Meet our grantee partners who are turning vision into action: advancing justice, inclusion, and accountability across the Jewish communal landscape.
For over three decades, Shalom Task Force has been a trusted resource in the Jewish community, working combat and prevent domestic violence and foster healthy and safe relationships and families.
With support from a Spring 2024 Field-Building Grant from SRE Network, Shalom Task Force launched DV 201: A Guide for Communal Leadership, a groundbreaking resource designed to equip Orthodox rabbis and communal leaders with culturally attuned, practical guidance for responding to domestic and intimate partner violence.
Over the past year, Shalom Task Force engaged in an intentional, community-driven process to ensure this guide met the real needs of leaders and communities:
- Conducted in-depth interviews with rabbinic and communal leaders in New York, Maryland, and California to identify critical gaps.
- Hosted informal conversations at the Rabbinical Council of America convention to gather additional insights.
- Launched a Rabbinic Consult Line to provide direct, case-specific support to clergy navigating IPV disclosures.
The Impact
Shalom Task Force has already achieved remarkable impact:
- Developed and released the Rabbinic Guide to Understanding and Addressing Domestic Abuse, distributed in print and digital formats nationwide.
- The DV Guide for Communal Leadership has become a vital tool that serves as a conversation starter and teaching aid. It has opened the door to broader communal awareness and stronger policy responses to IPV.
Continuing the Work
The foundation already created by Shalom Task Force’s work around this guide is paving the way for broader training and engagement. In the coming year, Shalom Task Force will:
- Launch in-person leadership trainings with rabbinic groups in the New York metro area.
- Partner with other organizations to expand training to additional communities in the U.S. and Canada.
- Develop a training for campus-based rabbis and their spouses, in partnership with Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, addressing IPV disclosures in student communities.
By equipping rabbinic and communal leaders with the tools to respond effectively, Shalom Task Force is strengthening the Jewish community’s ability to support survivors and create safer Jewish communal spaces.
We’re proud to support this critical work.
SRE Network mobilizes Jewish organizations to achieve gender equity and cultivate inclusive workplaces and communal spaces where all individuals can thrive and drive change. As a network of over 185 Jewish organizations, we are working towards a communal landscape where safety, respect, and equity are lived realities, and every individual belongs and organizations thrive.
Photos courtesy of Keshet staff.