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New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles Chapter Records, 1979-1991

Processed by August Maymudes Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research 6120 South Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90044 Phone: (323) 759-6063 Fax: (323) 759-2252 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.socallib.org/ © 2001 Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. All rights reserved.

New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles MSS 033 1 Chapter Records, 1979-1991 New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles Chapter Records, 1979-1991

Collection number: MSS 033

Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research

Los Angeles, California Contact Information: Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research 6120 South Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA, 90044 Phone: (323) 759-6063 Fax: (323) 759-2252 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.socallib.org/ Processed by: August Maymudes Date Completed: December 2001 Encoded by: Teri Robertson © 2001 Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary Title: New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles Chapter Records, Date (inclusive): 1979-1991 Collection number: MSS 033 Creator: New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles Chapter Extent: 5 letter size boxes 3 2/3 linear feet Repository: Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research Los Angeles, CA 90044 Abstract: The New Jewish Agenda (NJA), an activist national Jewish community organization, set out to be a progressive voice within the Jewish community and a Jewish voice within the progressive community. Most active in the decade of the 1980's, the NJA was committed to working at the grassroots level on programs for the Jewish people in the , Israel, and other Jewish communities that differed from the dominant policies of the Israeli government and the United States national Jewish establishment. This collection is comprised of the working papers of the Los Angeles chapter and Western Regional office of the NJA, organized in 1979 and lasting through the early years of the 1990's. Language: English. Provenance Donated to the Library in 1996 by the Misha & Sonia Yablon Cultural Center Access The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research query prior to making a visit. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the

New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles MSS 033 2 Chapter Records, 1979-1991 physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles Chapter Records, Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, Los Angeles, California. Organizational History The Los Angeles Chapter of the New Jewish Agenda (NJA), was formed on June 21, 1981, with the same purposes, by laws and organizational structure as the national Agenda. The national NJA had been founded in December, 1980 and had central offices in New York and Washington DC. The aspiration of the NJA was to build a new synthesis of Jewish identity derived from a variety of religious, cultural and secular backgrounds, committed to building a socially just and peaceful world from the community and grassroots level. The NJA set out to be a progressive voice within the Jewish community and a Jewish voice within the progressive community. With the belief that authentic Jewish life demanded serious and consistent attention to Tikun Olam (the just ordering of human society and the world) the NJA and its chapters sought to apply those Jewish values to a variety of issues including: American Jewish communal life, mutual responsibility between Israel and diaspora communities, Israeli society and Middle East peace, American domestic and foreign policy, the role of women and men in Jewish life, Jewish family life, the relations between and other communities. The NJA's strength was based on its local chapters and their organizing efforts. Through a mixture of local initiative and national coordination, the NJA demonstrated a tremendous capacity for organizing outreach, education, and action campaigns in the American Jewish community. The involvement by a large number of young academics may have contributed to the effectiveness of the organization. As a result, the NJA had a widespread network of activists and chapters with successful experience in conducting a range of specific projects concerning dissent in the Jewish community, the Israeli peace movement, Middle East peace education and Jewish-Arab reconciliation. The records of the Los Angeles Chapter of the NJA stop in the early 1990's and there is no evidence of continued action by the national organization after that period. Scope and Content Materials in the collection include: correspondence, minutes, founding documents, publications of the national and Los Angeles NJA, reports, some accounting records, notes, clippings and a few photographs. There is a significant amount of material consisting of copied articles and informational brochures relating to contemporary events and progressive politics and organizations. The records reflect the work of NJA Los Angeles Chapter staff and activists to develop and strengthen the organization's policies and the resulting activities, principally from 1984 to 1987. In addition there are media responses and/or critiques of the activities of the NJA. Also in the collection are records of the Western Regional office of the NJA for the years it was active. There are some records included of Los Angeles activists participating in national organizational events, but these are not be construed to be a complete picture of the national organization. Arrangement The collection is divided into three series: 1.ORGANIZATION - documents of the NJA, Los Angeles Chapter, Western Regional Committee and national organization; 2. FUNDRAISING - documents of the Los Angeles Chapters applications for grants and funding; 3. PROJECTS - documents relating to specific projects the Los Angeles Chapter developed or in which it participated.

Series 1. Organization, 1979-1991 Physical Description: 18 folders Scope and Content Note This series covers activities and programs which relate to the organization as a whole: specifically the chapter founding meetings, meetings of the Western Regional Committee and National Steering committee meetings, and documentation of the first national convention of the NJA at Ann Arbor, Michigan in July 1985. Each folder contains a variety of materials including correspondence, financial reports, copies of articles, clippings, and brochures.

