The Jewish Social Action Forum – setting the agenda?

Three years ago, the Jewish Social Action Forum [JSAF] organised as a forum for professionals and organisations in the UK with a general interest or specific agenda within social justice. Increased professional leadership, moving from mainly linking Jews with wider campaigns to cultivating a distinct Jewish social action campaign agenda, and establishing JSAF within the mainstream communal landscape—have allowed for increased impact and a greater sense of direction. These developments have also posed their own challenges. Does maintaining sufficient consensus limit JSAF’s role in more assertive campaigning? With increased professionalization, how does JSAF mobilize lay and wider support? Here are some lessons learned for communal organizing for social change: