February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month. Join us for Disability Awareness Shabbat, sponsored by the Inclusion Committee. With guest speaker, Avner Fink.

Avner will share his personal experiences navigating synagogue life as a person with a disability, offering insight into the challenges and opportunities for greater inclusion. During kiddush there will be a Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to learn more from Avner and reflect together on how accessible Temple Israel is for all members.

About our speaker:

Avner Fink grew up in Connecticut where he attended Jewish day schools. He earned degrees in Economics and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and later received his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Born legally blind, Avner has dedicated his professional career to advancing civil and disability rights. He has served as a Civil Rights Investigator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a Disability Rights Advocate with the Massachusetts Office on Disability. In addition, Avner was Chair of the Workplace Technology Committee at the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities, where he helped advance accessibility and inclusion in employment-related technology.

Avner holds a deep commitment to Jewish education. He is proud to be a speaker at Jewish Day Schools where he shares his personal experiences navigating school and daily life with a disability, and how those experiences shaped his career path and identity.

Avner lives in Newton with his Jewish educator wife, Ilana, and their two young sons, Izzy and Sammy, both of whom are on the autism spectrum.