"We are ALL created in the image of the Divine"

Marching with feathers as part of the Jewish contingency!

A cable car for Pride

Rabbi Sydney Mintz of Congregation Emanu-El leads the Jewish contingency at the parade

A group of Jewish teen-campers marching with the contingency

San Francisco JCF LGBT Alliance Director, Lisa Finkelstein and friends

Freedom and Pride!

Teen members of Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael

Three-year-old Mali rides her tricycle down Market Street

Check out all the photos from the Pride Parade at the photo galleries:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ofir.zwebner/SFGayParade2009

http://sfjcf.smugmug.com/gallery/8724795_dGNdx/1/578399264_Lngob

http://tinyurl.com/MorePridePhotos (Photos by Dr. Rita Alfonzo)

If you have more photos to share, respond in a comment and send us the link!

Jews Celebrate Pride

The party attire was full-effect on Sunday for the 2009 San Francisco Pride Parade: feather boas, glitter, leather mini skirts, 5-inch heels… and that’s just the men! The traditional flamboyance associated with the 2009 Annual Pride Parade definitely did not disappoint, but there was a solemn and very strong political undertone to the celebration this year. In all of the years I’ve attended both the San Jose and San Francisco Pride parades, this year felt less like a giant dance party in the street and more like an organized, professional, and strategic mobilization in the entire community as both LGBT members and their supportive allies came together with one message: We want equality, and we want it now.

Eight months ago, hearing the word “no” had a positive connotation. When Proposition 8 (the Proposition to ban gay marriage in California) was still on the table and with so much money and effort being poured into our state to fight against equality, the San Francisco Bay Area stood up and firmly said, “NO”. It was strong, encouraging, and it banded our community together. I was and still am so proud to live in an area where discrimination is not tolerated and the leaders in both my political and Jewish community were adamant in saying, “No. This can not and will not happen.”

On October 11, 2008 my girlfriend of two years and I were married in a small civil ceremony surrounded by family and friends. It was to be exactly one year to the day before the “big” wedding we had been planning since our engagement earlier that spring – but bumped up in the timing “just in case”. It was a gorgeous autumn day, and the most special day of my life, but in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but feel like we were smart for taking out this insurance policy of sorts.

Elana and Denise exchanging vows

Then on the first Tuesday in November, we heard the one word we didn’t want to hear: Yes.

By a devastatingly narrow margin, the slim majority of California had succeeded in taking away a passionate minority’s rights. Yes had become no. No equality. No marriage for us. Signs went up crying “fowl” as chickens suddenly had scored a better deal on the November ballot than the LGBT community. Angry marches stopped traffic along Market. Little did my wife and I know, we were about to become one of just 18,000 couples who are now a part of this first-class / second-class hybrid who were allowed to keep their marriage legal while everyone in the foreseeable future will have that right denied.

Shortly after the second painful blow by the Supreme Court’s late-May ruling to not overturn Proposition 8 based on the argument of its unconstitutionality, The j. ran a cover-story on the Jewish community’s mobilization after the verdict to let its constituency and most importantly, the general public know that this blatant disregard for equality and justice is not accepted in our Jewish faith, which firmly believes that all people are created b’tzelem elohim – in the image of G-d.

Knowing that something had to be done, our leadership started banding together. Federation LGBT Alliance director, Lisa Finkelstein, in partnership with East Bay Federation’s LGBT director, Sam Strauss, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, Kol Tzedek, Jewish Mosaic, JCRC, local synagogues and other organizations mobilized over 500 Jews to march together in Sunday’s parade. Email blasts signed by a number of rabbis were created. Word of mouth spread the information from community professionals to temple members to friends and family.

My North Peninsula’s community was small, but not to be outdone. With Rabbis Dan Feder, Nat Ezray, Dennis Eisner, temple executive Amy Mallor, temple president Keith Tandowsky in attendance, as well as families from local temples with their children, community leaders, some with Federation connection for over 25 years – all marching with us, for the first time in a while, hearing “yes” was okay again. As a Jewish community professional, I asked my community members to march with me for professional reasons and of course, personal ones… and I heard, “yes” many times, and always enthusiastically. It was as if the word “no” wasn’t even an option; even those who were going to regrettably be out of town insisted that they would indeed be there in spirit. Sunday morning, as we assembled and turned on to Market Street in the abnormally hot San Francisco sun, the “yes” continued. “Yes” roared from the crowds of people watching the parade from the sides, along with “thank you” shouted at us from random people who were absolutely thrilled to see us with our Hebrew-lettered t-shirts and tallit-covered shoulders.

I am so proud to be a part of this community and honored to have had the opportunity to march and to “pray with my feet” Sunday morning. It’s nice to be told yes. It’s nice to say yes. It’s empowering to be in a community that won’t tolerate anything but the best it can give, and as a Federation employee, it thrills me to be able to give back to a community that deserves so much.

