H eadlines
Accessibility Continued from Page 1
finally get involved.

For Karly Grossman, a
congregant at Kol Tzedek
in West Philadelphia and
founding member of its Deaf
and Disabled Havurah, Zoom
finally allowed her to join
the synagogue, which was a
schlep from her South Jersey
home and a risk to attend for
someone with a compromised
immune system.

As synagogues adjusted to
hold services virtually, they
recognized the utility of certain
tools on the app to better serve
disabled community members.

Zoom has closed caption
options that allow for live
captioning; options to “pin”
multiple people’s videos,
allowing for American Sign
Language interpreters to appear
next to whoever is speaking;
screen sharing provides oppor-
tunities for congregants to
view larger texts. Many of
these changes are thanks to
organizations such as the Jewish
Deaf Resource Center, who have
provided ways for these apps
to express user needs, JDRC
President Susan Cohen wrote
in an email.

For all its new tools, Zoom
is by no means a skeleton key
for accessibility.

“Zoom does not solve
every accessibility challenge,”
Grossman said.

Transcriptions and closed
captions are not always
accurate, Cohen wrote. Even
live transcriptions are not
100% accurate and often lag a
few seconds behind what the
speaker is saying.

Captioning services are
particularly inaccurate at
processing Hebrew, and for
Hebrew to be transcribed
into accurate transliteration,
synagogues must consistently
hire live interpreters.

This financial barrier, more
broadly, is a factor for synagogues
choosing not to address access
needs more broadly.

“When access requires
financial outlay, that’s when
we’re really putting our values
to the test,” Belser said. “It’s
really crucial for Jewish
communities to budget for
access at the very outset.”
Fortified by the Jewish
concept of tzedek, tzedek tirdof
— justice, justice, we shall pursue
— synagogues must prioritize
accessibility, Belser argued. She
compares disability justice in
synagogues to kosher foods.

“Not everyone in all Jewish
communities requires kosher
food in order to be able to
eat at an event,” Belser said.

“But many Jewish communi-
ties have recognized kashrut
as an important Jewish value,
and consequently commit to
providing it. And that’s how I
feel about access.”
Grossman helped create Kol
Tzedek’s Deaf and Disabled
Everyone at some point in their lives is going to be disabled.”
Rabbi Julia Watts Belser is a professor of Jewish studies and
disabilities studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
at Georgetown University.

CARLY GOLDBERG
Courtesy of Julia Watts Belser
Havurah to build a community
specifically for disabled people,
but the havurah has worked
with the clergy to plan logistics
for coming events. Grossman
believes it is a must for “acces-
sibility and inclusion [to be]
baked in from the beginning.”
As synagogues begin to
transition from online to
in-person services that are lives-
treamed on Zoom, inclusion can
be as simple as clergy acknowl-
edging those attending the
service from Zoom or Facebook
Live, Belser said. When clergy
are saying the names of those
who have died or are in need of
healing, they can make sure to
also read the names congregants
write into the Zoom chat box.

Carly Goldberg of Beth Am
16 AUGUST 5, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
Israel in Penn Valley is the
co-chair of the synagogue’s
inclusivity committee, which
helps the synagogue address
accessibility in a similar
capacity. Goldberg has myalgic
encephalomyelitis, a chronic
neurological illness that results
in fatigue and brain fog; it
usually has a post-viral onset,
making it a complication for
some of those who experience
“long COVID.”
Beyond finding ways to help
disabled congregants feel more
included, Goldberg, similar to
Grossman, wants to make sure
inclusivity becomes part of a
greater framework for justice,
what she calls an “ecosystem of
inclusivity.” “Everyone at some point
in their lives is going to be
disabled,” Goldberg said.

Accessibility is not just
about making those who are
disabled feel included, it is
about making sure everyone in
the community has a profound
sense of belonging. Moreover,
when synagogues consider the
needs of disabled congregants,
they improve the quality of a
synagogue’s spiritual experi-
ence for everyone.

“It’s not a charity that a
community does to make itself
available to these other people,”
Grossman said. “These are
people that bring value to the
community.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM