What the Jewish employee group means to these AWS employees

It’s a rainy Friday afternoon in Seattle and 40 Amazonians, from interns to senior leaders, are schmoozing (Yiddish for sharing warm conversation) over buttery bagels. It’s the first in-person Jewish employee group event for the Seattle chapter in two years since the pandemic, and everyone is excited to catch up. Attendees are chatting about work, weekend plans, and how to make the most out of Seattle summers.

Members of the group, officially called the Jewish Affinity Group at Amazon, can be found all over the world, in countries including the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom. The group is a place for Jewish employees, non-Jewish allies, and anyone who wants to learn more about what it means to be Jewish to connect through in-person and virtual celebrations of Jewish holidays, including Hanukkah and Passover; bagel brunches and kayaking events, and by sharing resources such as regional Kosher restaurant options.

Similar to Amazon’s many other employee resources and affinity groups, the Jewish Affinity Group offers community and the opportunity to build internal networks.

We spoke to three Amazon Web Services (AWS) employees to find out what the group means to them.

Steven Phillips is co-president of the Global Jewish Employee Group, based in London.

In 2020, Phillips was working as an IT support engineer for Amazon when he saw an opportunity to help build a Jewish community within the company in the U.K. “I started to look at the groups that already existed, and I realized there was a gap. I wanted to set something up to represent us as Jews,” he said.

“Employee groups are important because they provide a common place for people who identify with that group to meet and network. It also allows us to educate other Amazonians who are interested in learning more.”

At first, the group looked very different. He said the initial structure didn’t really touch on Judaism as a religion at all.

“We’re really diverse and you see that in our membership,” he said. “We’ve got folks who are very religious. We’ve got folks who are agnostic, or atheist, but are still really proud of being Jewish and love their heritage.”

Jewish employees often look to the group for guidance when navigating Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, and other Jewish holidays that non-Jewish colleagues may not necessarily know about.

“Some of our Jewish employees who are religious or just want to observe holidays have asked things like, ‘How do we manage if we’re supposed to be on-call over the weekend during Shabbat? How do other people handle that?’” Phillips said. “We put together some resources in response.”

He recently helped launch chapters—or regional branches—of the group in several other cities, including Seattle and Boston, localizing activities and resources for employees who are based in different locations.

“If you told me three years ago that I would be the co-president of an employee group, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Phillips said. “But here I am. I’m really excited to see where we take it next.”

Olga Faynshteyn discovered the Jewish Employee group through word of mouth after moving to Seattle from New York.

“The move was a huge change for me at first,” she said. “New York has a much bigger and more visible Jewish population than Seattle. I found myself craving that community feeling here because I was used to that.”

The employee group allowed Faynshteyn to connect even more closely with her colleagues and build the community she was looking for at work. “AWS already felt like a very inclusive work environment, but joining the group just made it a little more personal,” she said. “After telling my boss about the bagel brunch here in Seattle, I found out he is Jewish as well. It feels even more comfortable when your team understands why you might have to take a day off for a religious holiday or why you’re fasting.”

Rebecca Ronin is a rising senior at the University of Texas at Arlington, who worked on the AWS Worldwide Systems Integrators team as an intern in the summer of 2022.

Ronin was exploring different internal resources when she came across the group via the online event platform Gather. “It was important for me to see what Amazon has to offer, especially with the different employee groups,” Ronin said. “I decided I would try to put myself out there.”

As with Faynshteyn’s experience, Ronin found that Amazon’s resources made the transition of moving to Seattle from Texas much easier. “I’ve lived in Texas all my life, and I uprooted to Seattle for this internship, so I was pretty nervous,” she said. “But I also knew that stepping out of my comfort zone would be an opportunity to grow. Making friends through the group made it much easier.”

Through joining the group, Ronin was able to create meaningful connections and friendships with her colleagues.

“Not only was I able to meet other Jewish interns, but I also got to meet people from other teams, different managers, and some more senior employees,” she said.

Ronin said Amazon gave its interns a high level of support by encouraging participation in employee groups. The group helped her find a sense of belonging as she embarked on her summer internship.

“Being able to find a small community and connect with others was really important to me," she said. "I am confident that I am making my time at Amazon meaningful, even though it is short.”

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