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Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month

JDAIM 15th anniversary logo with blue and gold ribbons in the shape of a star of david.

The purpose of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is to unite Jewish communities to raise awareness and champion the rights of all Jews, including Jews with disabilities, to be respected, valued, and included in all aspects of Jewish community life. As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of JDAIM, we reflect on the intersections of ableism and antisemitism that make our commitment to inclusive communities more important than ever before.

Explore our recommended books, podcasts, and films that highlight disabled and Jewish talent, as well as a comprehensive guide to make your programming more accessible and inclusive. The month is also filled with virtual events that highlight authors, creatives, and other disabled individuals sharing their lived experience at the intersection of faith and disability.

Download JDAIM 15th Anniversary logo with Black Text or White Text

JDAIM 2024 Reads

JDAIM 2024 Listens

JDAIM 2024 Film Selections

JDAIM 2024 Accessibility Guidelines

Follow JDAIM on Facebook

JDAIM 2024 Webinars From RespectAbility

Private Sneak Peek and Conversation: THIRTEEN

poster for THIRTEEN with a mother, her daughter, and a rabbi in the backgroundDate: Wednesday, February 28
Time: 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT
Duration: 60 minutes

Based on a true story, THIRTEEN is a short film about a mother fighting to have a Bat Mitzvah for her disabled and terminally ill daughter in a synagogue that refuses to break from tradition. During this exclusive event, we’ll explore the intersections of ableism and antisemitism and the ongoing impact in Jewish communities, hearing from members of the team behind the making of THIRTEEN, with sneak peeks of clips from the film!

Loving Our Own Bones: A Conversation with Rabbi Julia Watts Belser

A graphic featuring a headshot of Julia Watts Belser, a white Jewish woman with curly brown hair, sitting happily in her wheelchair in front of a flowering bush. She's wearing a patterned red blazer and red kippah (beret) to match. Next to her is the cover of her book, which is vibrant yellow, with graceful tree branches and pale white leaves twining through the words of the title. The Beacon Press logo appears in the bottom corner of the graphic.Rabbi Julia Watts Belser joined us in conversation about her new book Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole. In Loving Our Own Bones, which is the 2024 JDAIM Book Club Selection, Julia brings Jewish sacred texts into relationship with disability culture to deepen conversations about disability, spirituality, and social justice.

Celebrating Jewish and Disabled Creativity During JDAIM

Headshots of panelists Asha Chai-Chang, Eden Hadad, and Ava Rigelhaupt. Text reads Celebrating Jewish and Disabled Creativity During JDAIMLearn from Asha Chai-Chang, a two-time Netflix writer/director Fellow and Emmy nominated producer; Eden Hadad, a writer/director with a penchant for crafting cinematic tales about bad people with good hearts; and Ava Rigelhaupt, a writer, consultant, actress, public speaker, and advocate for disability and autism representation in the entertainment industry.

JDAIM 2024 Program Guide

Welcome!

Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, may his memory be for blessing, wrote in his book, The Sabbath, “Creation, we are taught, is not an act that happened once upon a time, once and for ever. The act of bringing the world into existence is a continuous process.”

As we recognize the 15th anniversary of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) we pause briefly to recognize the inclusive practices that are now part of the Jewish community.

Every February, Jewish organizations and communities, including synagogues, schools, community centers, and federations, have responded to the call to create a world where disabled Jews and those who love them are welcomed and included. Still, to borrow from Heschel, we must allow the process to continue to develop beyond inclusion, until finally, all people who want access to the full scope of Jewish life belong.

This inclusion evolution has taken many forms in the past 15 years. As technology increases access to many aspects of the Jewish community, many synagogues and Jewish organizations are continuing to create online access to services and programs. “Special education” has become “inclusive education,” as understanding of diverse learning styles creates new practices and strategies for learners of all ages. Access to rituals and participation of disabled Jews continue to evolve as we study biblical texts and understand them in the light of belonging.

Jewish communities are facing a rise in antisemitism which impacts everyone, including people with disabilities and mental health conditions. As multiply-marginalized persons, Jewish people with disabilities may feel a heightened sense of isolation during this troubling time. It is important that leaders provide one-on-one listening sessions that include disabled people in programs and discussions, and make referrals to community mental health agencies.

