Advocacy Curriculum

This curriculum introduces students to advocacy basics to help them understand how public policy works and how advocates work to influence policy. It also discusses how Judaism points to a path of social justice and collective action. The curriculum is flexible and allows educators to work with students on local, state or federal levels of government decision-making, as well as on specific social issues which are of interest. Students are encouraged to identify "hot button" issues they care deeply about to use as a case study throughout the year. The program may conclude with a trip to speak with local government representatives, to present the students' action plan and to discuss their chosen issue.

Specific lessons of the Advocacy Track include:

  • Why Chesed is Not Enough: The Imperative for Collective Action
  • The Politics and Policies Behind Issues You Care About
  • How to Think Like an Advocate
  • Where Decisions Get Made
  • How Advocates Effect Policy Decisions
  • Case Studies of the Soviet Jewry Movement