{"id":178,"date":"2025-11-07T23:55:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T23:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/?page_id=178"},"modified":"2025-11-14T03:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T03:44:02","slug":"the-gantz-megillah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/?page_id=178","title":{"rendered":"The Gantz Megillah"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Jewish Autism Network provides advocacy, workshops, trainings, events, and educational opportunities for autistic individuals, their families and caregivers, allies, the systems they engage with, and the broader Jewish community.<\/h2>\n

Rooted in lived experience, we champion neuro affirmation, inclusivity, and respect for every person’s unique journey. While progress has been made in accessibility for disabled Jews, challenges remain. We believe in honest, restorative conversations with a dash of chutzpah, and we welcome your strength-based feedback.<\/h4>\n

Simcha chronicled his journey from a dad in denial to a dadvocate in a viral Tablet Magazine<\/em> piece that brought The New York Times<\/em> to his kitchen table. Along the way, we uncovered unspoken stigmas and our own neurodivergence.<\/h4>\n

A chance meeting with Mati Boulakia Bortnick<\/strong>, the #ActuallyAutistic Coach, grew into a partnership that informs many of our workshops and spaces. Mati, like Simcha, shares a love of Oasis and a commitment to authenticity. Honest conversations can be messy, but they are essential.<\/h4>\n

Today, Simcha works full time in advocacy, training family peer advocates, serving as Community Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator at Families Together in NYS, and shaping statewide policy in Albany. He meets with commissioners and policymakers to ensure those with lived experience have a real seat at the table.<\/h4>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”100px”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”264″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_single_image image=”406″ img_size=”full” style=”vc_box_rounded” css=””][vc_single_image image=”419″ img_size=”full” style=”vc_box_rounded” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” vc_row_background=”” css=”.vc_custom_1762560639296{background-color: #E3E3E3 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space height=”100px”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Our Chevrah<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Fueled by coffee and halvah, here\u2019s the team that makes it all happen:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Simcha and Ariella Weinstein<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n
  • Mati Boulakia Bortnick<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n
  • Stewart Anthony<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    Our Advisory Board<\/strong><\/h1>\n

    A mix of expertise and heart, our advisory board is the secret ingredient in our cholent, adding depth and flavor to our work:<\/h4>\n
      \n
    • Sam Milstein<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n
    • Kim Kaiser<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n
    • Liz Shayne<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n
    • Allison Kleinman<\/strong> \u2013 Bio & Pic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”100px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=””] The Jewish Autism Network provides advocacy, workshops, trainings, events, and educational opportunities for autistic individuals, their families and caregivers, allies, the systems they engage with, and the broader Jewish community. Rooted in lived experience, we champion neuro affirmation, inclusivity, and respect for every person’s unique journey. While progress has been made in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jnews_page_loop":{"first_title":"Latest Post","header_type":"heading_6","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","module":"3","main_custom_image_size":"default","second_custom_image_size":"default","excerpt_length":"20","content_date":"default","date_custom":"Y\/m\/d","content_pagination":"nav_1","pagination_align":"center","post_sticky":"0","post_offset":"0","posts_per_page":"5","sort_by":"latest"},"jnews_single_page":{"layout":"no-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","show_post_title":"1","show_post_breadcrumbs":"1","show_post_featured":"0","share_position":"hide","share_color":"share-monocrhome"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-178","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422,"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/178\/revisions\/422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simchaspeaks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}