local
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
D omestic violence and abuse
exist everywhere, even in the
Orthodox Jewish world.

“Domestic violence happens in
all communities,” said Deborah
Rosenbloom, chief program offi cer
of Jewish Women’s International, a
Jewish nonprofi t advocating for an end
to domestic violence against women
and girls. “No one is immune.”
To address the problem in the
Philadelphia community, JWI is partner-
ing with Jewish Family and Children’s
Service of Greater Philadelphia and
Dinah Philadelphia to design a slate
of education and training programs
and community outreach opportuni-
ties. The projects are a result of a grant
awarded to JWI by the Department
of Justice Offi ce on Violence Against
Women. The grant, titled “Sh’ma Kolenu:
Engaging the Orthodox Jewish
Community of Philadelphia in
Addressing Domestic Violence,” is for
$450,000 over three years. Awarded
in October with the budget approved
in January, JWI, JFCS and Dinah will
convene a group of Orthodox leaders
this month to build interest in address-
ing domestic violence in the community.

“Our religious leaders are our fi rst
responders, so it’s crucial for us to be
able to provide them the training and
resources to help those in abusive
relationships, which includes knowing
when something is beyond the scope of
their work and when to refer out,” said
Ronni Troodler, program manager and
social worker for Orthodox Services of
JFCS of Greater Philadelphia.

The partnership also will develop
a series of workshops for Jewish
high school and college students at
Temple University and the University
6 MARCH 16, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Rachel Yakobashvili
of Pennsylvania, legal professionals
and mainstream service providers, and
raise awareness of domestic violence
through signs and brochures at local
Jewish businesses and community
spaces. The interventions and aware-
ness-raising programming will be
tailored to the results of JWI’s 2021
study, “Domestic Violence in the Jewish
Community: A Needs Assessment,”
which found gaps in long-term help for
survivors. “The goal behind this whole thing
is to reduce the shanda, reduce the
shame people feel about it and promote
healthy relationships,” Rosenbloom
said. JWI applied for a grant from the
Department of Justice Offi ce on
Violence Against Women specifi -
cally for underserved populations,
such as faith groups. According to
Rosenbloom, many service providers
who provide care and interventions
for domestic abuse survivors have not
received culturally competent training.

Providers may not know about specifi c
Deborah Rosenbloom
dating norms; shelters may not provide
kosher meals or keep Shabbat; survi-
vors may not feel comfortable seeking
care outside of their community.

JWI does not have any direct
service providers and chose to partner
with JFCS and Dinah, which both
provide direct services to survivors.

Philadelphia also has a robust Jewish
community, allowing JWI to extend
its impact beyond the Baltimore and
Washington, D.C., areas.

Both JFCS and Dinah are part of
JWI’s collaborative membership,
providing national networking and
peer support for Jewish organiza-
tions addressing domestic abuse. The
two organizations, particularly Dinah,
provided input on JWI’s 2021 needs
assessment. JFCS and Dinah, with JWI’s
resources and grant dollars, will be
able to expand their own programming
and community outreach.

“Up until now, there hasn’t been any
institutional infrastructure addressing
domestic violence and abuse within the
Orthodox community in Philadelphia,”
Troodler said.

Because the Orthodox Jewish
community can be insular, it’s import-
ant to identify community leaders
who can provide resources in confi -
dence. According to Dinah Director
of Programs and Partnerships Rachel
Yakobashvili, mikvah attendants are
examples of people who, when trained,
can provide resources and support
for survivors of domestic violence or
abuse. “Domestic violence and services
— they do look diff erent in every
community, and you have to consider
the cultural nuances behind that,”
Yakobashvili said.

Emotional abuse can also take on
specifi c forms in the Orthodox Jewish
world, such as the withholding of a
get, or documentation that allows for
a divorce. Even if a Jewish couple
divorces legally in civil court, if a man
withholds a get from a woman, she is
unable to remarry within the Jewish
community. “Refusing a get is really demoral-
izing to the survivor in the situation,”
Yakobashvili said. “It’s a more insidious
way that abusers manipulate situations
in order to assert power, dominance
and control that isn’t recognized by the
court system.”
With appropriate education and
interventions, more Orthodox commu-
nity members can feel empowered to
address domestic violence and abuse.

“There’s a huge emphasis, as we
know, in Orthodox life on marriage
and family,” Rosenbloom said. “We
want to be sure that those relation-
ships are healthy — and not just the
end goal of getting married, having
children, but that the end goal is like
having a healthy relationship within
that marriage and with your children.” 1
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Rachel Yakobashvili Courtesy of Dinah Philadelphia; Deborah Rosenbloom Courtesy of Jewish Women International
Dinah, JFCS Partner With JWI to
Address Domestic Abuse in Orthodox
Communities