New Jewish Agenda (NJA) was a multi-issue membership organization active in the United States between 1980 and 1992, consisting of approximately 50 local chapters.
The organization emphasized participatory democracy and advocated for civil rights, particularly for groups marginalized within the broader Jewish community.
At a Delegates Conference held on November 28, 1982, in New York City, 65 elected representatives from NJA chapters and at-large members from across the United States reached consensus on a National Platform.
[6] In November 1991, NJA held a conference in Philadelphia titled "Carrying It On: Organizing Against Anti-Semitism and Racism for Jewish Activists and College Students."
[8] One notable project of the FTF was Gesher (Hebrew for "Bridge"), a newsletter that featured updates from chapter task forces and explored feminist issues within NJA.
[10] In the same year, NJA published Coming Out/Coming Home, a pamphlet addressing homophobia and advocating for gay rights within the Jewish community.
The following year, NJA coordinated a Jewish contingent and Havdalah service at the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Shortly after the war began, NJA published a full-page advertisement in The New York Times denouncing the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
[13] In 1983, NJA launched a petition calling for a freeze on the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, garnering 5,000 signatures from American Jews.
[14] NJA staged protests against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Menachem Begin during his 1982 visit to Los Angeles and Ariel Sharon at a 1983 Academy of the Hebrew Language banquet in San Francisco, which drew over 2,000 demonstrators.
In 1984, NJA co-sponsored a national speaking tour with the American Friends Service Committee featuring Mordechai Bar-On and Mohammed Milhim.
NJA successfully lobbied for the passage of a resolution supporting a multilateral nuclear arms freeze at the 1982 General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations.
This resolution prompted other organizations, including the American Jewish Congress and B'nai B'rith to adopt similar positions.
In 1983, Arthur Waskow founded The Shalom Center, a Jewish organization dedicated to peace and anti-nuclear activism, building on the momentum created by NJA's efforts.
In 1984, NJA chapters organized numerous Sukkat Shalom and Rainbow Sign events, connecting traditional Jewish practices to the call for nuclear disarmament.
[18] Through widespread publicity, the delegation effectively countered the Reagan administration's efforts to rally American Jewish support for the Contras.
NJA produced two brochures addressing concerns that had previously limited Jewish involvement in the Central American crisis and highlighting scriptural commandments urging Jews to protect and provide refuge to the persecuted.
[19] In 1986, NJA sponsored national speaking tours featuring three rabbis whose congregations had offered sanctuary to Central American refugees.
While the reasons for NJA's disbandment are not definitively agreed upon, financial difficulties played a significant role, with the organization accruing long-term debt that reportedly reached at least $60,000[20] Additionally, NJA faced isolation within the mainstream Jewish community due to its then-controversial positions on Palestine and the inclusion of queer Jews.