Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism

I continue to be impressed with Cleveland, where, “as intermarriage has risen,” with more Jewish children raised by interfaith parents, they are “Building Jewish identity through education, family engagement.” One synagogue educator says “we are creating programs to welcome families that have non-Jewish parents;” “We try to take into account, for those parents who might not have the same background, those differences and we try to be inclusive. We find that families of interfaith children are very excited to learn and we want to make it as positive as we can for them.”

Marlyn Bloch Jaffe, the CEO at the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, says “Strategically, it is important to offer multiple paths to engagement, because people connect differently,” including “jHUB for interfaith couples and families.”

Every community should have a jHUB!

Building Jewish identity through education, family engagement When Jonathon Nisenboum grew up attending the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, his identity and connection to the Cleveland Jewish community existed within the walls of a classroom.

Glad to see this action from the Jewish Agency for Israel criticizing a proposed bill that "would reject non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism for the purpose of immigration to Israel. The bills 'could undermine Jewish pluralism and weaken the Jewish people.'"

Jewish Agency chides Israeli coalition for bills that 'undermine Jewish pluralism' In a rare public rebuke of the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors on Tuesday criticized two coalition-backed bills —  legislation that strikes at the heart of issues central to Diaspora Jews —  that are being considered by the Knesset. One would effectively...

Watch a CASJE/eJP panel discussion on interfaith families on June 11.

Re-CHARGING Reform conference again doesn’t discuss engaging interfaith families; interesting related discussion about particularism and universalism.

Important white paper from the Shalom Hartman Institute on Building Communities of Belonging.

News from Israel and Canada, and more.

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