Jason Hoffman

I was working as a lawyer in San Francisco, but I always wanted to do something in the human rights world. I felt that I had, for lack of a better term, a "calling" to go away and do something relatively selfless but, at the same time, extremely fulfilling.

I learned about AJWS Volunteer Corps, and what I really liked about AJWS was this whole idea of tzedakah and tikkun olam, doing something through a Jewish organization that wasn't necessarily Judaism-focused, but made the world a better place for everyone. That really jived with what I wanted to do, which I felt I wasn't getting doing litigation in San Francisco.

I'm volunteering with People's Watch in Madurai, in the south of India. I'm working on a project called the National Project to Prevent Torture in India. It's a three-year program to end police torture in India, which includes things like assault, physical abuse, threats, custodial abuse and rape, psychological humiliation, and the denial of medical rights, food and sleep in jail. This is pretty common and entrenched police behavior, and it tends to affect marginalized groups the worst: Dalits [untouchables], women.

We help people hold public tribunals on torture in different states, which is a pretty remarkable thing. The victims of torture will stand up before their community and an audience, and tell them what happened, and the members of the jury will hear it, ask questions and make recommendations based on what they've heard.

My role in the public tribunals is to work with volunteers to capture everything that's said. I also edit the documentation of torture, which gets published in reports and becomes an annual report for each state. We're also drafting anti-torture legislation to propose to the government, since there's no anti-torture law in India in the moment.

Applying my skills in a new way has been really rewarding. It's nice to see that they're transferable and can help other people in such a profound way. Also, I'm seeing the outcome of the work I'm doing. I feel that a piece of the work I'm doing is being left behind.

Interacting with the people themselves is incredibly rewarding. Everybody shares everything. The idea of privacy or personal space doesn't exist, it all feels like it's a community. If you need something, there's always somebody there to help you. It never feels like a burden for them. That's incredibly wonderful, and different, than my previous experiences.

There are so many beautiful stories here, stories of great family and community, the way that they have committed themselves to human rights. I'm learning from my Indian counterparts and they're learning from me, it's not a one-way road.

As for the challenges: No one person is going to change the system. Stepping back and looking at it more long-term, it is a challenge to wonder how much of a difference am I making. But still, it's important to do something, and even if it doesn't change the world right away, it's still important. That keeps me going.

What's Jewish about this? There are a couple of things that speak to me as a Jew. Tzedakah and tikkun olam are Jewish ideas. Tzedakah, dealing with doing something for justice, is certainly applicable. Tikkun olam, bringing justice, equality, relieving suffering, that to me is very personal. In some ways, I feel closer to my Jewish heritage and spirituality by being in India and doing this volunteer work.

Every year at Rosh Hashanah, there's that part of the service that asks, "this year, have you worked to make the world a better place? Was there more you could have done?" This time, I'll reflect on the year and think, I did my duty to be Jewish and to make the world a better place, and I did as much as I could do.

Being Jewish isn't about just helping your own community, it's about helping anyone in need. To that respect, we're all one population, we're all interconnected, and helping anyone anywhere is important, it's a mitzvah.

It was important to step out of my comfort zone and what I was accustomed to, to really see things more clearly, so that I could grow by the experience and have something to bring back. When I return to the U.S., I'll have a more varied, diverse understanding of this work. I'll have more to offer than had I just stayed in my community.

This has sort of been a whole new avenue to try out, a whole new experience for me. I've learned new skill sets, I'm learning to better balance my life, integrate spirituality and the importance of helping other people at the same time. I think that's key to living a fulfilling life. I think working here, where it's so difficult to effect change, and seeing that change is possible, has really inspired me to make bigger leaps at home. When I go back I'll be more involved and more effective at bringing change to disenfranchised communities at home.

 

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