~ by Denise Ron, North Peninsula Campaign Associate

Part of the Jewish contingency at the Pride Parade

… Be a mensch and volunteer in the community!

The Jewish Community Federation’s Business Leadership Council has come up with three great organizations to donate your time to this summer.  If you know of other great Bay Area volunteer opportunities, be sure to let us know in the comments section.

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Marketing Professionals Wanted!

Are you a marketing professional who wants to use your skills to make a difference? Lend your expertise to Upstart Bay Area clients who need your help naming their non-profit organizations. Perform a mitzvah AND get current work on your resume.

• Find out which organizations need your help
• Learn more about UpStart Bay Area

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The JCC Maccabi Games -
Sports, social events, community service and more!

The JCC Maccabi Games needs you! This exciting event, featuring 1,500 teen athletes from all over the US and abroad, needs volunteers for 4-hour shifts. Scorekeepers, timers, chaperones, snack servers, security, registration, Green Team, etc… we need it all! Help make these Games memorable for athletes, our community and for you.
Dates: August 2-7, 2009

• Sign up now to volunteer
• Learn more about the JCC Maccabi Games

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Put your professional expertise to work:
Help people hone their job search skills.

Volunteer your extra time with Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), where you might conduct mock interviews, help people build their computer skills and search for jobs online, tutor math or help with practicing English. If extra time is at a minimum, perhaps you can offer someone a job or internship. Please consider posting your job openings on the JVS website.

• Sign up now to volunteer
• Learn more about JVS

As the Jewish Community Federation enters the last few days of the Annual Campaign, the impact of the downturn in our economy has become more and more pronounced.  We have had fewer donors, and thus might not be able to meet our present allocations.  This means that the programs that serve our community, from school children to seniors, from the Bay Area to Israel, from meals to scholarships are at risk.

Our staff, recognizing the importance of these programs and wanting to help raise the needed funds, turned inward and started asking each other to make a contribution to our giving campaign.

As of yesterday, over 60% of our staff had made a donation to the Federation this year, totaling over $73,000!

The 60% participation rate is much higher than last year’s and worth celebrating in a time when overall charitable giving is down.

Speaking of which, we would love for you to help reverse the downward trend and to make a difference in our community.  For years, our community has helped send children to summer camp, provided career assistance to the unemployed, and given winter relief packages to those in need.  Please help us provide for the community by giving a gift to the Federation today.

http://www.sfjcf.org/waystogive/donate/campaign.asp

THANK YOU!

We’re down to the wire. It’s time for us to determine which programs will receive Federation’s funding for the coming year. As of today, there is a large gap between the dollars needed to sustain the many services that support Jewish life and the dollars available. If we fail to close this gap by June 30, many of our community’s vital programs will be cut at a time when they are needed most.

If you haven’t made your gift to the 2009 Annual Campaign, please take this opportunity to make your pledge by June 30. Your dollars fund critical services for vulnerable members of our community, from babies to seniors, in the Bay Area, in Israel and around the world. Your one gift can drastically change many people’s lives.

If each of us makes a gift, no matter what amount, collectively we have the strength to create change. Please make your pledge today, payable by December 31, 2009. I assure you that every dollar counts and is appreciated.

If you’ve already made your gift, we are truly grateful and hope you’ll consider making an additional pledge or forwarding this email to others urging them to join you in supporting your Federation during this challenging year.

Your gift has never been more important.

P.S. Thank you in advance for your gift to the 2009 Annual Campaign.

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• Review the prior year’s Campaign allocations to community programs we support.
• Help your community by making a gift today.

I am what my parents call a “millennium child.” With a Russian Jewish father and Indian mother, I was raised in an off-beat multicultural household. My father emigrated from the Soviet Union after the decline of communism – a time when anti-religious sentiment was still prevalent. Because of this, my dad never fully understood what it meant to be Jewish. He knew he was Jewish in the same way that he knew he liked turkey sandwiches, so growing up, I adopted his way of thinking and my Jewish background didn’t make its way on to my radar.

As I got older I started to have questions. I wondered why I was still considered Jewish even though my family didn’t practice and my mother wasn’t Jewish at all. I wondered what it meant to be “half Jewish” and if a person could identify with a culture that neither of his or her parents were part of. Did being half Jewish mean I wasn’t Jewish at all?

In high school, I struggled with trying to understand where I stood in regards to Judaism. Even though I lacked knowledge about religious practices and Jewish history, I still felt connected to Judaism and its culture. I searched for a way to understand where I fit as a person that is only ethnically half Jewish. At times, I felt like there was something missing in my life and as if there were things that I couldn’t put in words, such as inexplicably trusting people as soon as I learned they were Jewish. I wanted to know more, but didn’t know how to get there.

