A new study by the disability inclusion nonprofit Matan released today — the International Day of Persons with Disabilities — found that Jewish organizations are lagging behind secular ones in making their spaces accessible for people with disabilities, despite intentions to be welcoming.

The study, “Closing the Inclusion Gap,” which was conducted from 2018-2025 through surveys, interviews and focus groups of 15 communities across the U.S., showed that inclusion is “a very solvable problem,” Meredith Polsky, Matan’s executive director, told eJewishPhilanthropy, but it’s a problem that if left festering will cost the Jewish community not only Jews with disabilities, but the families who care for them. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 American adults have at least one member with a disability.

“There are a lot of Jewish individuals and families who have become somewhat disenfranchised with the Jewish community because of lack of access, but it’s really not because of any ill intent on the part of the Jewish community,” Polsky said. “It’s really because of what we see as lack of structure and attention to it.”

The Matan report showed that in each of the communities studied, between 20-25% of individuals identified themselves as disabled, mirroring the CDC’s finding. But, the report showed, less than one-third of Jewish schools employ a learning specialist and around 70% of early childhood and congregational schools claimed to have inclusion “efforts” without having any formal policies supporting that claim. 

One of the main issues, the study found, is that disability inclusion work is often siloed, sometimes being lumped into “diversity inclusion committees” that bundle disparate, different communities together. Disability advocacy may even fall on one lay leader, and if that person moves on from the role, it can be left unfilled, especially when an organization is focused on other causes that are also urgent. Instead, Matan recommends, diversity work needs to be seen as an issue that should be targeted throughout organizations because it impacts all individuals. 

“Disability spans every aspect of Jewish community life,” Polsky said. “If you work with individuals who identify as LGBTQ, there’s going to be people with disabilities. If you work with Jews who are multiracial, there’s going to be people with disabilities. If you work in a synagogue, there’s going to be people with disabilities. I don’t know anyone who this doesn’t touch, who doesn’t have a family member or a friend with some form of disability. That can include a physical disability, but really we focus a lot more on neurodiversity and autism and developmental disabilities and mental health challenges.”

Often, Jewish institutions are trying to retrofit programming and buildings that were not built with inclusivity in mind or planned in an accessible way. According to the report, institutions need to budget for disability work for accommodations and modifications “that’s not going to fall by the wayside” if people lose interest, Polsky said. 

With proper funding, professionals can be hired as permanent staff and inclusion will not be seen as something to focus on only in emergencies, but as a long-term goal with money to support yearly. The report also recommends organizations shift their view of diversity inclusion as being charity, instead viewing it as a necessary part of their infrastructure that is essential to their missions of kavod habriyot, honoring human dignity, and b’tzelem elohim, the belief that everyone is created in God’s image.

One of the core reasons Jewish organizations lag behind secular institutions is that they are not legally mandated to accommodate members of the community in the same way non-Jewish organizations often are, such as public schools. For instance, Jewish day schools are not bound by laws ensuring students in need are provided with Individualized Education Programs to ensure students receive the support they need to succeed.

The key to changing organizational culture around the inclusion issue isn’t just about money, especially since some Jewish organizations have minuscule budgets. It’s not about getting everything done at once, Polsky said, but rather about being explicit that an institution is prioritizing the issue and soliciting feedback, especially from individuals with disabilities and their families. “In general, in the Jewish community, I think there is money for this,” Polsky said, pushing back against the idea that organizations may not feel they have the funding because of other causes.

Polsky’s advice to organizations is simple: Don’t worry about saying something wrong or using the wrong language. “A lot of people are concerned to get started or do anything because they’re worried about doing it, quote, unquote, incorrectly, but we really want to encourage people to take that first step.”

She hopes the report will lead to organizations uplifting the voices of Jews with disabilities and their families.

“I think Jewish communities very much want to do this and want to do it well, and they don’t know how,” Polsky said. “It’s a very solvable problem. We can really move the Jewish community forward in the way that I think the Jewish community really wants to move forward.”