AJC ACCESS Catalyzes Young Jewish Advocacy on Israel, Civil Discourse
May 10, 2011 – New York – More than 450 young Jewish adults from around the world converged in Washington for a weekend sponsored by AJC ACCESS to discuss strategies for confronting two pressing challenges – the global assault on Israel’s legitimacy, and promoting civility in public discourse.
“Engaging individuals from across the United States and 27 countries around the world, many of them activists in their own communities, in strategic conversations and decision-making, was energizing,” said Rebecca Neuwirth, director of AJC ACCESS. “They were enthusiastically productive in conversations, networking, and a bottom-up, participatory process of arriving at best practices to address delegtizimation of Israel and respectful civil discourse. “
The ACCESS 20/20 weekend took place from April 29 – May 1, in Washington, D.C., following the AJC Global Forum. The full program is available at www.ajc.org/access.
The ACCESS weekend was divided into two parallel tracks. The track dealing with the assault on Israel’s legitimacy was developed by AJC ACCESS in partnership with the Reut Institute, an Israel-based strategy group that has taken a lead in shaping a response to delegitimization. The Israel on Campus Coalition and the Jewish Labor Committee also contributed to the planning, bringing their expertise in dealing with the issue on campuses and in trade unions.
The second track focused on civility in public discourse. With junior partners -- The Baptist Joint Committee, Hillel, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, The National Japanese American Citizens League, NetIP (and Indian American group), OCA (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans), the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, Rock The Vote, Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, SALDEF (a Sikh organization), and the World Council of Religious Leaders -- and with some of the most dynamic young leaders representing a variety of ethnic and religious groups, the program looked at the important role of civil society in ensuring healthy and respectful discourse.
At the conclusion, participants signed a civil engagement pledge, available at www.ajc.org/access.
ACCESS is the global advocacy organization’s emerging young leadership division, and has grown rapidly in membership and range of activities since its founding only a few years ago.
“Engaging individuals from across the United States and 27 countries around the world, many of them activists in their own communities, in strategic conversations and decision-making, was energizing,” said Rebecca Neuwirth, director of AJC ACCESS. “They were enthusiastically productive in conversations, networking, and a bottom-up, participatory process of arriving at best practices to address delegtizimation of Israel and respectful civil discourse. “
The ACCESS 20/20 weekend took place from April 29 – May 1, in Washington, D.C., following the AJC Global Forum. The full program is available at www.ajc.org/access.
The ACCESS weekend was divided into two parallel tracks. The track dealing with the assault on Israel’s legitimacy was developed by AJC ACCESS in partnership with the Reut Institute, an Israel-based strategy group that has taken a lead in shaping a response to delegitimization. The Israel on Campus Coalition and the Jewish Labor Committee also contributed to the planning, bringing their expertise in dealing with the issue on campuses and in trade unions.
The second track focused on civility in public discourse. With junior partners -- The Baptist Joint Committee, Hillel, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, The National Japanese American Citizens League, NetIP (and Indian American group), OCA (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans), the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, Rock The Vote, Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, SALDEF (a Sikh organization), and the World Council of Religious Leaders -- and with some of the most dynamic young leaders representing a variety of ethnic and religious groups, the program looked at the important role of civil society in ensuring healthy and respectful discourse.
At the conclusion, participants signed a civil engagement pledge, available at www.ajc.org/access.
ACCESS is the global advocacy organization’s emerging young leadership division, and has grown rapidly in membership and range of activities since its founding only a few years ago.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.