What will I learn?

You will meet with a wide variety of top-level activists, trainers and educators to learn more about the dynamics of urban poverty. You will learn how to become an effective agent for social change, and the way that Jewish history, culture and religion connect to your work to combat poverty and strengthen community. You will gather weekly to learn with each other, as well as attend weekend retreats and occasional Sunday workshops throughout the year.

Presenters

Past presenters include:

• Judith Helfand and Sandi DuBowski, documentary filmmakers who use their films to organize campaigns for social change
• Ruth Messinger, Executive Director of American Jewish World Service and former Manhattan Borough President
• Aaron Miller, Executive Director of Seeds of Peace and former US State Department Middle East specialist
• Ari Roth, playwright and director of Theater J
• Quique Aviles, poet and founder/director of Sol y Soul, a street theater troupe that combines activism and the arts.

Sessions

Past session topics include:

• Justice, Forgiveness, Repentance and Reconciliation - Looking at Jewish themes of repentance and forgiveness that emerge from High Holiday liturgy and Jewish law, we applied these concepts to inter-group conflict, asking what the possibilities for justice reconciliation might be following grave injustices like slavery or massive traumas like genocide. This discussion was co-facilitated by Rabbi David Rosenn, Executive Director of AVODAH, and Professor Melissa Crow of American University, a human rights lawyer and former staff member for the war crimes tribunal in post-war Rwanda.
• Immigrants and Poverty, Then and Now - This session traced the experience of Jewish immigrants to the United States and explored the vast array of social service and social change organizations established by and for these immigrants to address their own needs and those of the broader communities in which they lived. Next we examined the experience of immigrants today, comparing their challenges and opportunities with those of earlier arrivals, including a look at the Jewish community's role in current immigration policy debates.
• Shared and Unshared Paths - Looking at the history of African American and Jewish settlement and migration in an urban area, from the Civil War period until recent years, this session traced the histories of both communities in Washington, D.C., exploring intersections and shared experiences (restrictive covenants, shared neighborhoods and histories) and divergent ones. It examined incidents in the history of the Jewish community (denominational splits, the development of Jewish community centers, etc.) and in the African American community (the Freedman's Bureau in the 19th century; urban renewal, redlining, and the Civil Rights movement in the 20th) and how they shaped where and how people live in one American city.
• Social Activism Skill Building - Several sessions throughout the year are dedicated to creating a strong set of skills for social change, including community organizing techniques, communication for change, and new media.
• Site Visits - AVODAH Corps members visit each other's worksites throughout the year to extend the scope of their learning. If you work on homelessness, site-visits will help you learn about hunger, literacy, worker's rights and other issues. If your placement provides direct service to people in need, site-visits will help you explore other approaches to combating poverty, such as advocacy and community organizing.