Giving Jews a Good Name: Allison Josephs of Jew in the City Talks about Finding Hashem by Tammy Mark

Giving Jews a Good Name

Allison Josephs of Jew in the City Talks about Finding Hashem and Helping Others Feel Connected and Proud of Their Yiddishkeit

BY TAMMY MARK

It isn’t the name of the latest streaming cable show or made-for TV movie. Even so, Jew in the City has been making headlines in the Jewish world.

Established in 2007 by visionary Executive Director Allison Josephs, Jew in the City is an organization dedicated to promoting positive images of religious Jews and creating positive experiences for all Jews. For over a decade, JITC has been working to create authentic Jewish content and make engaging and meaningful Orthodox Judaism known and accessible to all.

Allison began her work at JITC by producing entertaining explanatory videos focused on Jewish holidays, rituals, and practices. Though the mission was serious and the work important from the outset, JITC started with a lighter touch as Allison and her team creatively hammed it up for the camera, and many videos went viral. The more people JITC reached, the more work she saw needed to be done.

Allison sees there is an even more imperative level of outreach needed today.

JITC currently has three branches devoted to making a positive impact in various ways: Keter, Makom and Tikkun. Each of the three branches is integral to JITC’s mission, and they build on each other.

Keter, as in “keter shem tov,” (literally, the crown of a good name) was the first branch intended to influence the media narrative regarding our community, change negative perceptions about Jews, and restore the good name of Orthodox Jews and Judaism. With the recent waves of both anti-Semitism and media misrepresentation, it’s as if Allison had the cure before the latest bout of disease.

Allison herself experienced many years of struggle and searching to find G-d and the beauty of her religion. This summer, in the middle of a renewed period of urgency for her work, Allison took a family trip to Hawaii and returned with a reenergized enthusiasm, as she had reunited with

the trees that first inspired her 25 years prior. “We called it my ‘25th G-d-iversary,’” says Allison. “I didn’t really grow up with any concept of G-d; I knew it was a Jewish thing but nobody ever gave me any compelling reason to believe in a G-d and nobody in my family ever talked about it. “I even looked back to really incredible hashgacha pratis stories – like where my great grandparents survived a pogrom or survived World War II, and G-d was never mentioned – it was always like ‘luckily…they were saved,’ not any sense that there is a G-d On the frontlines that is watching over us or has a plan.” Allison’s questioning began at the innocent age of eight, when a tragedy struck her community, a devastating triple murder within a family from her school. “This launched me into this seven-year existential crisis where I realized that my life has no meaning and nothing adds up to anything,” she says. “When I would think about eternity and infinity, I would just go into a panic attack.” Allison soon began exploring Torah Judaism and eventually became open to the idea of a higher power above. At 15, she took her first trip to Hawaii with her parents, where she encountered the seminal tree, a magnificent, multicolored rainbow eucalyptus that filled her with an immense sense of awe and overwhelming feeling of faith. “When I got to that tree I thought it was a painting…and then the color just kept continuing,” she recalls. “So I realized there is a Painter, the bigger One. Being in this forest and seeing this tree for the first time in my life, I felt like there was a plan and that there’s a loving G-d and He’s with me and I don’t have to be afraid. “That was really like a watershed moment in my life.” In addition to the absence of G-d in her early years, Allison was also raised with a distorted perception of Orthodoxy Jewry. “My father had a very negative perception as a doctor who would disparage

his Chassidic patients,” she recalls. “Living as liberal, “open-minded” Jews didn’t actually leave room for living much differently than the way they were and certainly not for the ‘crazy’ Orthodox Jew.”

Her parents were also not prepared for the questions posed by Allison.

“My parents are successful people and had advice for all of the major things we need to know in life, everything, but they couldn’t answer their daughter’s question of ‘why are we here?’. They just stared back at me. It was terribly devastating to find out that the people who gave me life didn’t actually know what life was for.

“As long as I was distracted, I was OK, but my mind would regularly return to the fact that I didn’t know what we were doing here and it didn’t seem like anything added up to anything, and that just seemed terrifying. That was what I struggled with those seven years.”

After Allison’s fateful Hawaii trip, everything began to make sense. She studied in Israel and became involved in regular kiruv activities with organizations such as NCSY and Aish. She went on to Columbia University, unsurprisingly majoring in philosophy. There, she met modern Orthodox Jewish peers who took her to shiurim as she consumed as much information and Torah as she could.

Allison was not only inquisitive and insightful from a young age but clearly influential as well. She was soon able to bring her whole family to embrace observant Jewish life.

