Tevel b’Tzedek (Hebrew for Earth In Justice) is an Israeli non-profit organization promoting social and environmental justice by sending young people all over the world to do intimate and immediate action. Their goals are to engage the Jewish community is issues of poverty and devastation on the premise that the Jewish people are innately connected to the world in which they live. They have sites in Israel, Nepal and Haiti, where they are aiding the local community in multi-dimensional ways.
A dear friend of mine, Arielle Sokoloff, is a Tevel B’Tzedek fellow on the Nepal trip. “There is something very refreshing about walking down the street saying ‘Namaste’ to everyone you pass and they return the greeting with a big, genuine smile. That doesn’t happen in New York,” she told me.
She is very appreciative of the opportunity that Tevel b’Tzedek has provided for her and the friends she has been able to make. “Tevel b’Tzedek has given me the opportunity to work at the grassroots level of providing foreign aid. It is the classic example of a program that prides itself on accountability and evaluation. For the past few weeks we have learned about globalization, human rights, and group mobilization- these tools will help us work to make effective change in the communities as opposed to just going in and seeing how we can help.”
Still looking for something meaningful to do after you are no longer behind the ivy walls of your university? Tevel b’Tzedek is a program that inherently empowers and respects. It is an amazing opportunity to travel, learn and grow as a person and Jew.
