National Council of Jewish Women
Encyclopedia
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) defines itself as 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 has pursued the three tracks of social service, advocacy for progressive government policies and programs, and philanthropy in support of projects benefitting women, children, and families and the public at large. NCJW’s coalition work in Washington, DC; Israel; and across the US enable it to effect public policy change on a wide range of domestic and international issues. NCJW runs an online action center to provide access to issue information, advocacy campaigns, and email updates enabling site visitors to learn more and speak out. NCJW’s State Public Affairs Network, a corps of trained volunteers, shares public policy expertise at the state level, taking the lead on issues of concern to NCJW and representing the organization in state capitals. NCJW currently has over 90,000 members, supporters, and advocates in the United States.
a half century earlier." (Rogow 1995:2)
At its beginning, NCJW focused on educating Jewish women who had lost a sense of identity with Judaism and on helping Jewish immigrants become self sustaining in their new land. Activities included promoting education and employment for women through adult study circles, vocational training, school health programs, and free community health dispensaries. NCJW was part of the broader effort of middle and upper class women to assist those less well off, working closely with the settlement movement epitomized by Jane Addams
' Hull House
in Chicago. Their work helped create the modern profession of social work
. NCJW also began a campaign for social legislation to address low-income housing, child labor, public health, food and drug regulations, and civil rights. In 1908 NCJW argued for a federal anti-lynching law. NCJW also became involved in efforts to promote world peace.
During World War I, NCJW raised funds for war relief in Europe and Russia and helped achieve passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
. As the Depression began, NCJW became involved in government programs to provide relief and help the unemployed find jobs, while continuing its legislative efforts for social legislation. During the 1940s, NCJW called for an end to segregation and racial discrimination. World War II
found NCJW engaged in rescuing Jewish children from Germany and working to reunite thousands of displaced persons with family members, as well as a broad range of other relief efforts.
After the war, NCJW fought to preserve civil liberties during the McCarthy era and helped develop the innovative Meals on Wheels program for the elderly and pioneered the Senior Service Corps to help seniors lead productive lives as volunteers. The organization joined the emerging civil rights movement and participated fully in the drive to enact and promote the 1960s’ anti-poverty and civil rights programs. NCJW renewed its commitment to women’s rights as the revitalized women’s movement took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing its energies on the fate of women and children, NCJW sought child care programs and family-friendly policies that would benefit children and working mothers, and championed reproductive rights. In 1970s, NCJW officially published a series of documents: Windows on Day Care, the first nationwide survey of day care facilities and services; Children Without Justice, a study of the US Justice Department’s work with foster children; and Innocent Victims, a comprehensive manual on child abuse detection and prevention.
NCJW helped launch the NCJW Women Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University, which advances research and analysis in feminist studies while reaching out to the public through empowerment seminars and community services. The NCJW Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University is the first bachelor's degree-granting program of its kind in the Middle East, providing an interdisciplinary analysis of issues impacting women and other minorities. NCJW has expanded its Israel Granting Program to include Women to Women: NCJW's Empowerment Initiative. This new funding stream complements the work of Yad B' Yad by supporting women's empowerment projects that address women's rights and well-being in areas like economics, politics, education, domestic violence, and social justice.
Higher Ground: NCJW's Domestic Violence Campaign is 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. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/higherground.
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 freedoms, including a woman's right to reproductive choice. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/benchmark.
Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access educates and empowers individuals to advocate for women's universal access to contraceptive information and health services. Through a combination of education and advocacy initiatives at the community, state, and national levels, Plan A aims to secure and protect access to contraceptive information and health services for all, putting individuals back in control of their personal health decisions. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/plana.
NCJW's Promote the Vote, Protect the Vote Initiative is designed to secure and safeguard voting rights for all, and encourage participation in the democratic process at the community, state, and federal levels with the aim to ensure that every eligible voter is able to vote and to ensure that every vote cast is counted.
