The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) organizes the Jewish communities of Chicagoland to build power for justice. For more than 60 years, we’ve mobilized Jewish individuals and institutions to combat poverty, racism, and antisemitism, always in deep partnership with our neighbors across Chicago and Illinois.

JCUA’s work is powered by more 2,000 members who collaborate with staff, Board, and coalition partners to lead campaigns and initiatives in immigration justice, community safety, housing and economic justice, and the fight against antisemitism.

At the heart of our work is the conviction the safety and freedom of our Jewish community is inextricable from the safety and freedom of our neighboring communities. We build and sustain multiracial, multifaith, multigenerational coalitions to dismantle systems of harm and create something better.

Our Mission

JCUA combats poverty, racism, and antisemitism in partnership with the diverse communities of Chicago and Illinois.

Our Vision

JCUA envisions a future where Jews and our neighbors in Chicago and Illinois live with mutual safety, shared dignity, and collective liberation. In this future, the Jewish community is an integral partner in movements for racial and economic justice. Multiracial, multifaith coalitions are the norm, and systems that once perpetuated harm have been transformed by the organized power of people working together. No community’s safety comes at the expense of another’s, and everyone in our city and state has the resources they need to flourish.

Our Values

Tzedek (Justice) drives us to challenge injustice and fight for a future that reflects our deepest commitments.

Makom (Place) roots our work in the people, histories, and geographies of Chicago and Illinois, creating space where everyone can show up, be seen, and belong.

Tikkun (Repair) pushes us to build and repair, through sustained organizing, education, relationship-building, and investment.

Our Principles

1. We pursue justice as a Jewish imperative. We are guided by Jewish values, history, and traditions, which animate our commitment to advance safety and dignity for the people who call Chicagoland home.

2. We are dedicated to building an inclusive, beloved community. We celebrate that our members and partners hold diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives. This diversity strengthens our work, especially when we hold tension and disagreement with trust, accountability, and care. We may not agree on every position or decision, yet we keep in mind the values that connect us, the interests we share, and the vision for a just and equitable region we are seeking to realize.

3. We act with the conviction that our liberation is collective. We know that our well-being as Jews is bound up in the safety of our neighbors, and that systems of hate are interconnected. Understanding that white supremacy manifests as antisemitism, anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression, we build relationships and act in solidarity with communities who are directly impacted. By working in partnership to address the causes and expressions of injustice, we ensure mutual protection and support for all.

4. We are activated by knowledge and fueled by impact. We empower members and partners with the knowledge, skills, and political analysis needed to lead. Learning expands our horizons, challenges our way of thinking, and helps us strategize on the way forward. The work doesn’t stop there, though. We use what we learn to take action: to organize, to mobilize, and to invest our time, resources, and energy into grassroots campaigns, advocacy, and direct support.

Restorative Justice

At JCUA, we stay in relationship through harm and conflict, guided by our values of accountability, solidarity, and transformation. We believe that change is possible both in the world and in how we relate to one another. That’s why we’ve developed a Harm Response System to navigate conflict within our community while staying true to these principles. A team of staff, members, and Board representatives designed both preventive and responsive approaches to conflict resolution and harm repair. Learn more about this work.