Please note: Pre-registration has closed, but walk-ins are welcome.

You are warmly invited to join the Ruderman Synagogue Inclusion Project (RSIP) and CJP at Celebrating Inclusion: Opening Doors to Jewish Community. We’ll enjoy an unforgettable evening by celebrating the progress of our RSIP Cohort and welcoming our new congregational Partners and Affiliates.

RSIP is a partnership between CJP and the Ruderman Family Foundation that supports synagogues in creating communities where people of all abilities are valued equally and participate fully.

This event will feature Senator Tom Harkin, one of the great champions of disability rights. As a young senator, Harkin was tapped by Senator Ted Kennedy to craft legislation to protect the civil rights of millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities. Harkin had personal insights about the challenges facing people with disabilities, as his late brother, Frank, became deaf at an early age. What emerged from his work with Kennedy would later become his signature legislative achievement: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Senator Harkin describes a moral and human imperative to help those affected by mental illnesses stay in the community. “Decades of evidence show that even people with the most significant disabilities can thrive in the community when properly supported,” writes Harkin. Senator Harkin will discuss how faith communities play a unique role in supporting those with disabilities.

We’ll also hear from Jay Ruderman, Ruderman Family Foundation President, Sarah Abramson, CJP SVP of Strategy and Impact, and from Rabbi Marc Baker, CJP President and CEO.

We look forward to celebrating the wonderful work of our synagogue communities.