NEW DATE! Revolutionizing Belonging: Disability Inclusion and the Future of Jewish Camp
Date: Dec 15, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Sponsor: Online Lecture Series
Location: Online
Category: You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change
Revolutionizing Belonging: Disability Inclusion and the Future of Jewish Camp
Part of Our Fall 2025 Learning Series, “You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change”
Monday, December 15, 2025
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
Online
With Dr. Abigail Uhrman, Director of The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education and Associate Professor of Jewish Education, JTS
And special guests: Howard Blas, Head of the National Ramah Tikvah Network, and Elana Naftalin-Kelman, disability inclusion educator and former Tikvah Director at Camp Ramah in California
Jewish summer camps are bright centers of innovation in disability inclusion—expanding access, investing in trained staff, and reimagining what true belonging looks like. This work is no longer operating at the margins: it has become a core identity of many camps, shaping the culture and experience of the entire community. When inclusion becomes central, everyone’s camp experience grows richer. Campers learn empathy and interdependence, staff gain deeper tools for leadership, and the community as a whole becomes stronger and more connected.
In this session, Dr. Abigail Uhrman will draw on current research and practice to explore how this shift at camp represents a revolutionary expression of Jewish peoplehood—one that models equity, dignity, and shared responsibility as essential communal values. She will be joined by field leaders Howard Blas and Elana Naftalin-Kelman, who will reflect on how centering inclusion transforms the lives of individuals with disabilities, and drives broader cultural change within Jewish life. Together, we’ll consider how the lessons of camp may hold the key to a more just, vibrant, and welcoming Jewish future.
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.
About the Series
Mondays, October 20–December 15, 2025
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
Online
What does revolution look like in Jewish life—spiritual, social, technological, or political? This fall, join JTS scholars for a provocative webinar series exploring transformative moments across Jewish history. From the emergence of monotheism to the Russian Revolution, from handwritten manuscripts to digital frontiers, from summer camps to the Talmud, we’ll consider how Jews have sparked, resisted, and reimagined change. Each session invites reflection on what revolution means—then and now.
