Join our Interfaith Community and the American Red Cross for their lifesaving April blood drive!

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!

Interfaith Community and the American Red Cross are hosting an upcoming blood drive. 
Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!

Drive Details:
Site:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hayward
Address:  26101 Gading Rd, Hayward, CA, 94544
Room Name:  Multi Purpose Room
Date:  Fri Apr 22, 2022
Time:  11:30 AM – 3:30: PM
Blood Program Leader Name:  Interfaith Community
Click here to make an appointment

Women’s History Virtual Havdalah

Women: more than just wombs with legs! Join us on Zoom on March 19th for a Havdalah in honor of Women’s History. Think of a woman who’s notable for more than her uterus. We’ll have a short Secular, Humanistic ceremony followed by a few rounds of 20 Questions where we’ll all try to guess your Woman of Note. Who knows what we’ll ask, so be prepared!

Day: March 19

Time: 7:00p.m.

Place: Zoom  

Cost:  Free to members, $10.00 suggested donation for non-members. Questions? Contact us at culturaljews@gmail.com or call 925-399-8029.

JCS Happenings

We cWe covered so much ground in JCS! We talked about the migration of Jews from Eastern Europe to the U.S. and what it was like to go through Ellis Island. The Jews leaving Eastern Europe were looking for a safe place to live. We tied that into our upcoming celebration of Purim—our yearly holiday reminding us that tyrants have always existed and that there is always a need to speak truth to power. We made food that immigrants might have enjoyed—soft pretzels with optional yellow mustard (yum!)–and played some games their kids probably knew: hopscotch and Shimon Zogt (Simmon Says in Yiddish). 

JCS Happenings

Our Jewish Culture School students wanted to share this blurb from their 2/13/22 class:

Jews might have fought on both sides of the Civil War, but one thing remained the same: hardtack is pretty terrible! While most Jews did not support the South, we talked about how some Jews were able to justify slavery (hint: just because people did it in the Torah, doesn’t make it a good idea), baked some hardtack that really lived up to its name, and sang some freedom songs.

Interfaith Interconnect Religion Chat

Dear Interfaith Friends,

You are invited to our next virtual
Interfaith Interconnect Religion Chat
Wednesday, March 9, via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86485915504
Presentations: 5-6 p.m. Optional breakout discussion groups: 6-6:30 p.m.
We will present the 3rd program in our series,
“What holy books or other texts are important to your religion?” 

Speakers: Pastor John Bost,  Holy Cross Lutheran Church Livermore and Dr. Asad Tarsin, Muslim Community Center East Bay Pleasanton. 

Zoom room will open at 4:45.
All are welcome!
The series will conclude on April 13, so be sure to save that date too!

If you missed the February 9 Religion Chat with speakers Rev. Ellie Kilpatrick of Unitarian Universalist Church Livermore and Mr. Bruce Bird, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, here is the link to the recording. https://youtu.be/lDGJ3XcpGKw

We look forward to seeing you on March 9!
Ruth Gasten and Marcia Elchesen
Interfaith Interconnect Leadership Committee

27th Annual East Bay International Jewish Film Festival

East Bay International Jewish Film Festival from March 12-26, check out eastbayjewishfilm.org for ticket information. We are co-sponsoring With No Land:

Operation Solomon brought 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia to Israel in under 24 hours. Hailed as a military operation that few countries could have mastered, the contributions of Ethiopian Jewish activists have remained mostly unknown. Using firsthand testimonies and archival footage, this documentary reveals the clandestine and often dangerous activities of the Ethiopian Jews themselves.

Guest Speaker: Yonatan Eyov, an Israeli emissary (shaliach) serving at Stanford University, will share his own story of immigrating to Israel at the age of six from Ethiopia and the present situation facing the Beta Yisrael community.