Our Approach

The Roundtable convenes and helps Jewish social justice organizations learn from each other and experts. We build capacities and relationships among our affiliates by holding trainings and convenings for staff at affiliated organizations. 

Our mission is strengthening and aligning the Jewish social justice field in order to make justice a core expression of Jewish life and help create an equitable world. We do not strive towards issue unity. The differences in our perspectives make our network stronger, more resilient, and able to creatively approach challenges.

 
 

Strategies to Achieve our Mission

#1: Convene and coach affiliate staff by roles, regions, and identity-based affinity groups consistently and in moments of crisis to build connection, sustainability, and courage, share resources, and help executives address obstacles to collaborating or defending each other.

#2: Advance internal racial equity work through providing targeted support to affiliates and integrating this lens across all we do.

#3: Develop affiliates’ capacity to address organizational issues that are of sector-wide importance and the Roundtable is well-positioned to support, such as generative conflict, transparent decision-making, hard conversations, and clarifying their organization’s orientation toward Israel-Palestine and addressing antisemitism.

#4: Make powerful public cases for Jewish justice through strategic communications to the broader Jewish ecosystem.

#5: Lead strategic campaigns on foundational justice areas around which the Jewish social justice field has a shared interest and unique role to play.

Roundtable Norms

Roundtable affiliates agree that the following norms represent our good-hearted intentions, our best aspirations, and will be applied when appropriate and relevant. We will strive to adhere to them in good faith. In the event of a perceived failure to follow them, we are committed to giving and receiving feedback and engaging in further conversation respectfully.

  • I will operate out of the belief that I accomplish my goals best when my Roundtable partners accomplish their goals.

  • I will be supportive of efforts to increase the total resources available for the Jewish social justice field.

  • I will be generous with sharing information, resources, and opportunities for collaboration with Roundtable members.

  • I will always be direct in seeking to resolve conflict and will encourage others to do the same.

  • I will make efforts to acknowledge and promote the work of other members of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable.

  • I will commit time to being in relationship with others in the Jewish social justice community in order to lay the groundwork for collaboration.

  • I will strive to partner well with other organizations.

    • This means having self-awareness and practicing discernment of power dynamics in interactions across lines of difference. This norm is inspired by the Jewish value of anavah (humility), as described by the phrase, “No more than my place, no less than my space.”