JOIN for Justice

This is the second profile in a series highlighting the work Jewish Organizing Fellows and alumni are doing to fight for justice.

David Schwartz, current Fellow:

David Schwartz came to the Jewish Organizing Fellowship a year after landing a job with the Real Food Challenge, organizing students for just and sustainable food.  Growing up in two very different Boston neighborhoods—one largely Black and Latino and the other a more affluent suburb— David witnessed intense disparities in health, economic opportunity and access to real food early on. After years trying to educate other teens about food security and urban agriculture, he began to organize for larger structural change. He looked to his university to catalyze an economic shift. Read more »

This is the first profile in a series highlighting the work Jewish Organizing Fellows and alumni are doing to fight for justice.

Joanna Lubkin, alumnus 08-09:

When Joanna Lubkin began college at Clark University, she was in love with Jewish ritual and culture. But once she graduated, Joanna realized that her BA in Jewish Studies wasn’t enough.  She wanted a way to connect her passion for Jewish life with her commitment to social justice. Joanna decided to pursue a Masters in Public Administration, but after completing it she was still searching.  Enter the Jewish Organizing Fellowship.

“I applied for the Jewish Organizing Fellowship hoping that it would teach me practical skills to create social change. It did far more than that. The Fellowship and my placement at a union for medical residents radically transformed me. I learned to address the root causes of social problems rather than focusing on band-aid solutions. I learned to ask probing questions, tell my story, and develop leaders who could effectively take action. I also began to envision the world as it could be.

“Unexpectedly, I found incredible mentors in the rabbis who led our Fellowship trainings. These rabbis had found inspiration for their social justice work rooted in Jewish tradition. They had helped congregations understand the connections between justice work and the Jewish community’s spiritual heritage.

“When it came time to find a job after the Fellowship, I returned to the Jewish community with a renewed vision of the work I need to do in the world. I realized that I need to work within the Jewish community because if I am going to create change in this world, I need to start among my own people, where I feel at home. I want to ensure that Jews can bring their whole selves to their community. I want to foster a Jewish community in which we can act together on our values and make the world a better place. I knew then that I did not want my Judaism to be a performance, or an intellectual exercise. I wanted to dig in with both hands and help my generation to make it their own. So, in the fall of 2010, I began rabbinical school at Hebrew College. I credit the Jewish Organizing Fellowship as helping me realize that becoming a rabbi and creating Jewish communities that act together for a more just world is exactly what I want to be doing.”

Joanna is fighting to act on Jewish values. What will you fight for? Join the conversation at facebook.com/jewishorganizing or on Twitter @jewishorganizer

Jewish Organizing Fellows and alumni are doing impressive work on a wide range of issues. From education reform to fighting foreclosures to finding ways to live out their Jewish values, they are fighting for a change, one campaign at a time.

Over the next month, as we lead up to our first round application deadline on March 18th, we will be unveiling portraits of a number of alumni and Fellows.  These profiles will hopefully give a taste of the Fellowship: who does it, what type of work they do and what skills they gain.
We look forward to sharing their stories and hearing yours.

What will you fight for? Apply for the Jewish Organizing Fellowship!

Join the conversation at facebook.com/jewishorganizing or on Twitter @jewishorganizer

First round applications are due March 18th.