News & Updates

May 2026Jewish Heritage

Genetic Science Confirms Lemba Jewish Priestly Lineage

Landmark genetic research by Oxford University professor Tudor Parfitt confirmed that a significant proportion of Lemba men carry the Cohen Modal Haplotype — a Y-chromosome marker associated with Jewish priestly descent. The findings validate centuries of Lemba oral tradition tracing their origins to the ancient Levitical-Benjamite clans of Israel, through Yemen, Ethiopia, and into present-day Zimbabwe and South Africa.

April 2026Jewish Heritage

Lemba Oral Tradition: From Ancient Israel to Southern Africa

For generations, the Lemba people have preserved oral traditions describing their journey from ancient Israel through Yemen and Ethiopia to southern Africa. Their practices — including dietary laws, circumcision, Sabbath observance, and the veneration of a sacred object known as the Ngoma Lungundu — bear striking parallels to ancient Israelite religious practice, offering a remarkable window into the global dispersal of the Jewish people.

March 2026Workers' Rights

JALC Advances Forced Labor Protocol Ratification Before U.N. Office of Human Rights

The Jewish American Labor Council submitted formal advocacy materials to the U.N. Office of Human Rights urging expanded ratification of the 2014 Protocol to ILO Convention No. 29, calling on member states to strengthen supply chain due diligence and migrant worker protections.

January 2026ILO Advocacy

JALC Marks 30 Years of Global Labor Advocacy at ILO Annual Conference

January 2026 marked three decades of uninterrupted advocacy by the Jewish American Labor Council on behalf of workers worldwide. From its founding in Baltimore in 1996 to its current global presence, JALC has represented workers' interests before the International Labour Organization, federal courts, and international human rights bodies across four continents.

November 2025Education & Training

Executive Director Ford Awarded Doctor of Laws by Whitefield College and Theological Seminary

In recognition of a six-volume postgraduate publication and lifelong work in the field of Jewish-Puritan-Reformed efforts to improve the American legal system and the plight of workers globally, Executive Director Roderick Ford was conferred the Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree.

September 2025NGO Partnerships

JALC Expands Cooperation with NGO Partners Across Africa and the West Indies

The Jewish American Labor Council has deepened its collaborative relationships with non-governmental organizations in southern Africa, West Africa, the West Indies, and Australia — advancing shared advocacy goals in child labor elimination, non-discrimination, and freedom of association.

June 2025ILO Advocacy

JALC Delegation Attends International Labour Conference in Geneva

JALC's annual advocacy delegation traveled to Geneva to participate in the International Labour Conference, engaging directly with ILO governance bodies and member state representatives on core labor standards, forced labor elimination, and non-discrimination in the workplace.

May 2025International Law

JALC Participates in 30th Anniversary of St. Clements University in London

At the invitation of the Academy of Executives and Administrators, the Jewish American Labor Council joined distinguished delegates in London to mark the 30th Anniversary of the founding of St. Clements University, reinforcing JALC's longstanding ties to international academic and professional institutions.

The Lemba Jews of Southern Africa: An Ancient People, A Living Covenant