Jewish Family Services Program

John Spiegel is the founder and mediator for the specialized mediation program at Jewish Family Services of Central Maryland (known as “JFS”). There is a longstanding Jewish legal tradition that promotes face-to-face conciliation instead of the kind of adversarial proceedings characteristic of American courts. The JFS mediation program builds on this tradition by applying modern conflict resolution techniques to the task of finding a mishpat shalom ("judgment of peace"). The program is designed to serve both observant and non-observant Jewish families, as well as families with one Jewish spouse.

In addition, the JFS mediation program, like all JFS programs, is open to everyone. Some non-Jewish couples participate in the JFS mediation program because for Baltimore area residents it provides a more convenient mediation location than John’s office in Rockville.

For Jewish couples, the JFS mediation program offers, in addition to skilled family mediation, special expertise for resolving such specifically Jewish issues as:

• Obtaining a get (religious divorce)
• Post-separation planning for Bat/Bar Mitzvah and for religious education
• Helping children deal with different levels of religious observance in their parents' separate homes
  

Mediation sessions are conducted at the Owings Mills office of Jewish Family Services, located at 6 Park Center Court, Suite 211, McDonogh Crossroads, Owings Mills MD 21117.

For more information about the JFS mediation program, please call John Spiegel at (301) 340-1811. You can also leave a message on the JFS voicemail at (410) 356-8383, ext. 307. For more information about JFS generally, visit the JFS website at www.jfs.org.