Faith and Spirituality

New National Poll Released on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Faith Communities Shows Concerns on Access to Healthcare, Education, Jobs, Fighting Stigmas and Jewish Inclusion

Ron Glancz, Vivian Bass, Lauren Appelbaum, Heidi Daroff, Dana Marlowe, Hillary Steen and Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi on Jewish Disability Advocacy Day

Survey Responses – Jewish Respondents (PDF)
Survey Responses – People with Disabilities compared to People without Disabilities (PDF)

Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 17 – More than 4000 respondents participated in the “RespectAbility 2018 Jewish Disability Inclusion Survey,” which focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities in America. This includes more than 900 individuals who self-disclose that they are a person with a disability.

The Jewish respondents with disabilities point to a lack of people with disabilities in leadership roles as clergy or staff at Jewish institutions and do not fully feel welcomed to serve as leaders in lay positions in the Jewish community either. Only 15 percent of Jews with disabilities know of a person with a disability in leadership. Fewer than 10 percent of Jews without a disability connection know of a person with a disability in leadership. Only 18 percent of people with disabilities answer “yes” that they “feel that people with disabilities are encouraged to serve on the boards and committees of your faith-based institutions.”

“If you see it, you can be it – and today Jews with disabilities need more role models with disabilities in leadership in the Jewish community,” said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility. “Many also want to be recruited, trained and empowered to make the Jewish community stronger, just like anyone else.”

Steve Rakitt

Steve Rakitt, President of the Genesis Prize Foundation, added, “It is important that each of us – as participants and as leaders in the Jewish community – be open about our own disabilities.  The fact that most respondents cannot name a Jewish leader with a disability simply highlights that many disabilities are not visibly evident.  By modeling openness and candor, we can change the perception that being a Jewish leader and being a person with a disability are not mutually exclusive.” [continue reading…]

Rabbi Sid Schwarz

14 September 2018/5 Tishrei 5779 – Years ago, I delivered a Yom Kippur sermon called “Healthy, Wealthy and Wise,” in which I challenged synagogues to pay more attention to those in our midst who were “none of the above.” I was pleased that, on the heels of my talk, many families in our congregation who were affected by disability came forward, willing to share with me why they identified so strongly with the sermon. This was good; why should people dealing with disabilities feel the need to hide their personal struggle or that of someone in their family?

It is precisely because our institutions tend to privilege the “abled” that we make people with disabilities feel invisible. Even if they do not experience outright exclusion due to lack of accessibility, many feel shunned when they do show up. Staying invisible may just be easier — but it doesn’t lessen the sense that the Jewish community is a private club catering to those who are indeed, “healthy, wealthy and wise.” [continue reading…]

Calling our RespectAbility4All Extended Family to attention!

RespectAbility staff and Fellows celebrating Rosh Hashanah with cookies from Sunflower Bakery sent over by Vivian Bass

RespectAbility4All’s inaugural Shabbat Smile leading into 5779 is . . . new, vibrant — and all-inclusive . . .

As with the New Year shofar’s four different calls, each blast echoing divergent rhythms and patterns in our daily life, four of RespectAbility’s new initiatives are `echoed’ at this time. Each solo shofar blast is unique. Yet the sequence of its blasts together magnify the impact, strength, and integrity of inclusion. This symbolizes RespectAbility’s unique and inclusive work. [continue reading…]

Summer of Service Campers

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2018 – Students with a wide variety of disabilities, including Autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, learning, attention, mental health and other disabilities are improving the lives of people in need in Washington, D.C. Through a program called “Summer of Service,” the teens are making food for people experiencing homelessness, sorting goods in food pantries, visiting senior citizens and improving area parks.

The program is a partnership between the Edlavitch DCJCC, which has more than 25 years of proven leadership in providing safe, outstanding volunteer service opportunities, and RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. The program, called “Summer of Service,” is a summer day camp filled with community service opportunities for Washington-area middle and high school students. It is open to students with all abilities as youth with and without disabilities are invited to participate in the inclusive, welcoming and successful program. [continue reading…]

New Jewish Disability Inclusion Toolkit Offers Free Resources
Projects Made Possible by Itzhak Perlman, Genesis Foundation, JFN, ORLO and Beverly Foundations

Washington, D.C., June 25, 2018 – RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization that fights stigma and advances opportunities for people with disabilities, is requesting Jews to give their opinions on a wide range of issues impacting people with disabilities.

While the majority of people either have a disability or a loved one with a disability, people do not need to be personally connected to disability in order to have a valued opinion. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and you can win $250 for participating in it.

To give your opinions and do the survey, visit: www.surveymonkey.com/r/RAFaithInclusion.

While individual answers will be kept confidential, the overall results of this survey will be released nationally as a sounding board for dozens of Jewish and nonprofit organizations who are working on disability issues.

[continue reading…]

Rockville, Maryland, May 29 – Sulam will recognize two community leaders for outstanding work as advocates for inclusion at its annual gala on June 3, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. ET at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park. Both of these leaders share the vision of Sulam, which is to ensure that a high quality education is available to children in the Greater Washington area irrespective of their learning differences.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi will accept the Sulam Advocacy Leadership Award on behalf of RespectAbility, a nonprofit fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. RespectAbility is at the forefront of providing tools and resources to Jewish organizations and others to enable them to welcome, respect, include and serve people with disabilities.

Amy Blum, Executive Director and COO of the National Gaucher Foundation, will be honored with the Sulam Founders Award. Blum, whose name has been synonymous with Sulam since its inception, is one of the organization’s original founders. Today she helps educate families touched by the rare metabolic disorder Gaucher, offering them empathy, advocacy and hope for a full life.

[continue reading…]

Deborah Calla

Rockville, Md., Feb. 16 – Deborah Calla is a Brazilian-born producer, writer and director. Calla is best known in the disability community for reviving the Media Access Awards (MAA). Her involvement in the disabilities movement and social justice stem from two sources: her professional experiences in Hollywood and her Judaism.

Calla came to film and TV by chance. A friend of a friend thought that because she directed and produced plays, she would be a good film producer, so he asked her to produce his first film.

“It was a very trying experience as I didn’t really know what I was doing and producing film can be an overwhelming effort especially if you have no experience,” Calla said. “In the end, I survived and loved it.”

[continue reading…]

Tuesday, February 27, 2018
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Congregation Har Shalom: 11510 Falls Rd, Potomac, MD 20854

RespectAbility, in partnership with Congregation Har Shalom, is proud to present the acclaimed film “Spectrum: A Story of the Mind” on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. in a sneak-peek preview event for the 2018 ReelAbilities Film Festival of Northern Virginia, which is organized by the Jewish Community Center of Northern VA.

[continue reading…]

Jewish Disability Advocacy Day took place on February 6, 2018.

Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Capitol Hill: Rayburn House Office Building, Rooms 2043, 2044, & 2045