Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (REDI) Workshops

• Tuesday, June 10, 2025 @ 3-3:45 pm ET
• Wednesday, June 11, 2025 @ 12-12:45 pm ET

Please join us as we share information about the URJ's new Equity Indicator tool! We'll discuss what the Equity Indicator is, how to submit the form (it's super easy!) and how to utilize the report/suggestions and resources that you'll receive. Join us for one (or both!) of the sessions listed below. 

Learn more about/access the Equity Indicator.

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds; this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews, Jews of Color, interfaith families, people with disabilities, Jews with various body sizes, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and other often underrepresented groups. Effective greeters can create a congregational culture of inclusivity and belonging for Jews from all backgrounds who enter our doors, whether they’re members, prospective members, or visitors. Conversely, lack of a greeting, or the wrong kind of greeting, can unintentionally marginalize individuals and families and signal the exact opposite of what we are aiming to communicate. Come join us for this workshop, where we will engage in some simple education around creating an inclusive community from the very beginning.

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds; this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews, Jews of Color, interfaith families, people with disabilities, Jews with various body sizes, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and other often underrepresented groups. Effective greeters can create a congregational culture of inclusivity and belonging for Jews from all backgrounds who enter our doors, whether they’re members, prospective members, or visitors. Conversely, lack of a greeting, or the wrong kind of greeting, can unintentionally marginalize individuals and families and signal the exact opposite of what we are aiming to communicate. Come join us for this workshop, where we will engage in some simple education around creating an inclusive community from the very beginning.

This workshop will help congregations that are engaging in the clergy placement process to better understand how implicit bias unknowingly informs our organizational processes. Participants will also learn how to prioritize equitable recruitment and hiring processes resulting in a more diverse applicant pool and increased equity in our communities. This workshop is a partnership between the URJ, American Conference of Cantors (ACC), & the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). This training is specifically for members of ACC & CCAR clergy placement committees. In addition, please feel free to also attend if you are a hiring manager or on other hiring committees, as much of the information will still be relevant.

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds; this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews, Jews of Color, interfaith families, people with disabilities, Jews with various body sizes, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and other often underrepresented groups. Effective greeters can create a congregational culture of inclusivity and belonging for Jews from all backgrounds who enter our doors, whether they’re members, prospective members, or visitors. Conversely, lack of a greeting, or the wrong kind of greeting, can unintentionally marginalize individuals and families and signal the exact opposite of what we are aiming to communicate. Come join us for this workshop, where we will engage in some simple education around creating an inclusive community from the very beginning.

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds; this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews, Jews of Color, interfaith families, people with disabilities, Jews with various body sizes, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and other often underrepresented groups. Effective greeters can create a congregational culture of inclusivity and belonging for Jews from all backgrounds who enter our doors, whether they’re members, prospective members, or visitors. Conversely, lack of a greeting, or the wrong kind of greeting, can unintentionally marginalize individuals and families and signal the exact opposite of what we are aiming to communicate. Come join us for this workshop, where we will engage in some simple education around creating an inclusive community from the very beginning.

Please join us for this 3-session series, where we will deepen our commitment and our capacity to leverage our positions as white antiracists. This workshop is for White Jewish/Jewish adjacent people (those of us who are not Jewish but are partnered with a Jew, part of a Jewish family, or interested in Judaism) who are looking to build their anti-racism skills and gain an understanding of white dominant culture.

"Gratitude Thursdays" are affinity gatherings modeled after an event called First Fridays (various public events that are planned in cities on the first Friday of the month).  These spaces are designed to allow people who self-identify as Jews of Color and/or People of Color a space for relationship-building, reflection and rejuvenation.  We will have guest speakers from time to time, discuss books/poetry, hangout and even dance a little. *Feel free to pop-in for just a little while or join for the whole time - either way, we'd love to see/meet you!

*We realize People of Color "POC"/Jews of Color "JOC" are not a monolith and that that term isn't always a useful word to describe oneself. We also realize not all POC/JOC identify as People of Color, and that not all POC use that term. That being said, the organizers of this call/ Leaders of Color who are facilitating settled on this language (learn more about race-based affinity spaces).