Bowdlerizing Scrabble: While reading the Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary, Judith Grad found several words she considered to be offensive, including "jew", listed as a verb with the definition "To bargain with - an offensive term". Her initial letters to Merriam-Webster
and Milton Bradley
requesting removal of the words resulted in politely negative responses. Grad wrote to the National Council of Jewish Women
, who began a letter-writing campaign in support of her cause. Publicity in Jewish media led to the Anti-Defamation League
writing to Hasbro
chairman Alan Hassenfeld, who announced that a third edition would be published with the "offensive" words removed. The news was generally not well received by members of the National Scrabble Association, which was not consulted in the decision. After receiving mostly negative feedback from players, including threats to boycott events, NSA
president John D. Williams announced a compromise, the result of which was the publication of the unexpurgated Official Tournament and Club Word List
.
Principle 1: Individual liberties and rights guaranteed by the Constitution
are keystones of a free and pluralistic society and must be protected and preserved.
Principle 2: Religious liberty and the separation of religion and state are constitutional principles that must be protected and preserved in order to maintain our democratic society.
Principle 3: Human rights
and dignity are fundamental and must be guaranteed to all individuals.
Principle 4: All individuals have the right to live in a world at peace
and free from the threat of terrorism
.
Principle 5: A democratic society and its people must value diversity
and promote mutual understanding and respect or all.
Principle 6: Discrimination
on the basis of race, gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation must be eliminated.
Principle 7: Equal rights
and equal opportunities for women must be guaranteed.
Principle 8: The continuity of the Jewish people must be assured from generation to generation through Jewish education, culture, values, and respect among all streams of Judaism.
Principle 9: The survival and security of the State of Israel
and the establishment of a just and permanent peace are central to the Jewish people and vital to the interests of the United States.
Principle 10: A democratic society must recognize its obligation to provide for the needs of individuals unable to provide for themselves.
Principle 11: Human services must be coordinated, comprehensive, accessible, and sufficiently funded.
Principle 12: An educated
and informed public is fundamental to a democratic society.
Principle 13: The protection and preservation of the environment
are vital to a sustainable future.
Principle 14: A democratic society depends on the collective efforts of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors and is strengthened by the commitment and contribution of volunteers.
For a complete list of all of NCJW’s current guiding principles, priorities, and resolutions, visit the link below to the Missions and Resolutions page of NCJW website.
NCJW has pursued the three tracks of social service, advocacy for progressive government policies and programs, and philanthropy in support of projects benefitting women, children, and families and the public at large. NCJW’s coalition work in Washington, DC; Israel; and across the US enable it to effect public policy change on a wide range of domestic and international issues. NCJW runs an online action center to provide access to issue information, advocacy campaigns, and email updates enabling site visitors to learn more and speak out. NCJW’s State Public Affairs Network, a corps of trained volunteers, shares public policy expertise at the state level, taking the lead on issues of concern to NCJW and representing the organization in state capitals. NCJW currently has over 90,000 members, supporters, and advocates in the United States.
History
According to the NCJW website, NCJW was organized following the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where Jewish women were brought together under the leadership of Hannah Greenebaum Solomon to “shape the destinies” of American lives. Rebuffed by the Jewish men at the parliament from playing a substantive role, the assembled women sought to form an organization that would strengthen women’s connection to Judaism and build on that identity to pursue a wide-ranging social justice agenda. That agenda included advocating women’s and children’s rights, assisting Jewish immigrants, and advancing social welfare, as well as defending Jews and Judaism, advancing Jewish identity, and incorporating Jewish values in its work. According to Faith Rogow, author of Gone to Another Meeting: The National Council of Jewish Women (1893-1993), the “NCJW was the offspring of the economic and social success achieved by German Jewish immigrants in the United States. As this community of German Jews matured and stabilized, it faced the same challenge to gender role definitions that had accompanied the Jacksonian DemocracyJacksonian democracy
Jacksonian democracy is the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man typified by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy which dominated the previous political era. The Democratic-Republican Party of...
a half century earlier." (Rogow 1995:2)
At its beginning, NCJW focused on educating Jewish women who had lost a sense of identity with Judaism and on helping Jewish immigrants become self sustaining in their new land. Activities included promoting education and employment for women through adult study circles, vocational training, school health programs, and free community health dispensaries. NCJW was part of the broader effort of middle and upper class women to assist those less well off, working closely with the settlement movement epitomized by Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
' Hull House
Hull House
Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...
in Chicago. Their work helped create the modern profession of social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
. NCJW also began a campaign for social legislation to address low-income housing, child labor, public health, food and drug regulations, and civil rights. In 1908 NCJW argued for a federal anti-lynching law. NCJW also became involved in efforts to promote world peace.
