(RNS) — When immigration raids escalated in Los Angeles in June, fear swept through communities. Families were shaken, and trust in public institutions eroded.
However, people and institutions are coming together in solidarity and searching for courageous ways to resist. Today, at LA Freedom Schools, citizens and non-citizens alike are learning how to protect their rights and help others do the same.
The organizing strategy was rolled out on July 4, 2025, by One LA at a Freedom School at the San Gabriel Mission, which was attended by over 200 leaders from across Los Angeles County. One LA is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation, the oldest and largest national organizing and leadership development network in the United States. Our membership comprises synagogues, churches, schools, health care clinics and nonprofits that shape the organization’s agenda and teach their constituents how to be effective public people. One LA member institutions represent tens of thousands of people across the county.
Inspired by the original Freedom Schools of the Civil Rights era, our programs are not academic in the traditional sense. They are hosted in synagogues, churches, homes, schools and backyards. Our goal is to train people, regardless of immigration status, to understand and assert their constitutional rights in the face of unlawful immigration enforcement.
As Jewish community leaders, we believe this is what meaningful Jewish and interfaith action looks like. At Temple Isaiah in LA, our core organizing team, Am Tzedek: Isaians Pursuing Justice, has worked to ensure that the words above our ark, “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” are put into action. At Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, the words that grace our building come from the Prophet Micah (6:8):
“You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
And what GOD requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God.”
A clergy person addresses protesters as California National Guardsmen stand in line in front of a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Pursuing and doing justice is central to the identity of both our temples, which have been involved with One LA for over 16 years. Through its diverse network of member institutions, we help our congregants deepen their connection to Judaism by putting justice into action. The requirement to walk humbly is an encouragement to work with other faith communities, honoring each others’ different understanding of Divinity.
Freedom Schools are an institutional strategy, as all One LA members have missions that protect human dignity and rights. These training sessions strengthen our capacity to fulfill these missions. We’re documenting constitutional violations. We’re educating our members about the rights to due process and protection against unlawful search and seizure. And though we can’t stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting raids, we are building networks that will ultimately hold those currently breaking the law accountable.
Our solidarity shows up in many ways. We accompany immigrants to court hearings. We help families whose breadwinners have been detained. We take children to school when parents are too afraid to leave home. And, we raise funds to increase access to legal representation.
The strategy is to build our collective capacity through identifying the values our institutions share and turning those values into sources of power. Our efforts are about more than legal defense, but about civic and moral resistance. We believe in the Constitution. We believe the rule of law must serve everyone, not just those in power. And we believe organizing is a vital tool for democracy.
This is the kind of civic politics that happens in neighborhoods, community centers and houses of worship. Freedom Schools are reviving an ancient and urgent tradition of bringing people together across lines of faith, race and immigration status to take meaningful action.
Our goal is not just to react to injustice, but to build durable power that can reshape public life and protect the vulnerable.
We know this is a long fight, but we also know that real power — moral, civic and political — is built through relationships, organizing and persistence. This moment demands more than outrage. It demands presence, courage and moral clarity. It demands that we act from the soul.
(Janet Hirsch is president of the One LA board and the chair of Am Tzedek: Isaians Pursuing Justice. She has been involved in organizing with Temple Isaiah and One LA for over 16 years. Rabbi Laura Geller is rabbi emerita of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills. She is the coauthor of two books, “Getting Good at Getting Older” and “Moments that Matter: Marking Transitions in Midlife and Beyond.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)
