By Adina Kay-Gross

Following the tumultuous and nationally divisive 2016 election, Aaron Dorfman—then President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah—noticed growing concern across the organization about fractures in American democracy and communal life. 

“As an institution, we recognized that American Jewish life is, in many ways, predicated on a vibrant liberal democracy,” Dorfman explained. “Liberal democracy created the container in which Jewish communities have thrived in this country—and that container was starting to feel increasingly precarious.” 

During his five years at the Foundation, Dorfman focused on raising awareness about threats to democracy and supporting organizations working to sustain it. The January 6th Capitol attack deepened his sense of urgency, inspiring him to conclude his work at Lippman Kanfer and launch A More Perfect Union, an organization dedicated to mobilizing the Jewish community in defense of American democracy. 

A More Perfect Union began by forging connections. “For the first three years, we essentially had one strategy: recruit and support Jewish nonprofits,” Dorfman said. One of the first such partners was Chazaq, a Queens-based organization serving the Bukharian Jewish community by translating voter education materials into Russian. A More Perfect Union also worked with Hillel International to advocate for new polling sites on campuses with limited on-campus voting options and with Leading Edge to develop a resource guide for Jewish leaders to help them navigate political and ideological conflict in the workplace.

By the end of 2024, A More Perfect Union had grown to include 200 partner organizations across 29 states. Dorfman remained focused on supporting “meaningful pro-democracy work that mattered in local communities,” much of which centered on safeguarding free and fair elections. 

To broaden this work, A More Perfect Union convened the Jewish Summit on Civics in March 2024, together 25 partners to participate in a national civics education conference and to assess the needs of the Jewish civic education field. Following the Summit and with funding from The Covenant Foundation, the Jim Joseph Foundation, and the Russell Berrie Foundation, A More Perfect Union and the Hartman Institute convened a year-long seminar of nine Jewish scholars who collaborated to articulate a set of core principles for American Jewish civics.

Dorfman sees one of the Jewish community’s greatest strengths as its deeply institutional nature. Rather than building new infrastructure, A More Perfect Union aims to make a compelling case that civic learning should be embedded within existing Jewish educational frameworks. “We want institutions to see this as essential,” he said. 

He added that linking Jewish education with civic learning is a fitting response to the current state of American democracy—and that it is no coincidence that Jews have thrived in the United States as they have nowhere else. Jewish middot and civic values, Dorfman argues, are inherently aligned—a central premise of A More Perfect Union’s work. 

Today, A More Perfect Union’s network has grown to more than 230 partners, with ambitions to expand further. Dorfman hopes to better reflect the full diversity of American Jewish life and ultimately engage 10 percent of the roughly 7,500 Jewish nonprofits nationwide. 

At the heart of this work is a multi-pronged effort to equip Jewish educators with tools for teaching dialogue and democratic engagement. Cultivating a culture of pluralism, Dorfman notes, is essential to both democracy and Judaism. Accordingly, A More Perfect Union’s materials emphasize tolerance and the value of diverse perspectives, drawing on Jewish texts as foundational resources. One such example is the biblical principle dina d’malchuta dina—“the law of the land is the law.” 

As A More Perfect Union continues to expand its reach and deepen its impact, the organization sees the new year as an opportune time to convene educators and communal leaders to affirm a shared commitment to civil discourse and democratic values.