Jewish World Watch


Mission

Jewish World Watch is an expression of Judaism in action, bringing help and healing to survivors of mass atrocities around the globe and seeking to inspire people of all faiths and cultures to join the ongoing fight against genocide. JWW is primarily focused on the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria. Jewish World Watch was founded on three distinct principles: that we must educate ourselves, raise our collective voices, and refuse to stand idly by while atrocities take place. The principles have formed the foundation for the three pillars to our work: Education, Advocacy, and our Projects on-the-ground.

History

Founded on the shared history of the Jewish people and the principle of Tikkun Olam, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis and Janice Kamenir-Reznik created Jewish World Watch in 2004 after learning of the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Recalling the deafening silence during the Holocaust, and the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Rabbi Schulweis believed that we must not be silent in the face of yet another genocide; that we must educate ourselves and raise our collective voices, and that we cannot stand idly by. The "we" at the time was the Jewish people, but since its founding JWW has grown from a collection of Southern California synagogues into an organization that draws support from schools, churches, individuals, communities, and partner organizations across the country all sharing a vision of a world without genocide.
In March 2010, JWW became a member of the Eastern Congo Initiative founded by Ben Affleck. As of 2017, Susan Freudenheim, former executive editor at the Jewish Journal, is the executive director.

Walk to End Genocide

Jewish World Watch hosts an annual fundraising walk called the . In 2019, the Walk will take place in two locations, Los Angeles and the Conejo Valley.