National Council of Jewish Women

Founded in 1893, the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) in the United States of America is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. NCJW is comprised of a powerful network of 90,000 members and supporters in nearly 100 sections in 500 communities around the country. These individuals share a commitment to the mission of NCJW and the belief that progressive ideals put into action can improve the world.

NCJW educates, activates, and mobilizes to:
  • Advance the Well-Being of Women, Children, and Families
  • Ensure Reproductive Health and Rights
  • Promote a Fair and Independent Judiciary
  • Ensure and Advance Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  • Promote Religious Freedom and Strengthen the Separation between Religion and State
  • Support a Secure Israel and Peace in the Middle East

PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES

The NCJW’s work in the United States focuses on a set of key public policy issues and provides the information and resources necessary to take action at all levels — from town halls to the halls of Congress.

NCJW initiatives include:

  • BenchMark: NCJW’s Judicial Nominations Campaign educates and mobilizes NCJW members, the Jewish community, and friends and allies everywhere to promote a federal bench with judges who support fundamental constitutional freedoms, including a woman’s right to reproductive choice.
  • Plan A: NCJW’s Campaign for Contraceptive Access aims to secure and protect access to contraceptive information and options. A community-based, proactive national campaign, Plan A is firmly rooted in the belief that such access is necessary for women’s well-being and equality. Plan A mobilizes the faith-based and progressive communities as well as the public at large to take action through a combination of education and advocacy.
  • Promote the Vote, Protect the Vote and HERvotes initiatives are designed to secure and safeguard voting rights for all, and encourage participation in the democratic process at the community, state, and federal levels.  The goal of HERvotes is to mobilize women voters in 2012 around preserving women’s Health and Economic Rights (HER rights).
  • Higher Ground: NCJW’s Domestic Violence Campaign a national effort to end domestic violence by improving the economic status of women. Grounded in the understanding that economic security is critical to women’s safety, Higher Ground educates and mobilizes advocates, community-members, and decision-makers to promote progressive policy solutions that champion women’s economic autonomy.
  • Voices for Reproductive Choices: NCJW’s Emergency Initiative responds to legislative measures would impose funding or coverage restrictions on critical health services, endanger women’s health, limit women’s rights as moral decision-makers, and erode religious liberty by imposing one view of abortion.

NCJW IN ISRAEL

NCJW’s work in Israel directly mirrors the organization’s efforts to create progressive social change in the US. NCJW’s pioneering Israel programs foster and support education, promote the empowerment of women, and bridge the gaps in society for Israel’s Student and NCJW member in Israel vulnerable women, children, and families.

Core programs include:

  • NCJW’s Israel Granting Program sustains diverse, pioneering projects via its grassroots grants that teach, support, and empower women, children, and families throughout Israel. Grants are allocated in two categories: literacy programs designated for at-risk populations — specifically women and children, and development and empowerment programs for at-risk women. These two granting categories, or funding streams, are known as Yad B’ Yad: NCJW’s Initiative to Nurture Knowledge and Women to Women: NCJW’s Empowerment Initiative. Together, they support important social change efforts in Israel, strengthen communities, help ensure the well-being of Israel’s people, and carry on NCJW’s legacy of education and empowerment work abroad.
  • NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education (RIFIE) at the Hebrew University carries out research and creates innovative educational programs serving socioeconomically at-risk segments of the Israeli population. Through a wide range of research and applied activities, the Institute promotes educational and social advancement by addressing the educational challenges and needs of children and youth. The Institute’s vast accumulation of knowledge and expertise facilitates its professional contribution to public policy-making in the field of education.
  • NCJW Women & Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University is groundbreaking for its place in Israel’s history of higher education, and is life-changing for its students. One honor student from the program writes, “In this short letter I cannot properly express all the beauty I found and experienced in this program. Almost every aspect of it contributed in one or many ways to my growth as a feminist and as a person.”

National Council of Jewish Women: A faith in the future. A belief in action.

Chief Executive Officer: Nancy K. Kaufman
NCJW Headquarters: 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10115
Tel 212 645 4048
Fax 212 645 7466
Washington Office: 1707 L Street, NW, Suite 950, Washington, DC 20036-4206
Tel: 202 296 2588
Fax: 202 331 7792
Email: action(at)ncjwdc.org

Website: www.ncjw.org