New Generations
NewGen Community Update—November 2024
Our community of young professionals was built for moments like this one.
NIF NewGen is a community of activists, young professionals, teachers, rabbis, and students in their 20s and 30s who are committed to nurturing progressive civil society in Israel/Palestine. Together, we create opportunities to learn about and engage with the most important issues facing Palestinians and Israelis. By building relationships with other young liberals and leftists locally as well as connecting directly with Israelis and Palestinians leading social change movements on the ground, NewGen is developing individual leadership and social networks that will carry us through this uncertain period.
Amidst the polarization, we want to unite people around our shared values of equality, freedom, and safety for all Israelis and Palestinians. We are bringing people together to stand unequivocally against endless war, siege, and occupation/annexation; and to support the primary stakeholders, Israelis and Palestinians who call the Land their home, believe in universal human rights, believe in democracy and pluralism, and have the power to forge a new future in which Palestinians are free and Jewish Israelis are safe.
There is a lot going on in the world of NewGen right now—with more and more events and programs being organized around the country, and on-the-ground activism opportunities coming up on a rolling basis. See below for an update on what our communities in the US are organizing in person; and also provide ways to get more involved, from wherever you are.
Sign Up to Receive NewGen Community Updates!
NewGen Community Roundup
Chicago
On October 9, our community gathered to reflect and collectively process the emotional, psychological, and spiritual weight of the last year. The event, “Tisha B’October”, featured a panel of local leaders that provided frameworks for mourning found in Jewish history and the Torah, helping us reckon with the recent tragic events and grapple with the links between Jewish and Palestinian loss.
Boston
With our friends at the Halachic Left, we held some fun and fascinating fall events, including a conversation with rabbi and professor Shaul Magid at Lehrhaus Tavern; as well as a screening of “Cinema Sabaya,” an uplifting film about Israeli Arab and Jewish relations. (For local updates and volunteering opportunities, join the Boston NewGen WhatsApp Group!).
NYC
In late September, just before the High Holidays, we held a shabbat dinner at the Greene Garden in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. 20 of us gathered together to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the High Holidays, which was much needed given the political tensions in the American Jewish community, especially across generations, relating to the Israel-Gaza war.
On the Ground
This past July, Zak Witus, our young leadership and education manager, visited Israel/Palestine for the first time since the war started in order to co-lead two NewGen active learning trips: the Naomi Chazan Global Activism Fellowship and the Achvat Amim Summer Solidarity Program. Over three weeks, he reconnected with Israeli and Palestinian activist friends, attended demonstrations, and returned to places in the South Hebron Hills (occupied West Bank) in which he volunteered extensively back in 2022 as a human rights observer. Read the blog post about what he saw here.
Upcoming Events
[sp_easyaccordion id=”26392″]
Go Learn & Take Action in Israel/Palestine
[sp_easyaccordion id=”26398″]
Organizing Opportunity
Eager to grow your local community that shares your commitment to equality, justice, and democracy for all people between the River and the Sea (Israeli and Palestinian)? Use this toolkit for organizing a NewGen Social Justice Shabbat in your city.
Young Israeli or Palestinian Movement Leader to Watch
Becca Strober
Becca (they/them) is an Israeli-American organizer and educator on the Israeli military occupation who works closely with Israeli and American Jewish communities. In 2018, Becca joined Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli army veterans who and have taken it upon themselves to expose the public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories, where they currently serve as senior director. I highly recommend following Becca on Instagram (@becca.explains.the.occupation) for top expert analysis and historical perspectives on everything pertaining to the occupation.
Take Action