Tzedek Lab is a network of individual members who support one another in their shared work as practitioners leading their Jewish communities and allies in ending racism, antisemitism, white supremacy, and white nationalism. Members join our living laboratory through multi-day immersive network gatherings. In advance of network gatherings, an application to join will go live on this page.
Our most recent Network Gathering took place virtually and in-person between June 30th and July 11th 2022 with an opening session and closing session, local in-person meet-ups, and many options for short workshops during the week. In addition, for those of us not in Detroit, we attended the Allied Media Conference virtually together over the weekend of July 1-3.
Get on our list of interested individuals by completing this form:
TZEDEK LAB
NETWORK GATHERING
2022 / 5782
Our next Network Gathering is taking place alongside the Allied Media Conference ONLINE
DATES:
Network Gathering June 30 - July 11
Allied Media Conference June 30 - July 3
Applications Due April 24
Join us! Returning members and New folks: bit.ly/TzedekLabApp2022
We are thrilled to invite you to the 3rd national Tzedek Lab Network Gathering, hosted alongside the Allied Media Conference for the second time! AMC has gone hybrid -- and so have we. As AMC develops their plan for a hybrid conference, we are moving forward with plans to convene old and new members of our network.
Come convene with Jews and allies, new and existing network members, as a national network alongside other grassroots movements, organizations, and networks working for liberation from across Turtle Island.
Tzedek Lab brings together organizers, political educators, spiritual leaders, and cultural workers into a living laboratory. As Jews and allies to Jews in this political time, we understand that the system of white supremacy and the white nationalist movement is coming after all of us and our peoples, some more directly than others, but with a strategy that uses each of us as a wedge, weapon, and distraction from the solidarity we need.
Our Gathering will focus on some key questions: How have we been successful in confronting these oppressions? What has been our experience as the fight has escalated for all of us in different ways? How are we supporting each other, backing one another, and building the momentum we need for our collective liberation to be realized?
Our regular network activities consist of community of practice calls for political educators, organizers, spiritual leaders, and cultural workers; active online sharing of resources, opportunities, and strategic interventions; and racial and ethnicity-based caucus calls.
Over 2018-2019 we held four in-person gatherings alongside some local city gatherings, convening over 150 practitioners from across the country. In 2020, we held a virtual Network Gathering alongside the Allied Media Conference. This year, we have the powerful opportunity to continue to build with movement siblings through AMC, as well as to strengthen and grow our network through in-person Local Meet-Ups and some shared virtual Full Network space together.
What happens at a Tzedek Lab Network Gathering: As a community of practitioners, we will debrief action and mobilization moments, cross-pollinate and learn from each other’s experiments, explore new connections and partnerships, and strategize together. We will dig into analysis together, sharing insight about intersections and impacts of white supremacy, white nationalism, antisemitism, racism, and Islamophobia in the US and Israel/Palestine. We will grapple with how to bring our broader Jewish community along in understanding and embracing Jews of all racial and ethnic backgrounds as part of our communities. We will wrestle with barriers to building trust with one another and our allies, and invest in each other as a family in this work.
We are excited to bring together a mix of returning members along with a solid crew of new members. At this time, joining Tzedek Lab and becoming a member of the network happens through participation in an immersive convening like this one. Currently, this Network Gathering alongside AMC is the convening we are working towards so if you've be waiting to join or to invite people to join, now is the time.
We are expecting more people to apply than we will be able to accept at this time. Our strategy is to grow intentionally and fractally, not fast and big. Please note that we are prioritizing practitioners and long-haul leaders, people with marginalized identities who have been systematically kept out of structures of support (BIPOC, Sephardim and Mizrahim, poor and working folks, people with gender marginalized identities, and folks with disabilities or who live with chronic illness, and others), and individuals who are in isolated geographies.
Some Frequently Asked Questions and Answers: https://www.thetzedeklab.com/join-the-tzedek-lab
For a closer look at our iterating VALUES: bit.ly/TzedekLabValues
For a closer look at our developing POLITICAL ANALYSIS: bit.ly/TzedekLabPolAnalysis
TIMELINE:
Applications Due: April 24
Notifications of Invitation: Week of May 16
Confirmation Date: May 23
Network Gathering: June 30-July 11.
