Why it’s critical for Jewish communities to be engaging in racial justice learning — especially now

| By Gwen Tucker
Categories: Black-Jewish Relations, Community Issues, Human Rights, Other
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A few weeks ago, 17 of our Mishkan community members, including members of our staff and our rabbis, took part in the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ racial justice training for Chicago-area congregations on a rainy Sunday, over Zoom (like all things nowadays). As a spiritual community, we had already gathered a small group back …

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Hope Werstler on learning community organizing through a Jewish lens

| By Jonathan Elbaz
Categories: Educational Programs, Or Tzedek / Teen Program, Organizing Fellowship, Other, Youth Programs
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Hope Werstler is participating in the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ Or Tzedek organizing internship for teens in Chicagoland. The program aims to empower young Jewish leaders with the skills, knowledge and inspiration needed to pursue social change through a Jewish lens. The internship, which meets twice a month from September to May, offers participants …

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“I feel like it reaches the core of my being”: a conversation with Mike Frankenstein

| By Jonathan Elbaz
Categories: About JCUA, Economic Justice, Grassroots Organizing, Immigration Justice, Other
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How did you get involved with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and what have you been working on? When I retired in October of 2014, I made a list of things I wanted to do. One of them was to reconnect with my roots with JCUA. I wanted to get involved with a community …

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Our Solidarity Will Defeat White Nationalism

| By Jonathan Elbaz
Categories: Anti-Semitism & Hate, Other
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On October 27, 2018, a white nationalist gunman stormed into a Pittsburgh synagogue during Saturday morning prayers and murdered 11 Jews, in what was the deadliest antisemitic attack in our nation’s history. In the year since, the threat of white nationalism has only gotten more dire. Similar attacks in Poway, El Paso, Dayton, and locations …

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JCUA published in the Chicago Sun-Times

| By Jonathan Elbaz
Categories: Other
In commemoration of the first anniversary of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, our executive director Judy Levey has published an editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times about how JCUA is thinking about and responding to rising antisemitism and white nationalism by forging deep relationships with communities across Chicago. “In times like these, it’s easy …

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