Jews For Racial & Economic Justice Receive the 2025 ALBA/Puffin Award
April 14, 2025
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) announces that the 2025 ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism will go to Jews For Racial & Economic Justice. One of the largest monetary awards for human rights in the world, the ALBA/Puffin Award is a $100,000 cash prize granted annually by ALBA and The Puffin Foundation to honor the nearly 3,000 Americans who volunteered in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) to fight fascism under the banner of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
ALBA and The Puffin Foundation recognize the danger that current assaults on human and economic rights pose to vulnerable populations. With this choice, we reaffirm our commitment to our roots, the fight for economic and racial justice that the Abrahman Lincoln Brigade committed themselves to when they took up the fight against fascism.
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For over 30 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside their neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.
“I am humbled and deeply honored to be accepting the ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights on behalf of JFREJ Community. We are in a moment of profound reckoning in this country, facing an onslaught of unimaginable attacks against all of our communities. At JFREJ, we commit every day to safety through solidarity and to building a just and democratic world. Nearly a hundred years ago, the volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade saw fascism rising clearly, and knew an attack on one was an attack on all and took courageous action across borders. We build on their sacrifice and on the long history and lineage of Jewish anti-fascist organizing and resistance. We know there is no such thing as a ‘premature antifascist’ – then or now – and will gratefully use this prize to power the critical fights ahead.“
-Audrey Sasson, Executive Director of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice,
Community.
The ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism is an initiative to sustain the legacy of the experiences, aspirations, and idealism of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It supports contemporary international activists and human rights causes. A philanthropist and visionary, the late Perry Rosenstein of The Puffin Foundation created and established an endowed fund for this award in 2010.
“At a time when we are seeing unprecedented attacks on democratic institutions, advanced by authoritarian policies with complete disregard for human rights, organizations like Jews for Racial and Economic Justice remind us of the conviction of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and their work could not be needed more. JFREJ’s efforts mobilizing partners to reject all forms of authoritarianism and racial violence will be essential for successfully pushing back against the anti-democratic attacks of the Trump and Musk administration and for protecting human rights, both within the United States and abroad.”
-Jack Mayerhofer, Chair, ALBA Human Rights Committee
“With basic human rights under assault in our own country, the efforts of JFREJ to educate the public and speak out on behalf of populations targeted by unjust actions are more important than ever. JFREJ and its volunteers offer a profound example of an effective force dedicated to shining a light on the actions of those who would attack and demonize immigrants, refugees, and those whose voices are often unheard. We are honored by their actions and their acceptance of this award.”
-Neal Rosenstein, President of The Puffin Foundation
About The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) is an educational non-profit dedicated to promoting social activism and the defense of human rights. ALBA’s work is inspired by the American volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Drawing on the ALBA collections in New York University’s Tamiment Library, and working to expand such collections, ALBA works to preserve the legacy of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade as an inspiration for present and future generations.
Other recipients of the ALBA/ Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism include reproductive justice organization Indigenous Women Rising; public-interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson; No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization dedicated to ending the death and suffering in the Mexico–US borderlands; My Brother’s Keeper, an organization whose mission is to reduce health disparities; and Life After Hate, a leader in the violence intervention community helping individuals disengage from violent far-right hate groups.