This includes 2 longer virtual sessions on June 30 and July 11 both online 3-6pm ET/ 12-3pm PT, many shorter optional virtual sessions/workshops/offerings during the weekdays, and in person local meet-ups local places.
The application below will take about 30-60 minutes to complete. Some folks like to work on their answers in a separate document and then paste them over.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
HOW DO I KNOW IF I SHOULD APPLY?
Anyone who resonates with the purpose, is moved by this concept, and who is actively doing this work is invited to apply. We will be looking for individuals who will uniquely contribute to the community of practice and who will benefit from it in unique ways.
We are expecting more people to apply than we will be able to accept at this time. Our strategy is to grow intentionally and fractally, not fast and big. Please note that we are prioritizing practitioners and long-haul leaders, people with marginalized identities who have been systematically kept out of structures of support (BIPOC, Sephardim and Mizrahim, poor and working folks, people with gender marginalized identities, and folks with disabilities or who live with chronic illness, and others), and individuals who are in isolated geographies.
HOW ARE ORGANIZATIONS BEING THOUGHT ABOUT? HOW STRATEGIC SHOULD WE BE ABOUT WHO APPLIES FROM OUR ORGANIZATION? AM I EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN TZEDEK LAB AS A STAFF MEMBER OF AN ORGANIZATION OR AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF AN ORGANIZATION?
We are encouraging staff members of organizations who are active in political education, community organizing, spiritual leadership, and cultural organizing against racism, antisemitism, and white supremacy to apply to join the network. While we expect you to represent the work you do in relationship to the vision of your organization, we do not ask that anyone formally represent the organization at which they work. We consider your role in your organization to be a major asset to your work, in that you have access to a network of leaders and members, and a location at which you are moving the work forward. We are bringing together individuals who have access to a wide spectrum of formal and informal networks so that we can learn from each other and experiment together. We are creating a network that will benefit both from tight clusters of individuals who experiment and work closely together and from people coming from very different experiences and locations.
WHAT IF I DON’T OFFICIALLY WORK IN THE JEWISH SOCIAL JUSTICE FIELD?
You are welcome to apply just as you - the political education trainer, organizer, spiritual leader or cultural worker that you are - and be a part of the network without any official organizational affiliation. We know that extraordinary political education, organizing, and spiritual and cultural work happens outside formal organizations, and we want you to bring your wisdom and connections into the network.
WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL COSTS OF JOINING TZEDEK LAB?
Participation in the network is free - it is not tied to a financial cost for you. Attending the network gatherings is also free. When we meet in person, we will be able to offer travel stipends on a needs basis. If you can contribute to support Tzedek Lab, you can do so here.
WHAT IS THE ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE?
“The Allied Media Conference is a collaboratively designed event that explores the intersections of media and communications, art, technology, education, and social justice. The glue that holds these incredibly diverse content areas together is “media for liberation,” or any collaborative process that uses media, art or technology to address the roots of problems and advance holistic solutions towards a more just and creative world. Another central theme is “visionary organizing,” where folks are not only resisting current systems but modeling new liberatory ways of being.” Doesn’t this sound like a fertile and conducive space for Tzedek Lab?! Learn more about AMC here: https://amc.alliedmedia.org/about-amc/
WHAT DOES HAVING A TZEDEK LAB GATHERING AT THE ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE MEAN FOR ME AND TZEDEK LAB?
We applied and were accepted to hold a Network Gathering alongside 16 other visionary and awesome movement building groups that will be at the conference just like us. We will gather as Tzedek Lab for an Opening session on Thursday June 30th and a Closing session on Monday July 11th (both on zoom from 3-6pm ET/ 12-3pm PT), with some optional virtual workshops and cross-pollination spaces happening throughout the week in between, as well as in-person local meet-ups. Everyone is also invited to register and virtually attend the Allied Media Conference taking place July 1-3 and we will have some zoom rooms open after sessions to debrief and schmooze together.
Our Network Gathering at AMC will be our 2022 National Gathering for Tzedek Lab. All current members are invited and new folks are invited to apply and join us at the gathering which means joining Tzedek Lab long term.
