Mazel Talk
February 22, 2023 — Today we present a Mazel Talk with SRE Network Advisory Board Member Idit Klein. Idit is the President & CEO of Keshet.
Why are you a member of the SRE Network Advisory Board?
I'm a member of the SRE Advisory Board because I believe that Jewish community leaders need to hold ourselves and each other accountable to create safe, respectful, and equitable workplaces. As a queer Jew who has been fighting for equality and justice my entire adult life, I have seen firsthand the damage that sexism, homophobia, and transphobia can do -- especially when people don’t respond. It is on each of us to ensure that every Jewish institution upholds dignity and gender equity as core values, in culture and in practice.
What is one thing you want the rest of the Jewish community to know about SRE Network?
SRE Network is an important space for funders and nonprofit professionals to be in dialogue with each other about the realities of workplace harassment, disrespect, and discrimination and to establish best practices that will strengthen the Jewish community as a whole.
How does your professional role intersect with the work of SRE?
As the President and CEO of Keshet, an organization that works for the full equality of LGBTQ Jews in Jewish life, I am acutely aware of how sexism perpetuates homophobia, transphobia, and gender-based discrimination at large. Keshet's work is deeply aligned with SRE’s mandate to create Jewish communal institutions in which people of all sexual orientations and gender identities can thrive as both leaders and professionals.