How EDOT Organizes Jews of Color Across the Midwest
Jordan sat down with Shahanna McKinney Baldwin of EDOT: The Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative, to learn more about their theory of change, and their wins in organizing Jews of Color in oft-overlooked Jewish communities in the central states!
Training Diasporic Prayer Leaders: Kol Tzedek Synagogue
With Jordan out sick, Rachel sat down with Rabbis Mónica Gomery and Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari to learn about how Kol Tzedek-- which means, A Voice for Peace-- Synagogue brings political and liberatory praxis to every aspect of its operation. We also learned about Sha’’atz, their diasporic prayer leaders training program. Check out the interview here!
On the Ground Solidarity in Israel / Palestine: Center for Jewish Nonviolence
Scout Bratt and Oriel Eisner from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence sat down to talk to Jordan about CJNV's programs in Israel / Palestine. Check out the interview now!
Passover Celebrations and Organizing Wins: Detroit Jews for Justice
Coming up on Passover, Jordan sat down with Allie Zeff, the Executive Director of Detroit Jews for Justice to hear more about the way Passover and Jewish values inspire their work, the way DJJ interacts with the Detroit community and its rich history, and of course, organizing wins they've had in the city!
Read moreReclaiming Jewish Ritual with the Queer Mikveh Project
This Women's History Month, we are highlighting a grantee that is transforming a traditionally highly gendered space - the mikveh - to be more inclusive, to facilitate healing, and ensure accessibility. Check out Jordan’s interview with Rebecca Goldschmidt, one of the co-leaders of Queer Mikveh Project, to learn more about their powerful work!
Read moreCreating Culture at the Workshop: an Arts Fellowship for JOC
Jordan sat down with Kendell Pinkney-- soon-to-be Rabbi and founder of The Workshop, a new fully-funded arts fellowship for Black and Indigenous Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews based out of New York. Housed in Jewish Theological Seminary, the program gives BIJOCSM artists the opportunity to express themselves fully as artists while also doing Jewish learning and taking on fellowships in NY communities.
Read moreExistence is Resistance: The Black Jewish Liberation Collective
Before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jordan spoke with leaders of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective about the power of community for Black Jewish activists, the attention the George Floyd Uprisings brought to Black Jewish Community, and the complexities of discussing Israel Palestine while Black. Check it out here!
Read moreAnnouncing: JLF's Fall 2021 Grantees!
We’re excited to formally announce Jewish Liberation Fund’s slate of Fall 2021 Grantees! Our third grantmaking cycle— and only our second open application round of grantmaking— was also our most competitive to date. We’re excited to announce that we were able to make out grants to 14 organizations, including 11 new grantees, doing amazing progressive work all across the country. The following are the names and brief details of these organizations.
Read moreJewish Farmers, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Jewish Liberation
Two attendees at a JFN Conference smile at each other in a crowded room
As we approach Thanksgiving, Jordan spoke with SJ Seldin of the Jewish Farmer Network to learn more about the importance of uplifting the story of Jews as people of the land, how ancestral technologies can contribute to modern day ecological movements, and shed some light on how fighting for Indigenous sovereignty is inextricable from fighting for Jewish liberation. Check the conversation out here!
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