Equity at Entwine

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

At Entwine, we seek, represent, celebrate, and elevate the diversity of the Jewish community.

Central to our mission and vision is developing a generation of young Jews who lead a life of action with global Jewish responsibility at its core. The Jewish value of arevut/mutual responsibility encompasses the awareness, connection, and sense of accountability we seek to cultivate. To be in such a relationship with others, we must be aware of one another’s identities, experiences, and perspectives, and feel connected to their fates. Core to this work is exposing our participants to the diversity of the global Jewish community and to the diversity of the cohort with whom the learning is taking place.

We see Jewishness as expansive – it is multiethnic, multiracial, multiheritage, multicultural, pluralistic, and ever-evolving. And, we seek to create a Jewish space that is courageous, equitable, and inclusive – a space where individuals freely share their personal needs and can be in exchange with each other around their Jewish identity and values. We understand that identity is complex as each person holds multiple identities and practices while being capable of continuous shifts and transformations. This inherent multiplicity highlights the nuanced complexity of this work. It challenges us to not simplify or try to fit a label on any given person/group of people, but rather to strive to co-construct space where belonging is possible for everyone.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging [DEIB] requires examining and questioning the makeup of our community so that we can intentionally cultivate one that represents, celebrates, and elevates the diversity of the Jewish community – in its multiplicity.

Over the years, we noted that our community was missing important representation and created an affinity-based strategy to welcome specific groups into the community through the vehicle of trips designed exclusively for them and in partnership with an organization with a track record for serving them. Each of these programs strengthened staff knowledge and resources, built partnerships and relationships with consultants, and increased our identity-based consciousness as we sought to welcome these underrepresented identities into the community. Collectively, they reinforced the power Entwine has to redefine and shape its membership, as well as the work required to ensure more individuals could feel a sense of belonging on our programs.

In 2020, we began a concentrated effort to define DEIB at Entwine and our commitment to it. In consultation with Imani Chapman, Founding Coach of Imani Strategies, and an expert in creating brave and inclusive environments for learning, growth, and justice we launched a series of staff trainings and our first DEIB Taskforce of diverse community leaders to support this work. Their collective insights are shaping the initiative’s direction and helping Entwine to prioritize this strategic work.

To learn more about the DEIB initiative and ways you can contribute, contact us through the form below.

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