At an event in Philadelphia, Jewish organizations came together to work toward the goal of ending domestic violence in the Jewish community.
On Jan. 28, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Dinah legal services, Jewish Women International, Hebrew Free Loan Society and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia joined forces in Bala Cynwyd to educate the community on an issue that is often swept under the rug. The event is part of a larger effort by these organizations to address domestic violence in the community by holding discussions and presentations.
Helping alleviate domestic violence is not in the charter of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, as the organization provides interest-free loans to people who need financial assistance. Anna Marx, the executive director of the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, said the organization became part of this event through a program it started called Shalom Bayit, or peace and harmony within the home and family. Shalom Bayit offers a free loan fund for women leaving situations of domestic violence. It was funded in part by a grant from Women In Vision, part of the Federation.
“As part of our grant, we’ve been cooperating and thinking about how we help the broader community find different ways to support survivors,” Marx said. “It’s not on the shoulders of one organization.”
Alana Blum, the associate vice president of community response at JWI, said the need for this type of effort has unfortunately increased in recent years.
“Over the last four years, the demand for our programs has surged amidst heightened awareness of domestic violence in the U.S., a campaign of disinformation and diminishment of the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7 and a devastating rise in antisemitic incidents across the country and globally,” she said. “Jewish women, and especially young Jewish women, are seeking safe and supportive communities that are responsive and sensitive to their critical needs.”
She said that the timeline coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, as the lockdowns provided Blum and others the chance to grasp the importance of the moment.
“Conversations with Jewish survivors and staff of domestic violence programs that serve Jewish communities gave us insight into a moment of intensified awareness of these issues in the Jewish community. We heard that the Jewish community was not centering the needs of survivors and that they faced insufficient access to economic security, legal support and affordable housing,” she said.
Since then, events like this have been key to helping the rest of the community understand something that is tough to acknowledge, let alone address. Events like this are critical to breaking down barriers that stop Jews from talking about this issue.
Marx said abuse happens across demographics.
“I have heard people say to me that ‘Jews don’t have that problem,’ and people have a misunderstanding about how it works, and that it happens [elsewhere],” she said. “In every facet you can imagine, in terms of race, ethnicity, education, income, whatever, there is going to be abuse.”
While organizations like the Hebrew Free Loan Society want to help, they aren’t necessarily equipped to do so. That’s why partnerships like this are important.
“We are not experts in this area, and this is not a one-size-fits-all model,” Marx said.
Blum added that all of these efforts start from victims sharing their stories.
“Jewish survivors of domestic abusers [have reported feeling] disbelieved, shunned by and disconnected from their Jewish communities. Community leaders have the power to be strong sources of support for families impacted by domestic violence, helping them find healing and strength. Survivors and advocates pointed to the need for greater awareness, stronger community leadership and more survivor-centered practices to promote healing and resilience,” Blum said.
For Marx, the work of JWI has been exemplary in the sense that it has allowed others to easily join.
“Each community is very unique in how it’s structured and what the needs are and where the gaps are, and so one of the nice things about the way JWI is framing this whole thing is that it gives a lot of flexibility for us to do what is best for the Philadelphia area,” she said.
Hopefully, this is just the start.
“We want other organizations to say, ‘Oh, I’m responsible for domestic violence too. I’m responsible for being here for survivors, even if that’s not my mission,’” she said. “We saw something in the community that could be done, and we made a little bit of space for it. And I think there’s a lot of room in most organizations to do that.”