Box-folder 1/1 NJA Los Angeles Chapter founding conference, 1981 Box-folder 1/2 Western Regional Committee, 1983-1985 Box-folder 1/3 1st National Convention, Ann Arbor, July 1985

New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles MSS 033 3 Chapter Records, 1979-1991 Series 1.Organization, 1979-1991

Box-folder 1/4 National Steering Committee, 1984 Box-folder 1/5 National Steering Committee, reports and work plans, 1984 Box-folder 1/6 National Steering Committee, 1985 Box-folder 1/7 National Steering Committee meeting, October 1985 Box-folder 1/8 National Steering Committee, 1986 Box-folder 1/9 Press Releases and Media Coverage, 1982-1985 Box-folder 1/10 NJA Newsletters, 1981, 1982, 1985 Box-folder 1/11-2/4 General correspondence and literature [7 folders], 1982-1986, 1990-1991, n.d. Box-folder 2/5 L.A. community organizations literature, n.d. Series 2. Fund Raising, 1982-1986 Physical Description: 7 folders Scope and Content Note The fund raising activities, from both individuals and organizations, are well documented. Each folder contains a variety of materials including correspondence, financial reports, copies of articles, clippings, and brochures.

Box-folder 2/6-2/7 General correspondence and literature [2 folders], 1982-1986, n.d. Box-folder 2/8 Marshall Meyer Fundraiser, 1984-1985 Box-folder 2/9-2/10 Grant proposals and grant literature [2 folders], 1985, n.d. Box-folder 2/11 Liberty Hill grant application and correspondence, 1984-1985 Box-folder 3/1 Donor/Contributor lists, schedules, receipts, 1982-1985, n.d. Series 3. Projects, 1983-1990 Physical Description: 27 folders Scope and Content Note Within a year or so of it founding the Los Angeles Chapter concentrated its resources and activities on "projects", each lasting six months or longer. The Central American projects of the 1980's include the movement for refugees from Central America, peace actions relating to Unites States intervention in the civil wars of , Nicaragua and , and awareness and responsibilities to Jewish communities in Central America. The materials for the entertainment fundraiser Ellis Island/El Norte include a script of the evening's performance, which was headlined by Ed Asner. The Feminist/Women's Issues projects have documentation covering the UN Decade for Women Conference Forum 1985, Nairobi, Kenya, specifically the activities of the NJA in the conference and the Los Angeles Chapter attendees. The Beverly/Fairfax projects were neighborhood organizing action, and include: the proposed development of a Metro Rail station in the area, proposals for the redevelopment of the Farmers Market commercial area, and information on methane gas explosions that erupted from the nearby La Brea tar pits. A considerable amount of clippings were gathered from the national Bar-On/Milhem tour and the events that took place for the Los Angeles stop on that tour. Each folder contains a variety of materials including correspondence, financial reports, copies of articles, clippings, and brochures.

Box-folder 3/2-3/5 Los Angeles Community Projects, 1984-1985, n.d. Box-folder 3/2 Community Seders & Haggadah, 1984-1985, n.d. Box-folder 3/3-3/5 Beverly-Fairfax community development [2 folders], 1984-1985, n.d. Box-folder 3/6-4/5 National Projects, 1983-1986, n.d. Box-folder 3/6 Nuclear disarmament, 1983-1985 Box-folder 3/7 Jewish Culture, 1983-1985 Box-folder 4/1-4/2 Economic Justice [2 folders], 1983-1984, n.d. Box-folder 4/3 Black-Jewish Relations, 1983-1985, n.d. Box-folder 4/4 Gay issues, 1986 Box-folder 4/5 Feminist/Women's issues, 1984-1985 Box-folder 4/6-5/10 International Projects, 1981-1990, n.d. Box-folder 4/6-4/10 Central America [5 folders], 1983-1985, n.d. Box-folder 5/1 Ellis Island-El Norte, 1986 Box-folder 5/2 Nicaragua, 1983-1984, n.d. Box-folder 5/3 El Salvador, 1983-1984, n.d. Box-folder 5/4-5/6 Middle East peace [2 folders], 1981-1990, n.d.

New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles MSS 033 4 Chapter Records, 1979-1991 Series 3. Projects, 1983-1990

Box-folder 5/7 Arab-Israeli/Arab-Jewish Relations, 1983-1985, n.d. Box-folder 5/8 Bar-On/Milhelm US tour, 1984 Box-folder 5/9 South African Apartheid, 1984-1987, n.d.

New Jewish Agenda, Los Angeles MSS 033 5 Chapter Records, 1979-1991