Please join us for this 4-part series, where we will start (or continue) the essential work of incorporating REDI practices & principles into our communities. This series will provide you with the opportunity to learn how to create a REDI Working Group. We will focus on utilizing the URJ Congregational (or Camp) Assessment. This workshop is for leaders who are interested in leading/co-leading a REDI working group in their community.

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds and this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews. This workshop will provide a brief history of Pride and share ways that you can be affirming to those of us who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through an intersectional lens, we will share information about gender, sexuality, and proper pronoun use, as well as some of the common experiences of those from various marginalized backgrounds. Additionally, we will learn some shared inclusive language as well as tools that will help us disrupt harmful behaviors, be a better ally, and create a community of belonging.

Join Emily Ladau (she/her), disability rights activist and author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally, for real talk on how to be a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people within your communities and congregations. We'll cover actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do), and how you can support a shift toward a culture of accessibility and inclusion.

Stories have the power to illuminate, connect, and transform. Join us for an empowering (and humorous) virtual/Zoom storytelling workshop where we'll explore the art of crafting compelling narratives that honor our unique journeys. Together, we'll learn how to embrace our stories, challenges, and personal growth — celebrating the strength that comes from authentically sharing our experiences and inspiring others through the power of storytelling.

Elul is the 12th and final month in the Jewish calendar. It is the month that connects the past year with the new year and allows each of us to prepare ourselves for the year to come. In today’s session we will explore ways we can wrestle with the past to create a stronger foundation for the future. This will be an interactive session designed to provide you with tools and techniques to create a blueprint for the new year.

Please join us for the 1st Talk for a Change JOC Allies conversation, which will feature a conversation between Professor Marc (Moshe) Dollinger (he/him), URJ Executive Board of Directors, Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University and Author of Black Power, Jewish Politics and Yolanda Savage-Narva (she/her), Vice President, Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Communities of Belonging for the URJ. Marc (Moshe) and Yolanda will discuss a variety of topics ranging from; the importance of DEI work during this very challenging and unsettling time in the history of the Jewish community; what true allyship really means; the complicated conversation about the Isarel and Hamas war on college campus; the rise in antisemitism and other timely and important topics. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Please join us for Beyond Welcoming: Addressing Racism, Homophobia, Ableism, & More. Start building stronger communities and transform the ways in which you can create meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all backgrounds. This workshop is open to all.

This 2-session workshop will be interactive and focus on common microaggressions that community members from a wide range of marginalized backgrounds experience. During this workshop, we will learn how to identify a microaggression, common microaggressions in the Jewish community, and strategies to disrupt microaggressions caused by others, as well as those (inevitably) caused by ourselves. This workshop is open to all.

"Gratitude Thursdays" are affinity gatherings modeled after an event called First Fridays (various public events that are planned in cities on the first Friday of the month). These spaces are designed to allow people who self-identify as Jews of Color and/or People of Color a space for relationship-building, reflection and rejuvenation. We will have guest speakers from time to time, discuss books/poetry, hangout and even dance a little. *Feel free to pop-in for just a little while or join for the whole time - either way, we'd love to see/meet you!

*We realize People of Color "POC"/Jews of Color "JOC" are not a monolith and that that term isn't always a useful word to describe oneself. We also realize not all POC/JOC identify as People of Color, and that not all POC use that term. That being said, the organizers of this call / Leaders of Color who are facilitating settled on this language (learn more about race-based affinity spaces). 

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.

This workshop will take place on two separate dates/times. You are welcome to attend one or both sessions; however, please note that the same content will be delivered on both dates. 

Come learn alongside us as we dig into how to identify sizeism, weight stigma, and fatphobia, how to disrupt it effectively, the negative impact it has on us and the people around us, and how to begin to unlearn and question the many ways we were taught to think about health, wellness, and diet culture.

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.

Join Jordan Steffy (he/him) and Brian Levenson (he/him), founders of the Alliance for Trust in dialogue with Yolanda Savage-Narva (she/her) as they share their stories of allyship and intersectional identities, as well as the importance of coming together in solidarity during this critical time.

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.