American Jewish Civics
How American Jews can strengthen American democracy through civic education.This work is brought to you in partnership between:
Program Overview
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The American Jewish Civics Seminar (AJCS) is a collaborative initiative convened by A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy in partnership with the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. It brings together a cohort of leading Jewish scholars, educators, and civic thinkers to explore and define the emerging field of American Jewish civics — a framework for understanding and promoting informed, authentic, and engaged citizenship shaped by Jewish values and civic commitments.
Click hear to learn more about AJCS and to meet our AJCS Fellows, who crafted and curated much of rich content shared on this page. -
American Jews have thrived over the past 250 years because of our nation’s robust democracy. American democracy has protected our right to worship freely, enabled our participation in national debates and self-government, empowered us to hold public office, and ensured our equality under the law. These conditions have allowed American Jews to flourish more than we have anywhere or anytime else in the Diaspora.
And yet democracy is not a fixed inheritance. It is a living system that depends on people who know how to sustain it — people who can navigate disagreement with integrity, bind themselves to shared rules, and remain invested in a common purpose — even amid profound differences.
Today, many Americans — including many American Jews — sense that the civic “weather” is changing. Americans of all ages do not understand how the government makes decisions or takes action, making a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” feel farther away than ever. Public life often feels like it is in a state of permanent emergency, leaving little room to develop the patience and trust that democracy requires to solve real problems. And if democracy cannot solve problems, it will perpetually be at risk of being made obsolete.
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American Jewish Civics responds to this moment by equipping the Jewish community to spark civic learning in their communities so we can help strengthen our democracy now and in the future. Rooted in Jewish thought and informed by contemporary civic challenges, American Jewish Civics asks how Jewish teachings, texts, and educational approaches can help cultivate the habits and knowledge that democratic life depends on: creativity, healthy debate, responsibility, pluralism, and commitment to the rule of law.
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Teachings: Identify core Jewish insights that can serve as “north stars” for civic life
Texts: Ground those values in Jewish sources
Practice: Translate learning into concrete civic behaviors and institutional norms
Institutions: Support educators, clergy, and communal leaders in applying these ideas in real-world settings
Flagship Publication
Foundations of American Jewish Civics offers a shared language and conceptual foundation for civic learning in Jewish contexts, drawing on Jewish tradition to illuminate what democratic life requires of us. It provides a powerful framework to guide people in understanding, teaching, and learning American Jewish Civics.
We are indebted to the Fellows in the American Jewish Civics Seminar at the Kogod Research Center of the Shalom Hartman Institute– a community of leading Jewish scholars and educators working together to nurture the emergence of this field – for crafting this powerful document.
The 5 Civic Values
American Jewish Civics draws on five Jewish teachings that emerged through research, text study, and sustained collaboration among leading educators and scholars. Together, they serve as guiding principles — not as rigid prescriptions, but as orienting values.
A JEWISH CIVIC ETHIC OF PEACE
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Cultivating social trust, restraint, and shared norms that allow people to live together despite deep disagreement.
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ARGUMENT FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN AND DEMOCRACY
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Learning how to argue passionately and respectfully — preserving dignity, relationship, and legitimacy even in conflict.
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THE LAW OF THE LAND IS THE LAW
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Upholding the rule of law, constitutional processes, and democratic legitimacy as civic obligations.
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NOT BY THE POWER AND THE STRENGTH OF MY OWN HAND
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Balancing agency, responsibility, and humility in civic life; resisting both apathy and hubris.
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SEEING GOOD IN AN IMPERFECT COUNTRY
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Fostering appreciation for democratic inheritance, civic institutions, and the labor that sustains them.
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From Values to Practice
American Jewish Civics does not end with ideas. Each value has been translated into essays, curricula, case studies, tools, and experiential programs designed to help communities teach, learn, and practice civic responsibility in concrete ways.
These resources in our Resource Library are meant to be adapted, debated, and applied — supporting educators, clergy, and communal leaders as they build civic capacity within their institutions and communities.
Interested in additional resources and thought leadership?
Essays & Thought Leadership