When I arrived in Berkeley for the first time three years ago, I was completely lost. While I made friends in the dorms and my classes seemed fulfilling enough, I couldn’t shake off the feeling something was missing from my college experience. I walked around campus suffering from a sense of disconnect – as if Berkeley didn’t quite feel like home. Believe it or not, I continued to feel this way for two years, until I finally walked into Berkeley Hillel for the first time and my life took a remarkable turn.

This year I worked at Berkeley Hillel as an intern, and in that time I’ve had twenty years worth of questions answered. While Berkeley Hillel does strive to fulfill its mission to create a Jewish home for students in Berkeley, it also allowed me to explore my individuality as a Jewish woman in college. I have learned that being a “halfie” should never stop me from identifying with Judaism and that no matter where my parents came from, I can still feel that connection with Jewish culture.

For the first time in my life, I have a Jewish identity and I know that there are other people who have grappled with the same doubts. There is no other place on earth that I feel more comfortable than within the confines of this incredible place.

Even though some my say that I’m just half, I know that Berkeley Hillel makes me double.

On June 11, 2009, five incredible programs were highlighted and honored at the Jewish Community Federation’s annual meeting.  The videos below share their story.

Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS)
Jewish Community Relations Council
and Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Jewish Community Teen Foundations
Jewish Community Endowment Fund

Get Up and Go
Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC)

Tech Career
Kibbutz Nachshon in Israel

Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford University Medical Center
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Program

You can contribute to the ongoing vitality of programs such as these by donating to the Federation’s Annual Campaign.

http://www.sfjcf.org/waystogive/donate/campaign.asp

More information on the above programs is available at:
http://sfjcf.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/programnominees

Kevin Waldman, the YAD president from 2005-2007, has earned this year’s Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Young Leadership! Waldman is a valued and active Federation lay leader, and is well respected by fellow volunteers and Federation Board members.

To learn more about Waldman and the Dinkelspiel Award, please visit: http://sfjcf.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/honorees/#waldman

Forward-thinking San Francisco philanthropist Richard N. Goldman has earned the 2009 Robert Sinton Extraordinary Leader Award for his lifetime of dedication to the Bay Area, the environment, and Jewish affairs.

To learn more about Richard N. Goldman, his late wife Rhoda, and the organizations they have established and served, please visit:
http://sfjcf.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/honorees/#goldman

Certain stereotypes surround an internship; it is assumed that you won’t make the big bucks or be given the most desirable tasks. But the flipside, so the stereotype goes, is the occasional hook-up: tickets to a show, an invitation to a party, and other similar perks.

Jacob Goldstein, LGBT Alliance 2009 Summer Intern

So I wasn’t surprised when LGBT Alliance Director Lisa Finkelstein casually mentioned that she was helping plan an exclusive party for Israeli rock star Ivri Lider, who was set to headline Israel in the Gardens on June 7. Oh, and the party would have complimentary valet parking, hors d’oeuvres, and hosted bar. Would I be interested in attending? Well, maybe just a little…

The party – at Ken Fulk’s design studio on the night before Israel in the Gardens – was a truly memorable event. Credit must be given to Bevan Dufty, Ken Fulk, and Matthew Goudeau – these three gentlemen know how to throw a fabulous party! From the elegant cheese platters to the bright blue signature cocktail to the white-jacketed valet attendants, every detail was accounted for and delightfully decadent. As a 21 year-old college student from the suburbs, the party was a unique thrill; I felt like Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City,” living the fabulous urban high-life.

It was a treat to see Ivri Lider perform in such an intimate setting. As he sat playing the piano, his talent and passion for music were immediately evident. Lider – who is openly gay – also delighted the entire crowd with a clever cover of Katy Perry’s hit “I Kissed a Girl” that contained more than one knowing glance at the audience.

The party was notable for more than its glitz and glamour. As I mingled and schmoozed with the crowd, I was continuously reminded of the diversity of our Jewish community. Gay and straight, young and old, American and Israeli – they were all there.

When I started my internship at the LGBT Alliance, I was excited at the prospect of meeting other Jews who identified within the LGBT community. Instead, I have met the most interesting, broad spectrum of Jews – and discovered that the diversity of the Jewish community extends far beyond the boundaries of sexual orientation. This realization has been one of the highlights of my internship so far.

Well, that and the free cocktails.

• View more photos from the party
• See pictures from Israel in the Gardens

Jacob Goldstein is the LGBT Alliance 2009 Summer Intern.

The LGBT Alliance is currently organizing “Jews March for Pride,” a unified Jewish contingent for the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 28. Together we will send the message that the diverse Jewish community overwhelmingly supports marriage equality. Dozens of synagogues and Jewish organizations throughout the Bay Area have already signed up to march with us.

Register and learn more at http://tinyurl.com/jews4pride.