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Steal This!
Our partners come up with some great resources. We created Steal This so you could discover tools your peers have created and utilize them in your context as well!
Has your organization done a great democracy-related project that you want to share with the network? Please share it with us on this quick and simple form.
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Discuss Judaism and Democracy on a Podcast
The Shalom Hartman Institute dedicated an episode of its "Identity/Crisis" podcast to the topic of how American Jews are uniquely positioned to contribute to—and benefit from—a healthy democracy
Organize an Interfaith Book Group on Polarization
Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom organized an interfaith book group for local clergy. Participants read the book "High Conflict," by Amanda Ripley and attended two discussions moderated by a local facilitator with training from Braver Angels, and organization specializing in convening productive conversations across difference.
Publish a Booklet Connecting Judaism with Democracy
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association published a booklet entitled, "Democracy, Judaism, and the Vote: What You Need to Know," making the case for why American Jews must uphold democracy, and offering religious and secular resources to support this work.
Help Youth Process Current Events
Facing History & Ourselves created a mini-lesson entitled, "Processing US Presidential Election Results." The lesson contains guidance for teachers on how to discuss upcoming elections with students, as well as a collection of activities to help students process their emotional responses to an election, find accurate information, and consider the impact of an election once the result are known.
Host Mock Elections
Habonim Dror Camp Galil held elections for camper representatives, enabling youth to have a say in decisionmaking at the camp.
Create Interfaith Civic Workshops
Uri L'Tzedek worked with different faith and community leaders to create a series of online workshops designed to educate participants on local civic engagement.
Create a Voters’ Guide to Local Elections
JCRC of Greater Washington and the Washington Jewish Week teamed up to produce a Northern Virginia Congressional Jewish Voters’ Guide to help local voters become more informed about the candidates running for U.S. Senate and for U.S. House seats in Virginia’s 7th, 8th, 1th, and 11th Congressional Districts. Each candidate was asked to introduce themselves and to present their positions on important issues facing the Jewish community.
Center Democracy at a Conference
The Council of American Jewish Museums dedicated their 2024 conference to democracy, organizing an array of speakers and workshops to teach about ways Jewish museums can promote civic engagement.
Honor Civic Engagement from the Bimah
Temple Emanu-El honored all members involved in non-partisan election work with an invitation to the bimah. Honorees were given an aaliyah and a blessing for their civic engagement.
Thank Election Workers
Peninsula Jewish Community Center organized an event for members to write thank you cards to elections workers to share gratitude and support for their civil service.
Bring Democracy Themes into a Podcast
Theatre Dybbuk dedicated an episode of its podcast "The Dybbukast" to exploring two poems from the second half of the 19th century by prominent American poets about American Jews -- "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and "In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport" by Emma Lazarus.
Host a Community-Wide Learning Series
Talmud Torah of St. Paul and The Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood partnered to create a course entitled "Judaism in Partnership with Democracy," a 10-week virtual program exploring the ways in which Jewish tradition offers deep wisdom on how to live many of the values on which a vibrant liberal democracy depends.
Make Civic Engagement Easy: Democracy Ballot
Repair the World, in partnership with the A More Perfect Union team, designed and released the Democracy Ballot, a menu of options to expand your civic engagement through service and education in support of free, fair, safe, and accessible elections in 2024 and beyond.
Adopt the Jewish Guide to Talking Politics
Pardes and Limmud co-led a workshop entitled, “The Jewish Guide to Talking Politics.” Given the contentious US presidential election, they aimed to introduce participants to the basics of Mahloket L’shem Shamayim (arguments for the sake of heaven). Attendees explored what traditional Jewish texts have to say about what distinguishes constructive disagreement from destructive disagreement, and how to engage with opposing viewpoints and cultivate the skills necessary for difficult conversations.
Make Interfaith / Intergroup Statements Supporting Democracy
JCRC of the Bay Area published an interfaith statement entitled "Standing United for Peace & Democracy" pledging to uphold the principles of democracy. The statement was co-signed by 30 organizations representing a wide array of faiths in the Bay Area.
Host a Democracy-Themed Shabbaton
Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor worked with Temple Beth Emeth and Beth Israel Congregation of Ann Arbor to create a Democracy Shabbaton featuring an expert who spoke about the importance of democracy in Judaism.
Take Community-Wide Leadership on Democracy
The Temple in Atlanta joined an interfaith democracy coalition and sent a powerful video message to their community explaining how the Temple and its interfaith partners are supporting democracy action in their community during the election season.
Bring Jewish Text Study Skills to Foundational American Texts
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation launched Daf America, a teaching resource to help clergy bring an American civics lens to the weekly Torah portion.
Teach Jewish Thought and Democracy
Kabbalah Experience launched a class entitled, "Democracy and Kabbalah: Narratives and Actions for our Time." This 9-week course explored Kabbalistic and other texts related to democracy, its roots and its preservation, and answered the question, "How might we expand opportunities for civic learning, creating safe space for ideological pluralism, and ensure free, fair and safe elections?"
Create a Value-Centered Approach to Civics in Jewish Schools
The Brandeis School of San Francisco developed "The Mifgash Playbook" to encourage other schools to adopt best practices in values-centered civics education into their curricula and programs.