Stakeholder Engagement Process: Outcomes & Commitments

From mid-2024 through 2025, JCUA engaged in a Stakeholder Engagement Process to examine our organization’s approach to Israel and Palestine. Throughout our 62-year history, we have focused primarily on issues facing Chicago and Illinois. Yet in recent years, we’ve recognized the need to explore how Israel and Palestine impact our members, our partners, and our work, and to evaluate whether and how we needed to make changes to our organizational approach.

This process involved more than 100 one-on-one interviews; a survey completed by approximately 250 individuals; a working group of Board, staff, and members; and ratification by the Board of Directors. We are pleased to share the results of this process and the commitments that will guide JCUA’s work moving forward.

Core Organizational Commitments

Following the stakeholder process, JCUA affirms that: 

  • We are locally focused. JCUA will continue to mobilize the Jewish community around local and statewide issues and federal issues that have a local impact.
  • We are a home for all. JCUA will remain a space for all Jews who support our work for racial and economic justice.
  • We prioritize partnership. JCUA will continue to partner with community-based organizations, congregations, and other institutions on our local work, knowing they hold a diversity of relationships with or orientations to Israel and Palestine.

Though we are not adopting a single organizational orientation toward Israel and Palestine or expanding our scope to center Israel/Palestine as a primary issue area, we recognize that Israel and Palestine impact our community, our partners, and our local work. Therefore, the Board of Directors has approved the following directives to guide how JCUA will proceed:

Organizational Directives

  1. Combatting Antisemitism & White Supremacy: JCUA will continue to invest in our work to combat antisemitism and white supremacy through a solidarity framework, including by making adaptations to our current training and education curriculum.
  2. Strengthening Coalition Bonds: JCUA will recommit to building strong, lasting, and trusting relationships with our Muslim and Arab coalition partners. 
  3. Coalition Participation: JCUA will not be deterred from participating in relevant actions with our coalition partners by the presence of Palestinian solidarity. 
  4. Community Dialogue: JCUA will pilot a membership-wide Resetting the Table-style program about Israel/Palestine.
  5. Fundraising: JCUA will steward current and cultivate new donors around the new and ongoing areas of work outlined by these proposals.
  6. Defining Our Identity: JCUA will craft a statement of values to guide our organizational culture and external messaging.

Looking Ahead

This stakeholder process provides JCUA with a roadmap for the future, yet we recognize that the outcomes may be met with varied responses across our community. By clarifying our organizational commitments and ratifying these concrete directives, we are positioned to deepen our vital work in Chicago and Illinois while continuing to be a home for all Jews committed to racial and economic justice.

If you have any questions, please send us a message at contact@jcua.org