In light of the ongoing pandemic we're all experiencing, the climate crisis, and our commitment to accessibility and disability justice, we are gathering mostly virtually, with some in-person local meet-up options with people who you are close to. The exact form of our gathering and the exact form of the Allied Media Conference are in flux and co-creation.
WHO IS PLANNING THIS GATHERING AND CAN I JOIN THE TEAM OR CONTRIBUTE IN SOME WAY?
This gathering is being planned by a team of Tzedek Lab members and staff. If you have ideas for the planning or want to contribute in some way, email Helen tzedeklab at gmail dot com.
IS THIS FOR ME? HOW DO I MAKE PLANS TO BE AT THIS?
If you are a leader and practitioner, working to politicize, transform, and mobilize Jewish communities to take more accountable action addressing antisemitism, racism, white supremacy, and white nationalism, this is for you. This Network Gathering alongside AMC will be THE gathering space for Tzedek Lab scheming, dreaming, and building more deeply together this year. Everyone who comes to our Network Gathering is strongly encouraged to register and stay on for the Allied Media Conference where we’ll get to connect with brilliant other movement builders and leaders, root in Detroit, and learn and share together in a bigger movement context.
WHAT KIND OF ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE?
We strive to make our gatherings and shared network space as accessible as possible, understanding that access is a core and key pathway to liberation for all. Our zoom spaces have captioning available, we give visual descriptions before speaking, and we are planning to have ASL interpretation for the Opening and Closing sessions of the Network Gathering on June 30 and July 11. The format of our zoom sessions typically includes break-outs for relational connection, use of the chat for celebration, affirmation and resonance, use of slides and emojis, along with the invitation and guided support to remember and be in our bodies throughout. Sessions are typically not longer than 90 minutes without a break, and everyone is invited to participate in the ways that bring them the most connection, liberation, and joy. If you have access needs not covered here, please reach out to Helen tzedeklab at gmail dot com.
HOW ELSE CAN I GET CONNECTED TO TZEDEK LAB? WHAT'S THE REST OF THE TIMELINE?
Being connected to Tzedek Lab means being a member-practitioner, or reaching out to us about supporting you and your community in addressing antisemitism, racism, white supremacy and white nationalism where you are. For the latter, you can message us through the Contact Us form on this website, or email us at tzedeklab at gmail dot com.
We are excited to bring together a mix of returning members along with a solid crew of new members for our gathering of practitioners. At this time, joining Tzedek Lab and becoming a member of the network happens through participation in an immersive convening like this one. Currently, this Network Gathering alongside AMC is the convening we are working towards so if you've been waiting to join or to invite people to join, now is the time.
TIMELINE:
Applications Due: April 24th
Notifications of Invitation: Week of May 16th
Confirmation Date: May 23rd
Network Gathering: June 30th - July 11th
EXPECTATIONS AND BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
Expectations of attending the Network Gathering & joining the Tzedek Lab network:
- High impact/low ego: Commitment to the larger project of politicizing/transforming/inspiring the Jewish community towards collective action against white supremacy.
- Commitment to learning: Staying connected with communities of practice through the network, reading and interacting with questions and virtual group discussion, attending gatherings.
- Commitment to praxis: Joining is a commitment to diving into an organizing lab. This means experimenting, putting into action and deepening the quality of the best practices that emerge from our shared learning.
- Practitioners are currently in positions training, organizing, or leading within the Jewish community and/or movement spaces (paid or unpaid).
- Resource sharing: Resources related to political education, organizing, spiritual leadership, and cultural organizing are shared throughout the group generously, all resources are always cited to acknowledge individual or organizational authorship.
Benefits to attending the Network Gathering & joining the Tzedek Lab network:
- Opportunity to be part of strengthening the wider Jewish movement building against racism, antisemitism, institutional white supremacy and white supremacist movements/white nationalism.
- Grounding in larger strategy conversation about politicizing and transforming the Jewish community.
- Deep, honest, vulnerable, and supportive conversation and practice space among high impact/low ego thought-leaders and practitioners
- Abundant and accessible leadership/skill/professional development
- Ongoing network of support from leaders in the field
- Comradeship, challenge, accountability, inspiration
- Joy and celebration – We have fun together!