Allison planned to make a career in outreach, and her first job was at Partners in Torah. As she would interview Birthright Israel trip alumni – an estimated 3,000 participants over five years – she noticed a trend; many admitted that they would be more involved in religion except for the negative interactions or observations of religious Jews. This realization truly hit home for Allison.

“All these people had this interest in more growth but their perception of the Orthodox community was, unfortunately, so tainted by the crooks, creeps and extremists of the community that they didn’t even know all the good that existed,” she explains. “So I felt that the kiruv system is going to be limited and not as effective if we don’t get to the heart of the problem – which is that most people can’t stand Orthodox Jews.”

When Allison started out on her JITC mission, she was told by many rabbis and outreach experts it was a horrible idea, and that kiruv organizations never use the word “orthodox” because it’s a “bad” word. She persisted nonetheless.

“That’s why we’re changing what it means; you could only change a bad word to good if you use it in good context. If we only say the word ‘Torah Jew’ or ‘observant’ when somebody does something good or admirable, and then when somebody gets carted off in handcuffs, they’re ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Ultra-Orthodox,’ ultimately the word just carries this negative meaning – and we are carried with the word. The only way to correct the meaning and the branding is to start using the word for the good.

“Every piece of JITC content has ‘Orthodox’ in it so people can see: Orthodox means mensch, Orthodox means honest, Orthodox means thinking, Orthodox means meaningful, Orthodox means relevant – that’s what we’re showing – that’s what it should mean.”

The JITC website and overall reach has proliferated since Allison’s very first video in 2005. The site features a variety of content, including videos and articles by several contributors, as well as the “Ask Rabbi Jack” section with Rabbi Abramowitz. Allison shares her personal experiences and opinions on social media and also highlights the modest fashion frequently found in the mainstream. While JITC content was originally geared to the non-Orthodox, Allison discovered that they were reaching a lot of observant Jews, from those who were Orthodox from Allison with the tree that changed her life birth and needed more inspiration, to the yeshiva-educated who lacked meaning or pride in doing what they were doing. In 2012, Allison decided the world needed to see more Orthodox Jews who had the potential to really change people’s perceptions. She set out to highlight a selection of exemplary individuals who had made their mark in the secular world while maintaining their beliefs. JITC produced an “All Star” video which was well-received and which led to a live award ceremony, which was well-attended. Produced almost every year since, it has become a regular “kiddush Hashem” gathering. While all of the chosen All Stars are remarkable, successful people in their own fields, from science and With actress Mayim Bialik business to sports and entertainment to government, one of the most well-known awardees is former Senator Joseph Lieberman. Disney animator and director Saul Blinkoff and “Today Show” producer Yael Federbush have both shared their stories of success and

“Being in this forest observance with JITC. There are many more who have contributed in tremendous ways to science, medicine, and seeing this tree and technology. Allison is proud to say that almost every All Star has remained involved in some capacfor the first time in ity or another. There are currently several prominent Orthodox Jews affiliated with the organization, which my life, I felt like there has helped raised the profile to the next level. Mayim Bialik was one of JITC’s first big name supwas a plan and that porters. Allison met her years ago through Partners in Torah. In 2002, she had decided to look up the Jewish there’s a loving G-d actress as she saw Bialik was coming closer to her Jewish heritage. Allison was hoping to track her down to and He’s with me” connect with her but to no avail. Serendipitously, four years later, Bialik reached out to Partners in Torah while Allison was there, and they were matched as partners in learning; Bialik is supportive of JITC’s work to this day.

In 2014, the Makom branch of JITC was born, as a result of the positive impact of Keter. Makom helps charedi Jews with negative experiences find their “place” in Orthodoxy. About one year after her first event, a formerly Chassidic couple attended a JITC lecture. They said they were raised ultra Chassidish and still wanted to be religious but didn’t know how to lead an Orthodox, non-Chassidish life. They

reached out to Allison for help, and that is how Makom was born. JITC now provides classes, social events, career guidance, mental health information and more to help these disenfranchised souls find their place in the Orthodox world.

“There’s a bit of a change right now,” Allison shares. “Whenever something disturbing happens in the media, JITC gets a ton more traffic to our site, and we get a ton of signups for Makom – so they’re kind of doing recruitment for us!” she jokes.

She is grateful to say that the donors are also now finding her.

“Nobody was ever as excited or motivated about changing the narrative until now. We have all of the infrastructure in place, and we have the following. This has actually been going on for years – I would say the difference is people are finally waking up.”

In addition to Keter and Makom, Allison and her team are also focused on “repair” through the Tikkun branch after learning about the dysfunction that exists in certain corners of the charedi world.

