A core part of AJIP’s mission is education and advocacy to create greater awareness and sensitivity about adoption within the Jewish community. Drawing on over a decade of research, our programs and resources highlight the personal stories of Jewish adoptees from a variety of racial, religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds. We create a vivid portrait of the real-life experiences of Jewish adoptees and advocate for an inclusive Jewish community where adoptees can feel fully at home.
We work with communities and institutions to offer practical training and advice for Jewish communal professionals, as well as programs and resources for adoptive families.
Among our offerings are:
- Trainings: with Jewish communal professionals, to heighten awareness about adoption issues that may arise in Jewish settings, think proactively about how to support adoptees who may feel marginalized or “different,” and brainstorm curricular and programmatic approaches that recognize and celebrate Jewish diversity.
- Workshops: where members of adoptive families and other interested community members can learn about the changing nature of Jewish adoption and the key issues faced by Jewish adoptees today, talk about their own experiences, brainstorm how to respond to common challenges adoptees and their families face and serve as supports for each other.
- Public presentations: to educate the Jewish community about recent trends within adoption (such as the dramatic growth in adoption across boundaries of identity, increased openness in and about adoption, and more emphasis on adoptees’ relationships with their birth families and heritages).We highlight the complexities adoptees face — both within the Jewish community and in their cultures of origin — on their lifelong journeys to create strong and multifaceted identities.
- Resources: thought pieces, articles, and hands-on tools to help communal leaders, families, and community members deepen their understanding of the Jewish adoptive experience and take proactive steps to build more just, inclusive, and nurturing communities. See, for example, “12 Things Jewish Adoptees and Their Families Wish Their Communities Knew” and the accompanying “User Guide” in the Resource section.
“Growing up, I felt like a really good imposter. I could fit in within this cookie cutter intense environment, but I didn’t feel I belonged.”
(Transnational, transracial adoptee from Columbia)
“No matter which way I tried to feel out my Honduran heritage, I was culturally incompetent in what was supposed to be mine.”
(Transnational, transracial adoptee from Honduras)
“As a blond, blue-eyed kid at Solomon Schechter, I was plopped into a homogeneous soup. I was asked why I looked different—I wasn’t really sure.”
(Domestic, white, same-race adoptee)
“I think the Jewish community is strong enough to open its borders more. I’m also asking it to be brave, to be uncomfortable.”
(Domestic, transracial adoptee)
