Toolkit to be featured at “Rising Stars” Event celebrating Jewish Disability Action and Inclusion Month
Los Angeles, CA, January 27 – RespectAbility, an organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community, is debuting a new toolkit that will equip Jewish individuals and organizations with the best strategies to promote the full inclusion and participation of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life.
The Jewish Disability Inclusion toolkit is available on RespectAbility’s website now and will be featured at RespectAbility’s celebratory event in honor of Jewish Disability Action and Inclusion Month on February 20, 2022, at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET. The “Rising Stars” event will pair information about the toolkit with a showcase of some of RespectAbility’s talented speakers with disabilities from the Jewish community.
“The Jewish Disability Inclusion toolkit is a comprehensive resource which brings together not only RespectAbility’s near decade of work on this issue, but the work of key partners including Howard Blas, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, and Matan,” said Matan Koch, Vice President for Workforce, Leadership and Faith Programs at RespectAbility. “It is an example of the new paradigm of collaboration sweeping the Jewish disability inclusion community.”
One-in-five members of the Jewish community have disabilities. The Jewish Disability Inclusion toolkit shares practical tips and carefully compiled resources intended to aid Jewish organizations in their accessibility and inclusion efforts. The toolkit covers topics including language and etiquette, events, holidays, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, education, camp, and more.
This new resource answers many needs that were revealed in a largescale national survey conducted by RespectAbility on faith inclusion issues. The study showed that most Jewish organizations want to be inclusive of people with disabilities. However, many of those groups do not know how to do it. This new toolkit, which is free and fully accessible, can help fill that gap.
“We’re excited to see how the Jewish community utilizes this valuable toolkit to fully include Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life,” said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, President of RespectAbility.
About RespectAbility
RespectAbility is a diverse and disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities and that advances policies and practices that empower people with disabilities to have a better future. Our mission is to fight stigmas and advance opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.