“There are serious issues to contend with,” she maintains. “While I believe the majority is still happy and healthy and doing well, at the same time, there’s a significant minority in the Orthodox community that does need attention.”

While some of the “personal” stories shared in the media recently are exaggerated and at times fabricated, a few of the account stem from reality and need to be addressed. As the stories came in directly from the Makom participants, Allison started taking notes to help her understand the areas and the degree of the problems.

“We were collecting all this data,” she says. “How do we just sit back sit on our hands and just say all these other kids are suffering in the meantime? It’s really unconscionable. “Some of the problems are easier to fix,” she admits, “and some are really tremendous and I don’t know how we will, but the idea is that we have to get started somewhere. So we’ve gotten involved in several projects involving the halachic pre-nuptial, involving kallah classes, involving women disappearing from charedi media.”

Allison discovered, for example, that problems are more prevalent in schools that are privately owned, in contrast to schools with a board, annual reports and accountability, aiming to serve the children and their families – the way in which most mainstream yeshivas are run.

“Our latest Tikkun project now is we’re working on a plan to bring accountability and transparency to all frum schools because they’re a lot of schools that are owned by a single person – as a for-profit business. Who do you complain to if the boss is abusive? So we’re developing a system now to transition schools that operate with no accountability into schools with accountability.”

Allison’s can-do attitude notwithstanding, it can’t be easy for a “modern” Orthodox woman outsider to attempt to tackle such issues within an insular segment of the community from which she finds herself on the outside. She

is undeterred. “It goes back to the tree, which is that connection to Hashem – and for me that is what a Jew is supposed to experience – pure, unadulterated love and protection and connection and dveikus to Hakodesh Baruch Hu,” she shares. “And what gets in the way? Bad imagery of Orthodox Jews gets in the way – for people outside of the community – and then bad experiences prevent it for people in the community. So if we want Jews to be able to have the opportunity to have that closeness and connection to Hashem, then we have to remove the things that are getting in the way. “We built a bit of a name for ourselves within the entire frum world because we are known for kiddush Hashem,” explains Allison. “If somebody who’s angry and has left the community starts complaining about all that’s wrong, they’re not going to be taken At a Makom event seriously.” Even so, she says, “we’re purposely being discreet in Tikkun. If we now approach leadership, they’re not turning us away so quickly, they’re actually listening because they realize we have an expertise. We can give you the information; we know exactly what is causing those things to happen. It’s a pretty hard offer to turn down.” She notes, “It’s our expertise in Keter and Makom that positions us to be able to give the feedback in Tikkun.” Allison adds, “I just think there are decent people out there – we’ll find the decent ones that are courageous and we’ll inspire them to act – and it’s working. There are a ton of people that want to see changes and With Senator Joseph Lieberman they just don’t know how to do it. There’s a ton of people who don’t want to live in the status quo, and they feel so overwhelmed by it that they go along with it.” She likens the situation to the issues coming to light in the gymnastics world, with the common de-

“If we want Jews to nominator amongst the vastly different worlds being basically that they all involve people. Allison theorizes be able to have the that the old-school systems have remained in place for too long in these cases. The model that works best is opportunity to have one that has bylaws and protocols in place. “If you don’t build a system that works to keep that closeness and crooks and creeps out, they will weasel their way in. The school or the organization can only be as good as connection to Hashem, the infrastructure that it’s built with in order to keep the bad guys out.” then we have to remove Allison points out that the secular world is also just now dealing with certain issues that were formerly the things that are swept under the rug. People have to understand that it will take time, especially in the insular segments getting in the way.” of the community – and that people need direction. “It’s why I think the Tikkun plan is being so well received. I think that there’s really an appetite to do what’s right,” says Allison. “If we reverse negative behaviors of Orthodox Jews, we will also reverse negative perceptions.” Unfortunately, the unsavory behavior can infiltrate all segments of Judaism. “I think that human beings will always be fallible – there’s greed and taivos that human beings have.” She adds, “I think when it becomes repugnant is

when the person uses Torah sources to justify their crooked behavior.”

She asserts, “We should continue to promote good values, and we should be careful to not honor criminals.”

Allison has long maintained that the media always calls out the community for Jews behaving badly but not for other groups, and they rarely highlight the good found in our community.

“Our community won’t ever be able to be perfect,” Allison admits, “that’s not standard that anyone should be able to live up to, but I do think that the media should report on us like they report on everyone else; don’t include the religion or the community, just report the news.”

