Rabbis For Human Rights - North America

Start a Local Group

“I never worry about action, but only inaction.” (Winston Churchill)

Local Groups

Local groups generally meet once a month, and if you form sub-committees, perhaps core members may get together more often. The monthly meeting can be used to host an event with a speaker, film, discussion, potluck, holiday celebration, fundraiser, etc.  Monthly meetings can be used to conduct advocacy letter writing, event planning or for other group business as well.

How to Start a New Local Group

1.    Identify a core group. In order to develop a local group you will need to identify a core group of three to five people who are committed to educating themselves about the work of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America and taking on responsibilities, including recruiting other people, planning meetings and events and showing up at the group’s meetings and events.

2.    If you do not already have a Jewish clergy member in your core group, identify a rabbi, cantor, professional Jewish educator or a student in one of these fields to serve as your group’s spiritual and educational advisor. If you have difficulty finding a Jewish professional in your area who is willing to serve in this capacity for your group, contact the Rabbis for Human Rights-North America office at 212-845-5201 or office@rhr-na.org and we can try to match you up with someone nearby.

3.    Contact the Rabbis for Human Rights-North America office at 212-845-5201 or office@rhr-na.org to register your group and receive educational and action materials.

4.    The core group should meet along with their advisor to familiarize themselves with Rabbis for Human Rights-North America’s history, mission, goals and principles as well as with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Supporting Jewish Sources.

5.    Recruit members and be inclusive. You need to expand beyond your core group. Involve as many people as possible who are committed to Judaism and human rights. Personal contact in vital to motivate others to get involved.  All core members should have one-on-one conversations, in person or by phone, with people they know from their communities, synagogues, community groups, workplaces, families and circles of friends. You can also recruit at public events like street fairs, concerts, block parties, etc. Re-engage new people within one to two days of your initial contact, preferably by phone. Shy away from overusing e-mail. E-mail is effective with people who are already active within your group, but the personal contact through phone calls is much more effective in motivating and engaging new recruits.

6.    When you identify people who are truly interested in getting involved, get them involved immediately by putting them to work on recruitment as well.

7.    Identify people with skills and connections. Recruit key people who have skills in such things as publicity, new media, Jewish education, fundraising, etc. Specifically reach out to all Jewish clergy in your area and ask if they support human rights and if so, if you can count on their help to publicize your activities, to host your meetings or events at their synagogues, to speak with your group, to lead study sessions, etc.

8.    Keep detailed records of everyone you engage. Make sure to capture people’s names, contact information, areas of interest and skills.

9.    Identify a suitable location for your meetings. The best place to hold your meetings is a synagogue.  Some synagogues may not be receptive to hosting your meetings, but it is worth asking local area clergy and/or executive directors of synagogues. If you have identified a spiritual and educational advisor for your group, ask him or her to help you with outreach to clergy and synagogues. If meeting in a synagogue will not be possible, you can meet at a local café (check with the café’s manager to make sure that won’t be a problem) or in members’ homes.

10. Publicize. Create information flyers to recruit new members and announce your meetings. Your flyers should include the name, phone number and e-mail address of a contact person. Hang up your flyers up on public bulletin boards and other locations where you get permission in neighborhood. Some places to consider include synagogues, JCCs/Ys, libraries, coffee shops, kosher restaurants, etc.

11.  Publicize online.  Consider creating a Facebook Page (rather than a Facebook Group or a Facebook Community Page) for your group. You can also consider creating paid Facebook ads. For information distribution or discussion, you can create a listserv using Yahoo Groups or Google Groups. If you want to have the e-mail list just for official announcements, set up the online group to allow only one or two representatives of the group to post content; if you want the online group to be a discussion forum, set up the group to allow everyone to post content. However you set up the group, it is recommended that joining the group and posting content to the listserv is moderated to avoid spam bots from flooding your group with junk mail.  If you are really tech savvy, you can create a website for your organization.  If you need assistance with any of these online issues, please contact Joshua Bloom, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America’s Director of Online Communications.

12.  Hold an Initial Information Meeting. Use your initial information meeting to talk about the work of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America and Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel. Establish a leadership structure with roles and responsibilities. Encourage people outside of your core group to commit to taking on responsibilities with the group. Discuss what issues the group will work on, what tactics you will use and determine a calendar for when your group will meet and what you hope to accomplish at each of those meetings for the next six months or more. Plan to use future meetings for advocacy letter writing, planning and implementing an initial fundraiser for Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, celebrating holidays using Rabbis for Human Rights-North America’s materials, hosting speakers, showing films, etc.

13.  Keep on track. Hold your monthly meetings and other events. Make sure to continue to try to recruit new people to join you and speak with your members by phone to remind them to come to meetings and to ask them to take on additional responsibilities.

14. Keep the staff of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America informed about your activities. Ask for advice and assistance as needed.