Rabbi Alana Alpert is a Detroit-based Jewish rabbi, community organizer, and civil rights activist. She currently leads Congregation T’chiyah in Detroit and is widely recognized for her excellence in urban justice and interfaith collaboration.
Rabbi Alpert is the founding executive director of Detroit Jews for Justice (DJJ). Her career is dedicated to integrating Jewish spirituality with local social struggles, with a focus on housing rights, water access, and labor rights in Detroit. She excels at translating ancient prophetic traditions into modern organizing power, fostering deep solidarity between the Jewish community and other marginalized groups in the city. Recognized by The Forward as one of the most influential American Jews, her work model has become a blueprint for grassroots Jewish organizing across the United States.
As a member of the JVP Rabbinical Council, Alpert plays a pivotal role in the anti-occupation movement. She advocates for linking the anti-racist struggle in Detroit with the Palestinian national liberation movement, arguing that all systems of oppression are interconnected. She has publicly stated: “If we cannot find the strength within our own tradition to say ‘no’ to the occupation, then we have failed the most central mission of justice in Judaism.” She actively participates in the actions of “Rabbis for Ceasefire” and frequently calls on public forums for the U.S. to stop funding military actions in Gaza.