185 Jewish professionals and leaders from across the United States gathered in Baltimore Wednesday and Thursday for the first-ever Jewish Belonging Summit to strengthen efforts at building a sense of belonging in Jewish communities.

 

The summit is a partnership between Jewish Federations of North America’s Center for Jewish Belonging and SRE Network.

 

“Ensuring that every member of the Jewish community feels a sense of belonging is a core Jewish value. The Torah commands us not only to remember the stranger, but to love every Jew, to pursue justice and righteousness, and not to oppress the vulnerable,” said Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, who heads the Federations’ Center for Jewish Belonging. 

 

“In this moment, in which we are seeing a surge in interest in Jewish life, we need to remember those who have been historically marginalized while pursuing a a once-in-a-generation opportunity to draw people into our communities by integrating belonging strategies for 21st century Jewish life that will ensure a thriving, resilient and flourishing future,” he added.

 

The Jewish community is richly diverse across race, gender, socioeconomically, ability, sexual orientation, and politics, yet many Jews with historically disadvantaged identities continue to experience harm and exclusion within our communal spaces. 

 

For example, according to Pew, 20% of American Jews identify as Black, Latin, Asian, Sephardi and Mizrachi, 11% of American Jews identify as LGBTQ+, 32% don’t identify with any denomination, and 21% of Jewish households face significant economic precarity. 

 

"Since 2018, SRE Network has worked to advance gender equity and organizational culture change. We are excited to have had the opportunity to partner with the Jewish Federations’ Center for Jewish Belonging to host such a powerful gathering of professionals committed to building Jewish communities where every person feels safe, seen, and valued,” said Rachel Gildiner, Executive Director, SRE Network. “This Summit was a bold statement of faith in our community’s potential and a declaration that pursuing paths for safety, respect, equity, and belonging is both urgent and essential." 

 

The Jewish Belonging Summit is focused on how to make our communal landscape more representative and inclusive, featuring speakers on the Surge, Jewish learnings on Safety, Respect, and Equity, Coalition Building, and Cultivating an inclusive leadership talent pipeline.

 

"The work of Jewish Federations has always been to respond to the major needs facing Jewish life, and today, more than ever, we must prioritize belonging as a key strategy for ensuring that all Jews see themselves celebrated and reflected in our community leadership and programs. That’s what this summit is all about,” said Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Eric Fingerhut. 

The summit also presented the inaugural Jewish Belonging Builders Award to Idit Klein, President and CEO of Keshet, and Paula B. Pretlow, Chair and Trustee of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The award seeks to highlight exceptional leaders who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to strengthening belonging in Jewish life, and whose work can serve as a model for a more inclusive, connected Jewish future.

 

“I’m honored to receive the Jewish Belonging Builders Award. In a time of escalating assaults on fundamental rights, it feels particularly important to elevate belonging as a Jewish priority,” said Klein. “Each of us deserves to feel at home in the Jewish community, and our community is stronger when we all know that we belong.”

 

“One of our greatest strengths as a people is the beautiful rainbow of backgrounds, nationalities, and identities we have among us, which build up our community as a whole,” Pretlow said. “I am honored to receive this award and to continue doing my part to welcome, embrace, and celebrate every member of the Jewish community so that we all feel included and know we are valued,” said Pretlow.

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Jewish Federations of North America are the backbone of the organized Jewish community in the US and Canada, representing over 350 Jewish communities. They raise and distribute more than $2 billion annually and through planned giving and endowment programs to build flourishing Jewish communities at home, in Israel, and around the world.

 

SRE Network guides Jewish organizations to achieve gender equity and cultivate inclusive workplaces and communal spaces where every individual can succeed and drive change. As a network of over 185 Jewish organizations, SRE is working towards a Jewish communal landscape that is safe, respectful, and equitable, where everyone can thrive and organizations can achieve their missions. Learn more at: www.srenetwork.org.