Description
The New
Jewish Agenda (NJA), an activist national
Jewish community organization, set out to be a progressive voice within the
Jewish community and a
Jewish voice within the progressive community. Most active in the decade of the 1980's, the NJA was committed to working at the
grassroots level on programs for the
Jewish people in the United States, Israel, and other
Jewish communities that differed from the dominant policies of the Israeli government and the United States national
Jewish establishment. This collection is comprised of the working papers of the Los Angeles chapter and Western Regional office
of the NJA, organized in 1979 and lasting through the early years of the 1990's.
Background
The Los Angeles Chapter of the New
Jewish Agenda (NJA), was formed on June 21, 1981, with the same purposes, by laws and organizational structure as the national Agenda.
The national NJA had been founded in December, 1980 and had central offices in New York and Washington DC. The aspiration
of the NJA was to build a new synthesis of
Jewish identity derived from a variety of religious, cultural and secular backgrounds, committed to building a socially just and
peaceful world from the community and grassroots level. The NJA set out to be a progressive voice within the
Jewish community and a
Jewish voice within the progressive community. With the belief that authentic
Jewish life demanded serious and consistent attention to Tikun Olam (the just ordering of human society and the world) the NJA and
its chapters sought to apply those
Jewish values to a variety of issues including: American
Jewish communal life, mutual responsibility between Israel and diaspora communities, Israeli society and Middle East peace, American
domestic and foreign policy, the role of women and men in
Jewish life,
Jewish family life, the relations between Jews and other communities.
Extent
5 letter size boxes
3 2/3 linear feet
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single
copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written
permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research
query prior to making a visit.