Special Projects

For more information on these projects contact  Jalsa

Jews of Color Leadership and Engagement Initiative

The Jews of Color Leadership and Engagement Initiative offers JoC with a passion for social justice meaningful opportunities to engage with JALSA's work in Massachusetts and beyond. This critical work has been supported by the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, CJP, Jews of Color Initiative, and the Jewish Liberation Fund.

Programming for the Jews of Color Leadership and Engagement Initiative includes:

  • These hour-long calls to action are held in the Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer and feature clergy and BIPOC speakers with expertise in public policy issues impacting communities of color. Participants can connect to how to take action in their states and communities on the issue area discussed.

  • Intimate JoC-led discussions in which JoC listen and learn from each other about policy issues and community organizing strategies.

Young People (20/30’s) Leadership and Engagement Initiative

JALSA's 20s/30s programming engages young Jewish professionals by connecting their Jewish identity with social action and public service. We accomplish this goal through hosting educational speakers and facilitating leadership workshops in partnership with local advocates. We seek to create a fun environment for these connections, and are always developing new ideas to bring people together!

JALSA Curriculum & Workshops

  • JALSA's 2025-2026 Legislative Priorities: Interested in taking action that aligns with Jewish values? Learn about the bills that JALSA supports to achieve economic justice, combat climate change, address the housing crisis, impact immigration, and advance solutions for other pressing issues. Then engage in action to advocate for these priorities!

  • Reproductive Rights & Abortion: Examines the right to reproductive health care from Jewish theological, historical, and cultural perspectives, the implications of abortion restrictions on our religious liberty, and prominent court rulings such as Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson.

  • Economic Justice: Discusses the wealth gap in the U.S. and historical causes of economic injustice, the Jewish values behind worker and labor rights, and what policies have been effective in creating greater wage equity.

  • Environmental Justice: Explains through a Jewish lens what environmental justice is, how we can learn to recognize injustices in our own communities, and what actions we can take to combat the structures that contribute to these injustices.

  • Immigrant Justice: Grounds immigration as a human right based on Jewish values, then delves into the Jewish history of immigration, historical and current American immigration trends and policies, and the realities for immigrants on the ground in the U.S. and specifically in Massachusetts.

  • Voting as a Jewish Value: Frames voting and defending voting access for others as a mitzvah, engages the history of the Jewish community defending voting rights in the U.S., and highlights current measures causing voter suppression.

  • Confronting Housing Discrimination: Discusses the history of racial discrimination in housing access and how this issue created a legacy of wealth and opportunity inequality in various neighborhoods though zoning and redlining, using primarily local examples in Massachusetts and specifically Boston.

  • Jewpardy: An interactive game of Jewish Jeopardy! mixing a range of trivia topics about Jewish advocates, political actions, and fun facts about JALSA’s work, making standing up for justice fun!