The Jewish Social Justice Roundtable of Kansas City has formed to facilitate communication about various social justice efforts of Jewish agencies and congregations in the metropolitan area. The Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC is spearheading the effort, with the Roundtable meeting on a quarterly basis.
The Roundtable is an outgrowth and replacement of Jewish Voices United: A Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion (JVU), which formed in 2017 around the immigrant travel ban. JVU’s focus at the time was to use social action to stand with those most vulnerable and persecuted by demonstrating support for and promoting positive relationships among Kansas City’s diverse populations. Twelve organizations and congregations signed on as founding JVU members.
The Roundtable has evolved from this initial effort to the role of promoting community-wide communication around social justice. The Roundtable deals with issues of domestic social justice, it will not include efforts relating to Israel. In addition, The Roundtable does not require formal membership or commitment toward endorsing or participating in group actions.
“We’re excited about the new direction of this effort,” said JCRB’s Executive Director Gavriela Geller. “We realized that by convening a quarterly conversation to keep each other in the loop, groups working on social justice issues in the Jewish community can coordinate and collaborate more organically without requiring the consensus of other organizations. Even for those groups that work minimally on these issues, it’s an opportunity for them to hear about the incredible work being done across the community.”
Directors of Jewish organizations, congregational rabbis and Jewish leaders of social justice organizations have been invited to participate in these quarterly meetings and join a digital network to share information in between meetings.
The Roundtable’s first meeting was held in May at which participants heard from educational, advocacy, funding and direct service organizations in the Jewish community as well as various volunteer-led chapters, the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and synagogues.
The Roundtable has already proven to be a helpful resource according to Don Goldman, CEO of Jewish Family Services, one of co-founders of JVU.
“It was illuminating to get a broader sense of the work being done in the community, and how certain issues are affecting our agencies in ways we may not have realized,” Goldman said. “We’re looking forward to this ongoing conversation that will help our community act in sync to amplify and deepen our collective impact.”