Why We Do This Work

As an organization, our goal is to deepen understanding across lines of difference by building empathy and nurturing compassion for the identities, traumas and lived experiences of the Jewish people. All of our content is created by progressive Jews with diverse identities who have invested their lives in pursuing social justice for other communities and fighting white supremacy. As progressives, we have the responsibility and credibility to engage our peers with nuance, empathy, and impact.

 

While we focus our efforts on the unique ways anti-Jewish ideas emerge in the far left, we do not conflate antisemitism on the “right” with antisemitism on the “left.” While we believe antisemitism on the right poses a greater threat, we recognize that antisemitism anywhere is a threat to Jews everywhere. 

 

Our understanding of antisemitism teaches us that the greatest threat to collective Jewish safety comes when Jews become isolated and cleaved in a society, blamed by many, and trusted by few. That pattern has repeated itself in country after country, century after century, regardless of the skin color, status, or perceived safety of Jews.

 

It’s important that all of us challenge problematic ideas in spaces we occupy and in relationships in which we have influence. We believe our community needs a new paradigm to address the contemporary versions of this ancient hate and that this requires a different approach when engaging peers who don't wish to harm the Jewish people, but may carry and/or perpetuate anti-Jewish biases, even if unknowingly. 

 

We believe Jews deeply rooted in progressive spaces are best suited to address these problematic ideas when they arise on the political left. We need to nurture this important conversation in ways that deepen understanding and strengthen our movements for justice, especially in a moment of rising white supremacy seeking to weaponize division.

 

On an individual basis, each member of our diverse team is proudly active in broader fights for justice, organizing against increasingly normalized white supremacy and right-wing antisemitism in recent years. And, we view it as our obligation to challenge problematic ideas in the spaces we’re a part of, with the people we’re in relationships with, as this is where we have the most opportunity for influence and impact. This is why we focus our training within the Jewish community on leaders who identify on the political left and are active in progressive causes.