During World War I, NCJW raised funds for war relief in Europe and Russia and helped achieve passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....
. As the Depression began, NCJW became involved in government programs to provide relief and help the unemployed find jobs, while continuing its legislative efforts for social legislation. During the 1940s, NCJW called for an end to segregation and racial discrimination. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
found NCJW engaged in rescuing Jewish children from Germany and working to reunite thousands of displaced persons with family members, as well as a broad range of other relief efforts.
After the war, NCJW fought to preserve civil liberties during the McCarthy era and helped develop the innovative Meals on Wheels program for the elderly and pioneered the Senior Service Corps to help seniors lead productive lives as volunteers. The organization joined the emerging civil rights movement and participated fully in the drive to enact and promote the 1960s’ anti-poverty and civil rights programs. NCJW renewed its commitment to women’s rights as the revitalized women’s movement took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing its energies on the fate of women and children, NCJW sought child care programs and family-friendly policies that would benefit children and working mothers, and championed reproductive rights. In 1970s, NCJW officially published a series of documents: Windows on Day Care, the first nationwide survey of day care facilities and services; Children Without Justice, a study of the US Justice Department’s work with foster children; and Innocent Victims, a comprehensive manual on child abuse detection and prevention.
NCJW and Israel
NCJW has had a long involvement with promoting the welfare of Israel. Beginning with its Ship-a-Box program to send toys, books, and educational materials to young Holocaust survivors and generations of Israeli children, NCJW began a long collaboration designed to improve the lives of women and children in Israel. NCJW funded the department of education at Hebrew University in Jerusalem for the training of teachers, and eventually established the Research Institute for Innovation in Education (RIFIE) at Hebrew University. The institute assists at-risk children from all segments of Israeli society, including as many as 40 ongoing projects each year in early childhood education, school integration, vocational education, immigrant absorption, and cross-cultural education. Major programs include: HIPPY/Haetgar (Home Instruction for Pre-School Youngsters), Manof, and YACHAD. NCJW built Hebrew University High School in Jerusalem. NCJW later launched an Israel Granting Program called Yad B' Yad: NCJW's Initiative to Nurture Knowledge, to support grassroots organizations serving at-risk children and their families in Israel.NCJW helped launch the NCJW Women Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University, which advances research and analysis in feminist studies while reaching out to the public through empowerment seminars and community services. The NCJW Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University is the first bachelor's degree-granting program of its kind in the Middle East, providing an interdisciplinary analysis of issues impacting women and other minorities. NCJW has expanded its Israel Granting Program to include Women to Women: NCJW's Empowerment Initiative. This new funding stream complements the work of Yad B' Yad by supporting women's empowerment projects that address women's rights and well-being in areas like economics, politics, education, domestic violence, and social justice.
Recent and current campaigns
NCJW's work reflects the spirit of the organization itself -- a powerful union of forward-thinking ideals and Jewish values: A faith in the future. A belief in action. Major initiatives include:Higher Ground: NCJW's Domestic Violence Campaign is 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. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/higherground.
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 freedoms, including a woman's right to reproductive choice. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/benchmark.
Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access educates and empowers individuals to advocate for women's universal access to contraceptive information and health services. Through a combination of education and advocacy initiatives at the community, state, and national levels, Plan A aims to secure and protect access to contraceptive information and health services for all, putting individuals back in control of their personal health decisions. Learn more at www.ncjw.org/plana.
NCJW's Promote the Vote, Protect the Vote Initiative is designed to secure and safeguard voting rights for all, and encourage participation in the democratic process at the community, state, and federal levels with the aim to ensure that every eligible voter is able to vote and to ensure that every vote cast is counted.
Bowdlerizing Scrabble: While reading the Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary, Judith Grad found several words she considered to be offensive, including "jew", listed as a verb with the definition "To bargain with - an offensive term". Her initial letters to Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
and Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
requesting removal of the words resulted in politely negative responses. Grad wrote to the National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Jewish Women
The National Council of Jewish Women defines itself as a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action...
