Are our Jewish institutions reflective of the diversity we see in the Jewish community? Abby Knopp challenges the audience to recognize diversity within their own communities and questions whether our Jewish institutions are as inclusive as they could be. Ultimately she asserts that individuals and professionals can do more to practice the Jewish values of of hachnasat orchim (hospitality) and ahavat Yisrael (love of fellow Jews) in order to create more open and welcoming Jewish communities.
Abby Knopp is Chief Operating Officer at The Jewish Education Project in New York City. Throughout her career, Knopp has helped create Jewish communities that are inclusive in the broadest possible sense. Previously, Knopp worked with UJA-Federation of New York to expand their focus to include Russian-speaking Jewry, as well as assisted overnight camps’ expand recruiting efforts to focus on children from Russian-speaking backgrounds. In addition, Knopp created a department at the Foundation for Jewish Camp that currently works on inclusion of children with disabilities.
