Jewish Life

The Jewish Life Program seeks to improve social and economic outcomes for communities in Israel and North America. We focus on building capacity in under-resourced fields, like civic service and urban planning in Israel and Jewish chaplaincy in North America, and to develop courageous leadership. In North America, the communities we support include Muslims and Jews together and Jewish students at the City University of New York.

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Featured Project: Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom

Sisterhood chapters bake bread for the homeless and hospitals as acts of Tzedakah/Sadaqa: of service and justice.

The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom builds relationships of trust and respect between Muslim and Jewish women and teens to help them take shared steps against bigotry.  Women start out as strangers to one another, develop friendships and become Sisters who stand up for one another, educate one another about their faith and cultural practices, and engage in social action to end incidents of hate.

From its origins as a small group that met in New Jersey living rooms, the Sisterhood is now a network with over 3,500 active members and 140 chapters nationwide and in Berlin. Chapter members study together, engage in acts of service, and take steps to fight bias in their communities.

During the pandemic, the Sisterhood opened its tent further and expanded programming; participants in its social media groups now number over 8,000. In 2019, the Sisterhood was one of ten global grassroots organizations to receive a prestigious Intercultural Innovation Award from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. Its work is depicted in the documentary “Stranger/Sister” released in 2020.

Revson support will help the Sisterhood to grow its community membership program and virtual chapters to reach women and teens in isolated areas and in locations without a balance of Muslim and Jewish women and teens. It will also support the Sisterhood’s efforts to encourage an even greater diversity among its membership.

Political extremism continues to result in threats to both the Muslim and Jewish communities. The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom helps its members to develop skills and build strong bonds to meet challenges together.