In early February 2020, Allison was troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic incidences in the area, particularly those in Jersey City and Monsey. She felt she needed to respond – and did so with kindness. Allison decided to get out on the streets of New York City and greet people with a smile, a cup of coffee and some rugelach. JITC’S “Meet a Jew in the City. Make a Friend” concept went viral and made it to mainstream media. Calls came in to bring the idea to other neighborhoods, but the pandemic hit soon after and everything was put on hold. She is hopeful that she will eventually be able to expand the program to college campuses and beyond.

Allison believes everyone can help move the needle forward.

“On the Keter side of things, we can all be ambassadors. Our content basically answers every question that could come your way – whether at work, with family or neighbors. Our content is free; use the resources that we’ve put together so that you know how to answer and you can share answers with people. Dig into it and please share it – it’s really an incredible library of resources.”

On the Makom branch of JITC, Allison and her team are always looking for Shabbos hosts to give members a welcoming place to enjoy Shabbos and to offer a positive experience of the holy day. They have been having more trouble matching up placements since the pandemic. As always, people can help by living their best, most authentic Orthodox life.

Allison recently spoke with previous All Star Joyce Azria, an Orthodox fashion designer and CEO who currently serves on the JITC Board. Azria’s story is of success in the fashion world while becoming more observant. Allison appreciates the eagerness of the multitudes of other happy and successful Orthodox Jews who have been sharing their stories on social media, many under the tagline of “my Orthodox life.”

“‘My Orthodox Life’ is what we’ve been doing at Jew in the City since 2007!” she says. “It’s nice to see other people joining now and jumping on this bandwagon – it’s very validating, because I was beating this drum for years without too much support. I hope now that the community is galvanized that there will be more willingness and readiness to support our expansion.”

She has high hopes for advancements on the Keter side.

“I think that fighting back at the media and creating positive stories as a counter is so crucial on so many levels. I do believe that if we unify with a unified vice, and we put real funding behind it, we could turn this into a serious pushback to what’s going on; it has to be something seriously funded with serious strategy. I believe if we could get to that place and people came together, we would be unstoppable.” While it could be easy or convenient to dismiss, Allison impresses the importance of how Jews are perceived in the media and the danger of not addressing it. “It would be foolish to believe that this does not contribute to incitement. We have to not minimize the threat there. “ The work also contributes to a level of “in-reach.” “We’ve heard from the yeshiva-educated who have told us that the negative media portrayals have negatively impacted their relationship with Judaism. Seeing themselves being made fun of and trashed and mocked has made them feel like a laughingstock; seeing our positive content has helped restore pride.” She advises, “If anybody cares about kiruv, when we see these stories, the job becomes more difficult because ‘Orthodox’ becomes a bad word.” JITC is also working to establish a “Hollywood

With designer Joyce Azria Bureau of JITC,” based off the model of a “Muslim Bureau,” which maintains relationships with the major networks and studios and gets paid to consult and make likeable three-dimensional Muslim characters. JITC is putting together a committee of Hollywood people in order to gain access to decision makers at networks – before the bad characters are created. Allison is aware of the hurdle that many Hollywood decisionmakers identify as Jewish themselves. “I think that our advisory committee will have to be mostly gentiles and secular Jews. I think that the message that we need to give over to the mostly secular Jewish Hollywood executives is that this is not your community that you’re reporting on. If you want to report on the ‘lox-and-bagel-eating Hebrew school’

Filming a segment of character, that’s your story, that’s your life, you can tell “Meet a Jew. Make a Friend” it – but if you’re not part of our community, you don’t know our community in a personal way, and just like you give every other minority that respect with that new awareness that people get to tell their own story – we do, too. We’re going to really hold them to their own liberal standards.” JITC will also continue to promote the best and the brightest shining stars that they can find. The most recent All Star awards ceremony was held in December 2019 at Lincoln Center honoring former U.S. Ambassador David M. Friedman; Karen Barrow, senior editor at The New York Times; Dov Kramer, executive producer at WFAN radio; Bat El Gatterer, the first Orthodox Jewish female Olympian; and AJ Edelman, the first Orthodox Jewish male Olympian – to name drop just a few. The seventh group of All Star honorees has been selected, including Amare Stoudemire, former NBA player and current coach and definite fan favorite. The list goes on to feature bestselling author Sharon Mazel, Jordan Gorfinkel, creator of Batman: Dark Knight, and Ari Sacher, a primary engineer of Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System, among others. Allison is currently working on filming the video interviews with the chosen ones and has plans for a live gathering in 2022. Here’s hoping that in the year ahead we will once again see Jew in the City, in the suburbs and on screens big and small, and be able to find G-d everywhere and not only in the forest amongst the rainbow trees.

For program information and educational content, visit https://jewinthecity. com/