After an extensive national search, the Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA (FOR-USA) is proud to welcome our next Executive Director, Ariel Gold.

Ms. Gold, a seasoned peace and justice activist, takes the helm as the organization’s first Jewish executive director. Prior to this groundbreaking appointment, Ms. Gold worked for the past seven years at CODEPINK Women for Peace, where she was Country Co-Director and Middle East Policy Analyst.

Founded in 1915, FOR-USA is the nation’s oldest interfaith peace and justice organization and is part of the global International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) movement with branches, groups and affiliates in more than 50 countries. FOR-USA and IFOR count several Nobel Peace Laureates among their active members, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

After decades of focusing on international affairs, including advocating for a just peace in Israel/Palestine, Ms. Gold resonated with the deep urgency of FOR-USA’s focus on ending violence and violence. injustice in the United States and its impact and intersection with systemic violence. , war and military occupation in the world. “The work FOR is currently undertaking is extremely important and immediately inspired me to apply for the position,” Gold said. “Given the rise of white supremacy and the intersecting epidemics of racial inequality and gun violence, as well as the current attacks on trans rights and bodily integrity, it is necessary and vital to address our issues. at home in order to best contribute to the pursuit of peace in the world.

Ms. Gold has felt a connection to FOR-USA since she first encountered the organization as a youth during her involvement in the anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s and 1990s. she was inspired to engage in her first act of civil disobedience by protesting underground nuclear testing in Nevada on Western Shoshone Nation land.

Her commitment to faith-based activism intensified while raising her children in American Jewry. Between the bar and the bat mitzvah of her children, she took them to spend three weeks in the West Bank with Palestinian families to “experience directly the humanity of those who live under occupation and understand the obligation that have the Jews of conscience to work for peace and equality”. in Israel/Palestine. Ms. Gold cites the Catholic Worker movement and Jewish Voice for Peace as two important influences on her organizing experience.

“It is with great humility that I follow in the footsteps of a long list of incredible people involved with FOR, including early racial and gender equality activist Jane Addams – who joined FOR-USA in 1919 and withstood harsh criticism for her embrace of pacifism during WWI – and radical and lesbian labor activist Grace Hutchins, who joined FOR-USA in 1920,” Gold said. “I am immensely honored to take on a position once held by AJ Muste, the famous pastor, political thinker and peacemaker who served as executive director of FOR from 1940 to 1953.”

“We are thrilled with the selection of Ariel Gold as our next executive director,” said Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez, FOR-USA National Council Chair. “Ms. Gold’s depth of experience, prophetic analysis and courageous testimony promise to re-energize our grassroots movement. At a time of exponential increase in violence against targeted bodies and communities, we are deeply inspired by Ms. Gold’s legacy of nonviolent solidarity work with cross-cutting feminist and womanist movements around the world.

“As the new Executive Director of FOR, I aim to raise the profile of the organization so that religious institutions of many denominations will seek out and take advantage of FOR’s resources, such as the programs and multimedia tools developed today by the FOR program team and Wink Fellowship,” Or said. She added, “As FOR’s first Jewish Executive Director, I am also thrilled to revitalize FOR’s presence in my own faith community. We celebrate FOR’s historic leadership in launching and strengthening religious peace groups, such as the Jewish Peace Fellowship – founded in 1941 to support Jewish conscientious objectors – and the anti-war and civil rights activists who founded their commitment to nonviolence on Torah, Talmud, and other sacred and religious texts, and I look forward to deepening these creative connections and emerging partnerships.

Ariel Gold will officially assume the role of Executive Director of FOR-USA on August 1.

Contact: Ethan Vesely-Flad, [email protected]