T'ruah

T'ruah
Name	T'ruah
Formation	2002
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	New York City
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Rabbi Jill Jacobs

T'ruah is an American nonprofit Jewish human rights organization that mobilizes rabbis, cantors, and congregations on issues of law, justice, and human dignity. Founded in 2002 and based in New York City, it engages with issues ranging from criminal justice reform to refugee rights and Israeli policy, working at the intersection of religious leadership and public policy. The organization conducts rabbinic education, public advocacy, legal referrals, and coalition-building with a wide array of faith, civil rights, and international actors.

History

T'ruah was founded in the early 21st century amid debates following the Second Intifada and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, drawing on networks of rabbis and Jewish activists who had been involved with Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi David Saperstein, American Jewish Congress, and other communal institutions. Early organizers included clergy and lay leaders with ties to American Jewish World Service, HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), Jewish Voice for Peace, and Rabbinical Council of America, who sought a distinct organizational vehicle for rabbinic human rights work. Over time the group developed programming and initiatives that interacted with policies produced by the United States Congress, U.S. Department of Justice, United Nations Human Rights Council, and agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Prisons. T'ruah’s evolution paralleled shifts in American Jewish institutional alignments alongside developments involving AIPAC, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America, and progressive networks like Center for American Progress.

Mission and Activities

The organization’s mission emphasizes Jewish law and ethical teachings as sources for advocacy on issues including mass incarceration, capital punishment, torture, refugee protection, and Israeli-Palestinian human rights. T'ruah offers rabbinic training that references sources in the Talmud, Mishnah, and writings of figures such as Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, while translating those teachings into campaigns targeting bodies like the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and the Israeli Knesset. Activities include producing model sermons for clergy networks, organizing witness delegations to places such as the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Haitian refugee camps, and coordinating sign-on letters to entities like the European Union or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. T'ruah also runs legal referral programs in coordination with organizations such as ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.

Organizational Structure

T'ruah is governed by a board of directors composed of rabbis, attorneys, and lay leaders with affiliations to institutions including Hebrew Union College, Yeshiva University, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and various congregational networks. The executive leadership has included figures with prior roles at HIAS, Rabbinical Assembly, and nonprofit law firms. Staff teams specialize in program areas—such as criminal justice reform, immigration, and Israel/Palestine—and collaborate with partner legal teams at organizations like American Civil Liberties Union, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and Release Aging People in Prison. Regional chapters and rabbinic networks operate across metropolitan centers including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C., enabling local advocacy with municipal entities such as police departments and prosecutor offices.

Advocacy and Campaigns

T'ruah has run campaigns against solitary confinement, for alternatives to the death penalty, and to protect asylum seekers, engaging with legislative vehicles like the First Step Act and municipal bail reform measures in cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco. The organization has issued public statements and organized actions concerning Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, calling for accountability through mechanisms such as investigations by the International Criminal Court and reporting to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Campaigns have included coalition work with groups like Black Lives Matter, National Council of Jewish Women, J Street, and faith coalitions including Interfaith Worker Justice and the National Council of Churches. T'ruah organizes rabbinic delegations and testimony before bodies such as the U.S. Congress and committees like the House Judiciary Committee, and files amicus briefs alongside legal organizations in federal courts.

Partnerships and Funding

T'ruah’s partnerships span Jewish, interfaith, and secular organizations including Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, American Jewish Committee, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Bend the Arc, Open Society Foundations, and philanthropic entities like the Ford Foundation and the Charles H. Revson Foundation. It has collaborated on grants and programs with academic centers at Columbia University, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, and think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress. Funders and institutional partners have also included family foundations and donor-advised funds associated with figures connected to United Jewish Communities and private philanthropies engaged in criminal justice reform and refugee assistance.

Criticism and Controversies

T'ruah has faced criticism from pro-Israel organizations and congregational leaders who object to its positions on Israeli policy, drawing scrutiny from groups including StandWithUs, Zionist Organization of America, and some chapters of American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Critics within segments of Orthodox and Conservative communities have cited disagreements with leadership affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism or progressive Jewish movements, while on other fronts right-leaning commentators have challenged the organization’s alliances with groups like Black Lives Matter and Jewish Voice for Peace. Controversies have involved debates over rabbinic endorsements, public divestment campaigns targeting corporations operating in disputed territories, and tensions with large communal funders and federations such as Jewish Federations of North America and advocacy conflicts involving Anti-Defamation League positions. Legal and policy disputes have occasionally led to contested testimony before legislative bodies and public exchanges in major media outlets including coverage in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Haaretz.

Category:Jewish organizations based in the United States