Ensuring that people with disabilities are welcome and may participate fully in the Jewish and the broader secular communities has long been a priority of Reform Jewish advocacy. Our first resolution supporting disability rights is more than 30 years old and since then the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism have each passed numerous resolutions on the issue of disabilities. Some of these Reform Movement resolutions include:
CCAR:
- On Persons with Disabilities (1983)
- On Establishing a Complete System of Care for Persons with Mental Illness (2001)
Union for Reform Judaism
- The Disabled (1978)
- On Establishing a Complete System of Care for Persons with Mental Illness (2001)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (2008)
- Special Needs Camping (2009)
Our commitment to disability rights must also be lived out in our actions within the Jewish community Every February, North American communities from every major Jewish stream recognize Jewish Disability Advocacy, Awareness, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), a unified initiative to raise disability awareness and support efforts to foster inclusion in Jewish communities worldwide. The Reform Jewish Movement is also a member of the American Association of People with Disabilities’ Interfaith Initiative and a co-founder of the annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day. Year-round, the URJ-Ruderman Disabilities Inclusion Learning Center provides excellent resources to help congregations create audaciously hospitable communities that are accessible and inclusive for all.
