We are a vibrant center for Jewish life in Lower Manhattan. Together, we explore Jewish identity, build deep connections, and reimagine Jewish community.
Jewish centers have been integral to sustaining Jewish life for more than two thousand years, and JCP’s story is no exception. In the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11, JCP was founded out of a need for a community, a place of connectedness and loving-kindness. Since our official founding in 2002, we welcome all who seek a pluralistic experience rooted in the Jewish values of learning, connection, culture, and spirituality, and we engage people of all religious orientations and identities.
In the 20-plus years since our founding, JCP has served the community in many different ways:
• Outreach to more than 3,000 households
• Annual engagement with more than 700 families
Learn about our spiritual services and educational programs!
Our History
JCP Downtown was founded with the mission to build a new model of Jewish belonging. Tribeca, the New York neighborhood in which the World Trade Center was located, was devastated by the attack. As the long process of recovering and rebuilding began, many young Jewish families moved to the increasingly residential area. Longing for a sense of Jewish community in their new neighborhood, these families came together to found the Jewish Community Project. The JCP experiment, which began with an excellent early childhood program and expanded to include other educational programs, religious services and many community building activities, is alive and well. JCP is consciously neither a synagogue nor a community center but rather a novel attempt to create a new kind of Jewish belonging, one that draws upon our ancient wisdom to enrich our modern lives.