, who began a letter-writing campaign in support of her cause. Publicity in Jewish media led to the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
writing to Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
chairman Alan Hassenfeld, who announced that a third edition would be published with the "offensive" words removed. The news was generally not well received by members of the National Scrabble Association, which was not consulted in the decision. After receiving mostly negative feedback from players, including threats to boycott events, NSA
National Scrabble Association
The National Scrabble Association was created in 1978 by Selchow & Righter, then the makers of Scrabble, to promote their game. It coordinated local clubs and Scrabble tournaments in North America, including the National Scrabble Championship, until 2009. The current director is John D...
president John D. Williams announced a compromise, the result of which was the publication of the unexpurgated Official Tournament and Club Word List
Official Tournament and Club Word List
Official Tournament and Club Word List or Tournament Word List, referred to as OTaCWL, OWL, or TWL, is the official word authority for tournament Scrabble in...
.
Governance
NCJW is governed by a board of directors, president, and an executive committee. Headquartered in New York City, NCJW maintains offices in Washington, DC, and Israel. Members vote on organizational policies and resolutions at national conventions, which have been held every two years before 1953 and every three years since then. The principles adopted in 2008 include:Principle 1: Individual liberties and rights guaranteed by the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
are keystones of a free and pluralistic society and must be protected and preserved.
Principle 2: Religious liberty and the separation of religion and state are constitutional principles that must be protected and preserved in order to maintain our democratic society.
Principle 3: Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and dignity are fundamental and must be guaranteed to all individuals.
Principle 4: All individuals have the right to live in a world at peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and free from the threat of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
.
Principle 5: A democratic society and its people must value diversity
Diversity (politics)
In the political arena, the term diversity is used to describe political entities with members who have identifiable differences in their backgrounds or lifestyles....
and promote mutual understanding and respect or all.
Principle 6: Discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
on the basis of race, gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation must be eliminated.
Principle 7: Equal rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
and equal opportunities for women must be guaranteed.
Principle 8: The continuity of the Jewish people must be assured from generation to generation through Jewish education, culture, values, and respect among all streams of Judaism.
Principle 9: The survival and security of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the establishment of a just and permanent peace are central to the Jewish people and vital to the interests of the United States.
Principle 10: A democratic society must recognize its obligation to provide for the needs of individuals unable to provide for themselves.
Principle 11: Human services must be coordinated, comprehensive, accessible, and sufficiently funded.
Principle 12: An educated
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and informed public is fundamental to a democratic society.
Principle 13: The protection and preservation of the environment
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
are vital to a sustainable future.
Principle 14: A democratic society depends on the collective efforts of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors and is strengthened by the commitment and contribution of volunteers.
For a complete list of all of NCJW’s current guiding principles, priorities, and resolutions, visit the link below to the Missions and Resolutions page of NCJW website.
See also
- Hannah G. SolomonHannah G. SolomonHannah Greenebaum Solomon was the celebrated founder of the National Council of Jewish Women, the first national association of Jewish women and also an important force for reform in Chicago around the turn of the twentieth century...
- Roe v. WadeRoe v. WadeRoe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
- Jewish FeminismJewish feminismJewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women...
- Child protection
- Social workSocial workSocial Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
- Reform JudaismReform JudaismReform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
- Jane AddamsJane AddamsJane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
- Hull HouseHull HouseHull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...
- Jacksonian democracyJacksonian democracyJacksonian democracy is the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man typified by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy which dominated the previous political era. The Democratic-Republican Party of...
- Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
Links
- http://www.ncjw.org/
- http://action.ncjw.org
- http://www.jwa.org/exhibits/wov/solomon/
- http://www.ncjw.org/pdf/resolution_brochure.pdf/
- http://www.ncjw.org/pdf/action_brochure.pdf/
- National Council of Jewish Women, Indianapolis Section, Archives
- http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/ncjw-nat.html/
- The University of San Antonio houses a collection of record from the San Antonio Section of NCJW. The collection consists of administrative records, clippings, scrapbooks and printed materials. The bulk of the materials in the collection are scrapbooks, which represent the history of the organization from 1939 to 1995 through photographs, clippings and printed materials.