معرفی
Rabbi Julia Watts Belser is an Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University, Core Faculty in Georgetown's Disability Studies Program, and Senior Research Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Her scholarship bridges disability studies, queer feminist Jewish ethics, and environmental justice, focusing on gender, sexuality, and disability in classical Jewish texts.
Her research challenges exclusionary religious norms, advocating for inclusive theology and social justice. She authored Rabbinic Tales of Destruction: Gender, Sex, and Disability in the Ruins of Jerusalem (2018), which examines how ancient texts frame disability, and Loving Our Own Bones (2023), a groundbreaking work on disability wisdom in spiritual self-acceptance that won the 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. She also co-authored the Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities, a global initiative involving activists from 42 countries and translated into 14 languages.
- 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion
- 2024 National Jewish Book Award
Scientific Awards
Belser directs the Disability and Climate Change: A Public Archive Project, documenting disabled communities' experiences amid climate disruption and their resilience strategies. She previously taught courses through Georgetown's Doyle Seminars project, which emphasizes interdisciplinary exploration. As an ordained rabbi and activist, she integrates spiritual leadership with advocacy for disability rights, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and gender justice. Her work has been supported by fellowships at Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania's Katz Center for Advanced Jewish Studies. Beyond academia, she is a passionate wheelchair hiker, gardener, and advocate for accessible wild spaces.
