Julia Hockman is a Philadelphian through and through. The Tribe 12 development director was born and raised here, and she only left for an undergraduate career at Tulane University in New Orleans. She always knew she’d come back, though.
“Realistically, I saw myself finding my way back here because I really do just love Philly — the people, the culture — it’s a great place,” she said.
One of the things that makes Philadelphia great, Hockman said, is shared qualities with the Jewish community. She used an example of the community’s response to a recent antisemitic incident in Philadelphia to explain.
“A trait of both being Jewish and Philadelphian is that we’re not going to ignore anything bad; we’re going to stand up and throw something even bigger. We’re not leaving,” she said, referencing a gathering of Jews that was held in the wake of an antisemitic message being shown on a board at a bar in Philadelphia.
“I think if you take all the stereotypical Philadelphia traits and Jewish traits, they overlap. We’re a loud, confident bunch. We are happy to be succeeding and we’re not going to let anyone give us flak for that,” she said.
Hockman’s work at Tribe 12 is her passion, but she had to navigate a few other realms to realize that. When she graduated from Tulane in 2021, she began work as a paralegal with plans to attend law school.
“And then I realized that I didn’t want to do any of that,” she said.
From there, Hockman pursued work that fell within her undergraduate major of political science. She worked for Jeff Brown’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor. When the election ended, Hockman said that she realized she had to choose one of the following: a career in politics, which would likely have to come down the road in D.C., or living in Philadelphia.
“Do I want to stay in politics, or do I want to stay in Philly?” she recalled herself thinking. “I picked Philly.”
First, Hockman got a job working at a standard, non-Jewish company. The Tribe 12 connection came soon after, as Hockman received an invite from her college friend and fellow Tribe 12 worker Izzy Cutler to host the organization’s trivia night, as Hockman was already hosting another trivia event.
“At this point, I did not know what Tribe 12 was, but I was starting to look for new jobs and was thinking about entering the nonprofit space,” she said. “Izzy kind of made me aware of Tribe 12, and when I hosted a trivia pop-up for them, I started doing some research. I saw there were jobs available and kind of knew that this was where I wanted to end up.”
Hockman said that the role is a natural fit in part because the work is similar to that of politics. Tribe 12 is a small team in which everyone pitches in for whatever is needed — no two days are the same, and the variety keeps things interesting. Her primary duty is to work on grant applications, which are largely responsible for the organization’s funding. She also works on different fundraising campaigns. Some are stand-alone annual events. Some are tied to Jewish holidays. There is even a program where participants are called “sustainers” because they donate $12 a month.
“Being on such a small team, I’m kind of just helping with whatever is asked of me,” she said. “I [was at Shabbat] last week, just offering an extra set of hands.”
Hockman said that events like that Shabbat reveal what makes Tribe 12 special. There are a lot of Jewish organizations in the area, but Tribe 12 thrives because its social calendar is so complete and varied. There are Shabbat dinners, but there are also bonfires and LGBTQIA+ discussions. There are outings to Phillies games and singles happy hours.
“It’s not explicitly about being Jewish necessarily, but it’s our Judaism that bonds us all together,” Hockman said.
Hockman lives in Rittenhouse Square and does not belong to a synagogue. She said she is culturally Jewish more than anything else, but that that’s another reason that organizations like Tribe 12 matter so much. They preserve Jewish heritage even for those who aren’t as interested in going to shul. Hockman first became involved in this space as a student, when she joined BBYO after her bat mitzvah. Between that and summers at Pinemere Camp, Hockman credits fun, Jewish organizations for keeping her passionate about her culture.
“Those two experiences were essential in keeping me connected to my Judaism through middle and high school when I think I probably would have gotten disconnected after my bat mitzvah had it not been for those experiences,” she said.
Hockman gives back to those places that helped her grow. At Pinemere, she worked as a counselor and said that it provided her the chance to show other girls a model of womanhood.
“Learning a lot about themselves and being in a place where they’re surrounded by Jewish women role models who are confident and comfortable, I think it’s invaluable for their confidence as young women,” she said. “Those were some of the most important summers of my life and [I enjoy] passing that down.”
Now, Hockman works with Jewish people, Jewish ideas and Jewish events every day. She doesn’t see that ending anytime soon.
“I have always been involved in Jewish [religious] stuff, but I think for me, it comes down more to being a part of the Jewish community,” she said.
