Raphael Lemkin Human Rights Award
Following October 7, he co-founded Israelis for Peace, advocating for the freedom, safety, and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians. His work focuses on opposing the occupation, bridge-building, transformation, and fostering open and honest dialogue within the American Jewish community. Gili is best known for his extensive documentation of Jewish American political activism and is a regular contributor to Jewish and Israeli media (predominantly Haaretz), as well as to the Jewish wing of American justice movements.
Gili Getz is an Israeli-American peace activist, photographer, actor and organizer whose work is rooted in Jewish values of B’tzelem Elohim, Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, and Tikkun Olam. He serves as president of American Friends of Combatants for Peace, a binational Palestinian-Israeli movement committed to joint nonviolent resistance, reconciliation and collective liberation and as vice president of Partners for Progressive Israel.
Action Under Fire Award
Cantor Sheri Allen is the Cantor and co-founder of Makom Shelanu Congregation, an inclusive, affirming synagogue in Ft. Worth, Texas. She is a member of the Cantors Assembly, serves on their Ethics Committee, and is the 2024 recipient of the Yehudah Mandel Humanitarian Award. Sheri is the co-chair of the LGBTQ+ rights committee of the Social Justice Commission of Conservative/Masorti Judaism.
Locally, Sheri chairs the LGBTQ action team of Justice Network Tarrant County, is a member of the Inclusive Faith Coalition, a group of LGBTQ+ affirming clergy in Tarrant County, and a member of the Faith and Justice Coalition of Tarrant County, a group of progressive clergy advocating for the rights of all local citizens. Cantor Allen lives in Ft. Worth with her spouse, TCU professor Richard Allen. They are the proud parents of three queer adult children: Jeremy, Emily, and Preston, who are the inspiration behind her advocacy work.
Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award
Rabbi Susan Goldberg is a transformational spiritual leader deeply engaged in multifaith dialogue and social justice. She is the founder of Nefesh, an open hearted, progressive spiritual community capturing the energy and vitality of LA’s east side. A fourth generation Angeleno raised in Red Hill, she has a special focus on revitalizing LA’s east side Jewish community to again be an active part of the multicultural beauty of these neighborhoods. Rabbi Susan helped to lead the renewal of the historic Wilshire Blvd. Temple in Koreatown and Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park.
Rabbi Susan has served on the Interfaith Clergy Roundtable for the Department of Mental Health, on the board of New Ground: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change, piloted the first Second Nurture cohort, LADA Gascon’s Interfaith Advisory Board, and was a fellow at ATRA (Center for Rabbinic Innovation). Currently, she is a Stanton Fellow of the Durfee Foundation, serves on the national board of Bend the Arc and on LA Unified School District’s Faith Advisory Council, is an active faith leader in Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and LA Voice. Prior to becoming a rabbi, she was a dancer and choreographer and integrates movement and somatic wisdom in her teaching.
Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award
For over forty years, Rabbi Shawn Zevit has been involved in social-justice theater and music, in Toronto and Philadelphia. During his fourteen years as a national staff person for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, he oversaw numerous trainings for communal leaders and initiatives movement-wide in response to the issues of disaster relief, immigration and the environment in the U.S., Israel-Palestine, and promoting Congregation-based Community Organizing in Jewish communities.
Since 2013, as the lead rabbi of Mishkan Shalom, he has been a leader in the Jewish and multifaith communities through the New Sanctuary Movement, POWER clergy caucus (Faith in Action in PA), and the Religious Leaders’ Council of Greater Philadelphia Interfaith. He has taught at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and as a member of the Aleph Ordination Program VAAD- teaches and organizes courses for AOP students in areas of social justice and spiritual formation. As a co-founder of Menschwork and the Annual Jewish Men’s Retreat since 1993, The Davvenen Leaders Training Institute since 2000, and as the Director of the ALEPH Hashpa’ah Training Program (Spiritual Direction), he continues to teach and train Jewish leaders and clergy integrating the soul work of justice and spiritual life in leadership.