Meet the Fellows of the American Jewish Civics Seminar (AJCS), a small cohort of Jewish scholars and educators working together to nurture the emergence of a distinctively American Jewish civic learning field.

On September 17, 2024, A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy brought together leaders from 75 Jewish organizations across the United States for the Equip 2024: Community Preparedness Summit. This first-of-its-kind summit aimed to furnish Jewish organizations with the knowledge, values, skills, and strategies needed to support their communities through any election-related challenges. 

Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom is no stranger to civic engagement. As a founding partner of the Jewish Partnership for Democracy, this community has long been active in participatory democracy work. But in 2024, they wanted to try something new. Recognizing the deepening political divisions in their community and beyond, Oheb Sholom launched an ambitious new project: an interfaith clergy book group focused on bridging political divides.

Temple Emanu-El has long valued civic engagement. For the past ten years, the Dallas synagogue has encouraged participatory democracy through voter registration drives and a civic engagement committee. Recently, they wondered how they might expand these efforts. After workshopping a few ideas with A More Perfect Union’s Aaron Dorfman, Temple Emanu-El decided to widen its focus on civic engagement to recognize volunteers through bimah honors.

At its core, theatre dybbuk’s podcast, The Dybbukast, poses the following question: How can our society — and by extension, our democracy — meet the urgency of this moment, while holding time and space for its complexities?

Situated at the intersection of democracy and American Jewish history, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is dedicated to telling and teaching the stories of American Jews in service of advancing a diverse and pluralistic democracy. Through initiatives like 'Shine a Light!' and the "Citizen Power" documentary screenings, Weitzman hopes to foster a stronger sense of community, empowerment, and civic engagement in the Jewish community and among diverse populations.

The Jewish Summit on Civics, held March 11-13, 2024 in Washington, DC and online, was a first-of-its-kind effort to advance the role of civic learning in Jewish contexts.

Civic learning matters because as a society, we want the people who make choices about our future to have the information they need to make well-informed, well-reasoned judgments (voting and otherwise). We want people who run for office to be qualified and serious. We want people who serve on juries to be diligent and conscientious. We want people who consume news to confidently assess what is true and what is sensationalism, bias, or conspiracy.

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Phoenix has been active in supporting voting rights and practices since 2020 – and today, they are ensuring that others in Arizona can have faith in local election systems. Amid unfounded allegations of election impropriety, the JCRC of Greater Phoenix led a tour of the Maricopa County tabulation center to help provide a clearer understanding of local election processes and reduce misinformation.

Repair the World mobilizes Jews in their communities to complete acts of service in support of local needs. With 12 chapters across the country, the organization has set the audacious goal to mobilize 1 million volunteers by 2026. For their commitment to the Jewish Partnership for Democracy, Repair the World is working on an initiative that provides a menu of options for volunteers who are interested in expanding their civic engagement. The interactive online media tool will help people engage in civic actions between and now and the 2024 general election.

On optimism: Four reasons why our democracy will endure

Courtesy of the News Literacy Project, we’re bringing you a few of the tips and tools you can use to test – and strengthen – your news literacy skills.

During times of political division, many are quick to draw a line in the sand and assume that there is only one ideological path to protecting our values. However, we at A More Perfect Union believe that protecting and strengthening American democracy is not a partisan issue.

In response to relentless attacks on the integrity of Arizona elections, County Recorder (and Hillel alum!) Stephen Richer and his colleagues have opened their doors to educate and empower community leaders to serve as trusted messengers for good information about the election process.

IJS is working on a multilayered toolkit containing resources like podcast episodes, guided meditations, and written content designed to help people engage in civic behavior using mindful Jewish practices that also strengthen democracy in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

The Jewish Community Relations Council for Tucson and Southern Arizona sees a Jewish obligation to make the world a better place – and today, it’s bringing the local community together on issues of American democracy.

While the term ‘Zuckerbucks’ may seem harmless, it has a dark side – as well as implications for Jews and for American democracy.