ABOUT JGU

Vision: We see all Jewish girls in the world connected online in a safe, loving, happy Jewish place. 

Mission: Our mission is to create a global community of empowered Jewish girls and women, using innovative approaches in education and technology.

We are a global community and family of Jewish girls connected by a common heritage, using cutting-edge approaches in education and technology.  We celebrate Jewish girls and women, Jewish life and values, and creativity. We aim to inspire Jewish girls to embrace their Judaism with pride and become the mothers and leaders of the future. Jewish Girls Unite encourages girls to tap into their hidden talents, use the arts to express their Judaism, and pursue their dreams.

Our Goals are to provide girls with:

– A warm global community of Jewish sisters from around the world, forming lasting friendships
– Opportunities to explore their special connection to the Torah through their unique talents
-The skills and knowledge to live Jewishly, establish a Jewish home, and to be involved in Jewish outreach and leadership;
-Tools to face life’s challenges, based on timeless Torah wisdom
-Leadership development in public speaking, communication, writing, arts, cooking, technology, and more
-In-person retreats at our beautiful property in Upstate NY.

At JGU we want every girl to know: You are seen, you are heard, you are worthy, and you are not alone; the world is waiting for YOUR unique light to shine! 

We welcome you to the JGU family!

Our History

The Jewish Girls Retreat, founded by Nechama and Rabbi Avraham Laber in 2000 created such love and connection that Nechama Laber and Leah Caras (creator of Yaldah Magazine) put their heads together to try to figure out how to sustain the ‘JGR way’ year-round. The girls begged for camp year-round. Coach Susan Axelrod joined them with a strategy, and Jewish Girls Unite, a global online community for Jewish girls is the result! Since 2014, JGU has been offering online programs for girls from age 7 through high school, empowering them to become confident Jewish leaders and mothers. Once the Pandemic broke in March 2015, JGU stepped up to meet the needs of Jewish girls everywhere. The Creative Online Camp was founded and was the catalyst to Launch the JGU Virtual Community with Sunday, After School, and Daily Judaic Classes supporting girls worldwide socially, emotionally, and spiritually. 

Nechama Dina Laber
Nechama Dina LaberGlobal Director
Nechama Laber has been a passionate educator for girls for over twenty years. She has taught in day schools and Hebrew schools in Montreal, Brooklyn, Albany. She founded the Capital Region Bat Mitzvah Club in 1998 and the Bat Mitzvah Camp in 1999. Nechama and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Laber, are the co-directors of Chabad of S. Rensselaer County and the Jewish Girls Retreat.
Rabbi Avraham Laber
Rabbi Avraham LaberChief Financial Officer
Rabbi Avraham Laber received Smicha from the central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn. In September 1996, he became the Rabbi of Beth Tephilah Synagogue. He is also a historian specializing in early American Jewry. He is the founder of the website Jewish Data and is the director of Chabad of S. Rensselaer County and the Jewish Girls Retreat.
Susan Axelrod, CFRE, PFR
Susan Axelrod, CFRE, PFRStrategic Consultant
Susan has 30 years of experience as a fundraising executive, consultant and coach for worthy organizations, nonprofit leaders and emerging development professionals. She specializes in strategic thinking and helps organizations create lasting connections with their donors to facilitate meaningful relationships and purposeful gifts.
Leah Caras
Leah CarasGraphic Designer
Leah Caras is the founder of Yaldah magazine, which she published for eight years. Leah has received awards including Next Step Magazine’s ‘Super Teen’, Microsoft’s Start Something Amazing Award, and Tzivos Hashem’s ‘Power of Children’. She also founded her own graphic design business, Carasmatic Design, which she runs with her husband.