12/05/2025
Jewish Teachers Summit to Address Antisemitism in Classrooms
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News.
by Ellie Evans
The Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland will hold the Cleveland Jewish Teachers Summit from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Dec. 14 in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building at 25701 Science Park Drive in Beachwood.
The summit is designed to help connect Jewish teachers in non-Jewish, K-12 schools so they can network and gain resources for navigating the recent rise in antisemitism within classrooms. While this event serves as the first of its kind hosted by the Federation and JECC, the two organizations “are continuing the conversation,” already having secured funding and looking ahead to create other opportunities like the summit, according to Sara Garfinkle, director of K-12 and campus affairs at the Federation.
“The idea for the summit came out of a strategic visioning process at the Federation, where we identified a great need in educational spaces to support our teachers and administrators so they, in turn, can support their Jewish students and the community at large,” Garfinkle told the Cleveland Jewish News.
Garfinkle said teachers who attend the summit will learn how to practically address and strategically respond to antisemitism and difficult conversations in their classrooms, as well as ways to foster safe, inclusive learning environments. She also said the Federation hopes to learn from teachers in the community, as well.
“We’ve seen a sharp increase in antisemitic incidences in schools, particularly after Oct. 7, 2023,” Garfinkle said. “We need the teachers who are on the frontlines of these incidences to advise us on what the Federation can do to help meet their needs.”
Three Jewish teachers – Elana Glasner, Carrie Shapiro and Devra Levine – are co-chairing the summit, which will provide continuing education units to counselors through Bellefaire JCB and to teachers through their districts.
Amnon Ophir, director of @akiva at the JECC, told the CJN that in recent years, @akiva has been trying to address issues surrounding preparing students for college amidst rising antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric. He said the JECC’s collaboration with the Federation on events, like the upcoming summit, is part of @akiva’s efforts to engage Jewish teens in the community by working with their educators toward several goals.
“This summit is really inaugurating action to try to develop a network of Jewish teachers,” Ophir said. “Jewish teachers need to have connections with other Jewish teachers like them in the system, because they sometimes feel alone. The number one goal of this summit is that it leads to a continuing network of teachers who can support each other.”
Kelly Fishman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Ohio River Valley, and a former teacher, told the CJN that for Jewish teachers right now, “it can be hard” to have conversation with people who share different perspectives on topics like antisemitism.
“Jewish teachers, and Jewish students, are in the minority, because Jewish people make up only two percent of the population,” Fishman said. “Oftentimes, when an antisemitic or anti-Zionist comment presents itself, we can feel a little caught off guard. The goal of opportunities like (the summit) is to be able to get together in solidarity with people are probably living a lot of the same experiences as you and come up with solutions to navigating these situations.”
The Cleveland Jewish Teachers Summit is free for attendees.
For more information or to reserve a spot, visit tinyurl.com/57bb7vyk.
