'We make it feel good to be on our team'

New project urges US Jews and allies to spur change via one ‘good deed’ text per day

Jewish American activist Mandana Dayani says bipartisan One Mitzvah A Day can help mobilize pro-Israel activists, fight antisemitism, and show gratitude to supporters

Reporter at The Times of Israel

One Mitzvah A Day founder Mandana Dayani. (Jojo Korsh)
One Mitzvah A Day founder Mandana Dayani. (Jojo Korsh)

Jewish activist Mandana Dayani was on a recent trip to Capitol Hill when a candid politician delivered a sobering wake-up call.

“A member of Congress said to me, ‘Mandana, we can be as supportive as possible, but it doesn’t feel good to support Israel or your community. My team is inundated with complaints, and we never get a thank you,'” Dayani told The Times of Israel.

“That last part really stayed with me,” she said. “I believe in rewarding good actors, strengthening allies, and ensuring that doing the right thing feels good. For too long, it has felt like having our backs comes with too big of a burden.”

Now Dayani is spearheading a rethink of Jewish American activism by encouraging followers to perform the mitzvah, or Torah commandment, of HaKarat HaTov — literally “recognizing the good” — once a day.

Starting this week, One Mitzvah A Day — the newest project from the creator of I Am A Voter, a nonpartisan organization that encourages civic engagement — will text message subscribers at the same time each morning with “a simple ‘thank you’ call to action.”

Actionable items include helping fight antisemitism, supporting Israel, creating allyship, and spreading gratitude. Users can subscribe via text or by visiting the project website.

“No comments or chatting, no WhatsApp groups with limits are involved in this,” Dayani underscored. “We call Hakeem Jeffries and thank him for demanding aid to Israel on the Senate floor. We thank the University of Michigan for adding a Title VI representative to their administration. We thank Google for removing antisemitic search results. We thank Elise Stefanik for holding universities accountable.”

“We make it feel good to be on our team. We remove the consequences of having our back. We strengthen allies,” Dayani said.

And allies, Dayani was quick to say, can and should come from either side of the political aisle: this new venture is “fundamentally bipartisan, rooted in the belief that doing good and expressing gratitude transcends political divisions.”

“Acts of kindness, support, and gratitude are not bound by party lines; they are universal values that resonate with people from all walks of life,” Dayani said. “Support for Israel and combating antisemitism are bipartisan efforts, and we need people across every ideology to work toward our shared goals.”

US House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the March for Israel rally on the National Mall in Washington, November 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Particularly in the aftermath of an intense US election, Dayani says she hopes that One Mitzvah A Day “offers a refreshing alternative — an invitation to engage in real, impactful action that doesn’t require political agreement, but fosters a shared sense of purpose.”

And in a post-October 7 world in which American Jews face a surge in antisemitism, Dayani believes more work needs to be done to organize, create and nurture the Jewish community’s allies.

“We, as Jews, need to build grassroots operations to organize better,” Dayani said.

Mandana Dayani speaks at the UN on sexual assault of women on October 7 in New York City, December 4, 2023. (Perry Bindelglass/ NCJW)

Referencing Shannon Watts — the founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots gun violence prevention activist group — as a mentor and model, Dayani said she believes that Jewish people need to emulate other grassroots groups and find ways to activate immediately and locally as needed, as well as express appreciation and show support for allies.

In the long term, Dayani said, the goal is to prepare Jewish communities and their allies to spring into action as a group.

For example, she said, a call to action could sound like, “Hey Seattle Mitzvah-ers, today we are going to the state courthouse to stand with Nova survivors who are testifying so they are not alone.”

“We want to mobilize a community of like-minded individuals who are committed to taking meaningful action — individuals that show up, pick up the phone, set up tables and get on buses,” Dayani said. “There is so much that can come from all of us working together and creating the infrastructures for us all to advocate on a daily basis.”

Illustrative: A rally in support of the hostages held in Gaza in New York City’s Central Park, December 15, 2024. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Eventually, Dayani hopes the group will pivot to being more localized, “showing up in local efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel efforts and to stand in solidarity with our community.”

In an era of negativity, Dayani also hopes this project can create some Jewish good.

“This initiative shows that doing good, no matter the political climate, can spark real change and create lasting, positive ripples in society,” Dayani said. “We hope it re-energizes people, reminding them that their actions, big or small, have the power to inspire and effect change, and that through simple acts of gratitude and support, they can be a part of something truly transformative.”

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