As CEO of the Jews of Color Initiative, Ilana Kaufman will soon meet with and learn from communities across the country during JoCI’s first-ever nationwide Listening Tour. In advance, she’s diving deep into the art of listening, building on her countless conversations since JoCI’s founding in 2017 with Jews of Color, communal leaders, and people who simply want Jewish life to reflect their full identities.
2025
At a time when both Jewish and Latino communities are grappling with fear, grief, and misinformation, Raíces y Redes offers a model rooted in empathy, curiosity, and shared humanity. “There needs to be a collective reckoning that yes, we are experiencing an emergency—and there’s also another community in front of us experiencing an emergency right now. No emergency is more important than another.”
The Horizons project, created by the LUNAR Collective, emerged from a vision to place Asian Jews at the center of bridge building between Jewish and Asian American communities. Through Horizons, Asian Jewish leaders are expanding the scope of what it means to respond to antisemitism and modeling a future where coalition and curiosity replace isolation and fear.
Over the last couple of years, Veronica Andersen has drawn strength from the Pro Net community, deepening her connection to Judaism after the isolating years of the pandemic and the passing of her mother. The LA Pro Net became more than just a social space—it was a catalyst for spiritual reconnection and a path toward leadership in Jewish life.
"We knew that these projects would be most powerful if the leaders had a chance to learn from one another along the way. Rather than funding each grantee separately, we wanted to build in structures for peer support and thought partnership. JoCI is deeply invested in the cohort model as a means for leadership growth, so we developed a cohort curriculum that would serve our grantees and their projects."
The Crown Heights Birth Justice Project is bringing diverse populations together to build bridges by supporting each others’ health journeys during pregnancy and postpartum. In doing so, the project establishes a setting for authentic connections rooted in shared experiences that can inform how the Jewish community approaches building coalitions—an essential tool needed to address antisemitism.
For other Jews of Color considering professional development opportunities, Thrasher encourages stepping forward. “These opportunities aren’t closed off to us. We’re part of the Jewish community, and access to these programs is also ours."
One of two new members on the Jews of Color Initiative’s Board, Kai Mishlove brings decades of experience in Jewish communal leadership, advocacy, and coalition-building. With a career spanning social services, mental health, and community engagement, Mishlove has fostered inclusion, empowered marginalized voices, and created spaces where diverse perspectives thrive.
Kaufman and Spitalnik identified three key strategies that will enable the Jewish community to better tend to the multiracial, multifaith coalitions that have been integral to Jewish safety and security throughout American history.
Through archiving oral histories, Tanaka has noted some national trends, including shifts in intermarriage, reasons and dates of immigration to the U.S., intergenerational trauma, and relationships to whiteness and assimilation. “There’s so much to unpack, but everyone has a story rooted in political history,” Tanaka said.
When JoCI opened a Request for Proposals for projects supporting new and emerging initiatives for Jews of Color in Los Angeles, Rabbi Yonosan Perry and longtime collaborator Chava Shervington saw an opportunity to provide new support for youth in the community. Their idea: a bar and bat mitzvah preparatory program designed specifically for older children in Torah-observant Black Jewish families.
The Jews of Color Initiative continues to deepen its engagement in the South, supporting leaders and organizations who are shaping vibrant Jewish life—often in places where Jewish identity is powerfully thriving. One such leader is Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital, whose story offers insight into both the challenges, and the transformative potential, of building Jewish community in the South.
The Grant Advisory Committee is an essential component of the Jews of Color Initiative’s grantmaking, helping to foster a more inclusive, dynamic, and equitable Jewish community. Through their service, these leaders are shaping the future of Jewish life and fostering a more inclusive community.
At UCLA, two student leaders are creating new opportunities for Jews of Color. Funded by a grant from the Jews of Color Initiative, Aiden Moseley and Jonathan Cohn co-founded the Jews of Color program through Hillel at UCLA—an initiative dedicated to fostering community and amplifying JoC voices on campus.
Two projects, both supported by grants from our Intergenerational Relationships for Cultural Preservation RFP, beautifully illustrate how food transmits cultural identity l’dor vador — from generation to generation.
At the core of Traylor’s leadership is the idea that all humans are created b’tzelem Elohim—“in the image of God”—a concept found in the very beginning of Torah. “If each and every person, not only Jews, but every person in the world, is created in the image of God,” Traylor said, “that calls us to not only be nice to them, but to love them and to fight to ensure they have live a life filled with goodness.”
Spicer’s leadership trajectory is an excellent example of putting research into action and can serve as a model for other communities. The survey created a centralized effort for community members to articulate their need for belonging and more leadership opportunities, and TischPDX took the findings seriously.
In the four years since its founding, Mosaic Visions has evolved and grown into a dynamic organization that facilitates community discussions around social justice, inclusion, and spiritual practice.