Progressive Jewish Alliances Virtual March for Marriage Equality

PJA Continues "Love Thy Neighbor" Campaign at March for Marriage Equality

Send your thoughts about LGBT civil rights to join PJA's Virtual March for Marriage Equality!

On President's Day, the people of California will gather on the steps of the state capitol to stand together for equality. PJA's new Executive Director, Elissa Barrett, her wife and other PJA supporters will stand with them, carrying your words and thoughts about this vital civil rights issue through the streets of Sacramento.

To participate, send a sentence or two showing your support for marriage equality to PJA at bayarea@pjalliance.org. You can also send a photo of yourself or your family to be included.

Cool Judaica will Fix Everything!

If you are in San Fran on Thursday, November 8th at 7:30 PM, there is a thought provoking program hosted by Progressive Jewish Alliance. Young, Jewish, and (Dis)Connected is about how, why and, more specifically, why don't younger Jews feel connected to Israel and to Jewish life in America.

You know my answer for younger Jews' disenchantment with American Jewish Life: schlocky Judaica and boring dreidel games!

We are fixing the schlocky/boring problem at ModernTribe.com. But I bet Professor Ari Kelman, Joey Kurzman from Jewcy.com, Sarah Church from PJA, Heidi Winig from American Jewish World Services, and Jeremy Lizt of New Israel Fund have some other ideas on the subject.

It's free but RSVP: bayarea@pjalliance.org or 510-527-8640

What's a Jew to do?

If I was a Jew in San Francisco I'd be at Progressive Jewish Alliance gathering this Thursday in Berkeley. PJA will be screening Hineini, a documentary film entitled "Here I am" in Hebrew, about a student coming out as a lesbian and establishing a gay-straight alliance at a Jewish high school in Boston. You can preview the film here, on the Keshet website.

The screening is part of PJA's marriage equality campaign, "Bringing the Orange Under the Huppah." PJA is asking that straight couples include an orange under their wedding canopy as a show of support for marriage equality. Read more about PJA's campaign.



The orange under the huppah is an extension of the new tradition of putting an orange on the Passover seder plate. The orange has become a symbol of Jewish inclusion of gays and lesbians and, in the words of the inventor of the Passover tradition Susanna Heschel, anyone who is "marginalized within the Jewish community."

Jewish opinion about homosexuality and gay marriage is heated, complex, complicated and way beyond the scope of this blog. But basically, Orthodox opposes, Conservative opinion is mixed, Reform is accepting, and Reconstructionist and Humanistic Judaism support marriage equality. A nice primer is Wikipedia's article on Homosexuality and Judaism.

No matter how you feel about homosexuality Hineini is sure to give you much to think, discuss and argue about and all Jewish denominations support that.

Bringing the Orange under the Huppah
Thursday, October 25, 7:30 pm
JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St, Berkeley
Click here for more information about the event.

Celebrate Fair Trade Month with Kosher Kippot!

In California, Progressive Jewish Alliance is the address for Jewish anti-Sweatshop work. PJA works in collaboration with non-Jewish groups on getting major purchasers of clothing (The City of Los Angels, San Francisco and Berkley; the University of California system, etc.) to purchase only sweatfree garments, while working in the Jewish community to get Jewish summer camps, day schools, synagogues and other organization to do the same. Progressive Jewish Alliance is now offering sweatfree yarmulkes (skullcaps) through their "Kosher Kippot" program. They will work with you or your organization to coordinate sweatfree kippot purchases with educational workshops about labor rights and Jewish values. The program is particularly popular with Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids. PJA has more information on their website: pjalliance.org and in the Bay Area at their office: bayare@pjalliance.org or call them at 510.527.8640.