“Words create worlds.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity

The structure of inclusion is important, as we have seen. This structure is critical to create access to Jewish life, and includes ramps, sign language interpreters, real time captioning, fragrance-free spaces, and so much more. However, the word “inclusion” limits creative thinking and growth, and more importantly, is at risk for becoming rote, a checklist of the things “we” do for “them.”

As Ginny Thornburgh, one of the great leaders in faith community access, wrote, “A ramp is not enough.”

Inclusion is not enough.

Inclusion alone does not recognize the universal need to belong. Belonging is an expansive way to evoke the longing of the human heart, the ways each of us expresses what is important to celebrate the image of God in all people. Belonging is the key to relationships, to contribution, to flourishing, and to authentic participation.

The RespectAbility staff that work on JDAIM are pleased to offer a wide array of resources to assist you as you continue the work of building communities where everyone can belong. The JDAIM Program Guide offers strategies for improving access, and program ideas. We are partnering with ReelAbilities International to bring a curated selection of films your organization can license for events that raise awareness and entertain. New this year, we have a curated list of podcasts – JDAIM Listens.

And as always, we have carefully selected books for JDAIM Reads for all ages, including the featured selection from Rabbi Dr. Julia Watts Belser, “Loving our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole.” We will be hosting Dr. Belser for a webinar discussing the revolutionary new book, plus other webinars featuring Dr. Karyn Harvey discussing trauma informed care and resiliency, and a private sneak peek at the new film THIRTEEN with the filmmaker and cast.

February is when we direct attention to understanding, to listening, and to learning together about how the Jewish community can actively engage in education around disability. The other eleven months must be where we put this education into ongoing, evolving, and authentic practice.

Warmest regards,
Shelly Christensen, MA, FAAIDD
Senior Director of Faith Inclusion and Belonging, RespectAbility
JDAIM Co-founder

About RespectAbility

RespectAbility is a diverse, disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities by advancing policies and practices that elevate the voices of people with lived experiences. The Faith Inclusion and Belonging department focuses on the intersection of spirituality, faith, and disability. Since its founding in 2013, RespectAbility has been engaged in Jewish community disability inclusion. In 2022, with the hiring of our new Senior Director of Faith Inclusion and Belonging, Shelly Christensen, RespectAbility is expanding to work with many faith traditions. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission, as well as our work in Faith Inclusion and Belonging, Entertainment and News Media, Leadership, and Policy. You can also subscribe to any of RespectAbility’s newsletters online.

Why You Should Participate in JDAIM

  • Raise awareness and commit to the value that inclusion and belonging are essential to the well-being and quality of life for all people, including people with disabilities, mental health conditions and those who love them.
  • Affirm the importance of choosing one’s own Jewish journey.
  • Support people with disabilities and mental health conditions to participate in all aspects of community life—as they choose.
  • Advocate for the civil rights of people with disabilities and mental health conditions. Make sure to advocate alongside people with disabilities and mental health conditions.
  • Understand and overcome stigma, biases, and stereotypes about disability and mental health conditions.
  • Nothing about us without us. Include disabled voices and perspectives in all decision-making.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access = Belonging

Many faith-based communities and organizations are embracing the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. DEIA is a framework that promotes belonging in all parts of an organization.

Diversity encompasses all the ways in which people of the same faith and belief system can differ, including but not limited to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, disability, mental health, or national origin. Diversity is more than just acknowledging and/or tolerating difference. It’s a set of conscious practices that seek to understand and appreciate the interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment. There are studies that show that organizations benefit when they have a diverse workforce.

Equity ensures that everyone has support and access to the resources they need to flourish, identifying and eliminating barriers that have prevented the full participation of communities most impacted by systemic oppression. Systemic oppression is defined as a society-wide mistreatment of people within a social identity group, supported and enforced by society and its institutions, and solely based on a person’s membership in a social and/or economic group.

  • Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the procedures and processes of institutions and systems, as well as in the distribution of resources. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society and institutions.
  • Equity differs from equality. Equality refers to treating everyone the same, but does not necessarily lead to fair, just, or equitable outcomes. This is because different communities have different needs and have faced varying obstacles on the path towards justice.

Inclusion requires that people of all backgrounds, identities, religions, and abilities have an equal opportunity to belong, achieve, and contribute to their communities. An inclusive institution promotes and sustains a sense of belonging, where all people are respected for their inherent worth, dignity, talents, backgrounds, and ways of living.

Accessibility is the design, construction, development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology, programs, and services so all people, including people with disabilities, can fully and independently engage with them.

Belonging is a human need. When we belong, we are seen for the whole of who we are. We are contributors to the community. We are known, valued, respected, and supported. A community of belonging is the most important outcome we can achieve.

Accommodation Statement and Requests

When promoting any program or event, be sure to include a way for participants to request accommodations.

This allows you time to arrange for accommodations before the event. Examples might include a written copy of remarks, ASL interpretation, or real time live captioning. People can also inquire about availability of hearing loops, large print materials, etc. Be sure to include the location of accessible parking, entrances, elevators, and restrooms.

Sample Language
“If you require an accommodation in order to participate in (the meeting/services/event, etc.) please contact (name of individual who is responsible for taking requests, if applicable) at (phone and email) by (due date to make the request.)”

“We welcome and support children, teens, and adults with disabilities, mental health conditions, and their families and caregivers. We make every effort to ensure our programs, equipment, and facilities are accessible. Please phone or email us if you have any questions or would like to request an accommodation.”

Additional language may be added to state that requests for accommodations made after the advertised date will be honored to the maximum extent feasible.

View the full accessibility standards provided by RespectAbility.

Planning Tips

  • Establish a planning group for JDAIM. Invite:
    • People with disabilities. Nothing about us without us!
    • Inclusion committee members
    • Representatives from other committees and the board
    • Clergy and professional staff
    • General members
  • Set SMARTIE (Strategic, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable) goals for what you can accomplish during JDAIM.
  • Brainstorm activities and programs. Ask how each activity will have an impact AFTER JDAIM. Be careful to not promote activities based on stereotypes of or pity for people with disabilities.
  • Ensure that there are programs or activities for preschoolers, religious school students, teens and adults.
  • Use social media to promote inclusion, using #JDAIM2024 to share on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
  • Make JDAIM the springboard for what you can do the rest of the year.
  • Collaborate with the Jewish community in your town or city. That may include pooling financial resources, bringing a speaker in from outside the community, hosting a training event, conference, movie night, or JDAIM Reads book club.

Event and Program Ideas

  • Discuss the weekly Torah parshiot (portions) with an inclusion lens during Shabbat sermons, at board and committee meetings, religious school classes, and in Torah study.
  • Host a trainer with disabilities to your organization. They might give the Shabbat sermon, facilitate Torah study or a lunch and learn, or speak at seudat shlishit. You might invite the trainer to be the scholar in residence for a weekend of programs and events. The trainer can also hold a congregational Havdalah service. For trainer ideas, contact Jake Stimell (Disability Training and Consulting Bureau Associate at RespectAbility) at JakeS@RespectAbility.org. Events can take place in-person, with masks required, and on Zoom.
  • Choose one of the JDAIM recommended films and do a “movie night” in person, with masks required, or virtually. Choose a film people can stream and then host an online discussion. Have a thoughtful discussion about how people with disabilities and mental health conditions are portrayed in Hollywood.
  • Invite clergy to talk about biblical characters who have a disability in your religious school or youth group.
  • Start a book group and read one of the 2024 JDAIM Reads selections.
  • Create a book club for teens and their parents using the JDAIM Reads selections to open a new conversation.
  • Hold a bedtime story event on Zoom. Read one of the recommended books for kids. Make sure to have hot chocolate and marshmallows at the ready.
  • Gather representatives from several Jewish organizations in your community to convene an inclusion roundtable that will meet regularly after JDAIM to discuss the needs in the community. Use JDAIM as a jumping off point for this group.
  • Conduct a town hall to find out how to better include people with disabilities in your Jewish community.

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