This 2025 Jewish Belonging Summit has ended. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this incredible gathering!
In May 2025, nearly 200 Jewish professional and volunteer leadership from across North America came together in Baltimore for an immersive summit designed to strengthen our efforts to cultivate a culture of belonging for all Jews and our loved ones through skill-building, learning, and networking.
Co-hosted by SRE Network and Jewish Federations’ Center for Jewish Belonging, this summit brought participants together after JPro25 to explore identities within the Jewish communal landscape, discover how to create spaces that affirm and celebrate the social and cultural diversity of Jewish life across ideological lines, and build lasting relationships with peers and leaders in this work.
During the Summit, Idit Klein and Paula B. Pretlow were honored with the inaugural Jewish Belonging Builders Award for their unwavering commitment to strengthening belonging in Jewish life.
Photos by Stephen Jaffe from the 2025 Jewish Belonging Summit
The following resources were shared at the Jewish Belonging Summit. Please use these to advance your and your organization's journey to build a workplace grounded in safety, respect, equity, and belonging. For more resources, click here.
Opening Plenary: Shared Definitions of Belonging from the Mentimeter
The Torah of Safety, Respect, and Equity
The Surge: Understanding Jewish Belonging through Data and Demographic Trends
The Building Blocks to Creating Safe & Respectful Workplaces
Leading in Times of Uncertainty and Chaos
R&R Walkshop by Josh Feldman (May 8, 2025)
Event Code of Conduct
Other Resources and Ways to Connect
Robert Bank
Dr. Guila Benchimol
Dr. Shira Berkovits
Paul Bernstein
Dr. Mijal Bitton
Stacey-Aviva Clark
Rabbi Ayelet Cohen
Rabbi Jessy Dressin
Lisa Eisen
Rabba Yaffa Epstein
Rachel Faulkner
Josh Feldman
Eric Fingerhut
Liz Fisher
Carla Friend
Rachel Gildiner
Jon Hornstein
Rabba Sara Hurwitz
Aviva Jacobs
Nancy Kaufman
Idit Klein
Rabbi Sandra Lawson
Ari Levy
Nate Looney
Dr. David Manchester
Arya Marvazy
Jessica Mehlman
Matthew Nouriel
Erica Phillips
Meredith Polsky
Dr. Deitra Reiser
Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein
Yoshi Silverstein
Shaina Wasserman
K' Dr. Harriette Wimms
Rabbi Mary Zamore
About SRE Network
Launched in 2018, SRE is a growing and impactful network of 185+ organizations committed to creating workplaces and communal spaces that are safe, respectful, and equitable for all. SRE Network guides Jewish organizations to achieve gender equity and cultivate inclusive workplaces and communal spaces where all individuals can thrive and drive change.
About Jewish Federations' Center for Jewish Belonging
Jewish Federation’s Center for Jewish Belonging supports Jewish life in creating a culture of belonging for all Jews and our loved ones by empowering individuals, community leaders, and organizations to implement equitable policies, and procedures, engaging organizations and individuals that represent underrepresented groups in Jewish life, and through convening professionals and volunteers in the field of Jewish Belonging.
SRE Network is deeply committed to supporting the dignity and belonging of all individuals across our diverse Jewish community. This includes our radical acceptance of LGBTQ+ folks, Jews of Color, and Jews of all abilities, backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and sexual and gender identities.