October 16-November 16, 2022
Join the JCC East Bay in supporting our unhoused neighbors who do not have access to shelter and other important resources. From now until November 16th we will be collecting hygiene products to donate to the Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center in Berkeley, a space for unhoused women and children to receive drop-in services and other life-saving resources. Drop off your products at the JCC East Bay and help make someone’s fall season a little more comfortable!
October 16-November 4, 2022
Election Day is November 8, 2022. The JCC East Bay is proud to be joining a Jewish community-wide effort to combat election misinformation. Election Protection is an impactful, nonpartisan way to ensure free, fair, safe, and accessible elections for everyone. Read more about the Jewish Partnership for Democracy here!
Read more about the different forms of election protection below and sign up here to get involved.
November 6, 2022
The JCC East Bay is so excited to be joining Urban Tilth for their November volunteer day at the Richmond High School Garden.
Urban Tilth is a Richmond-based organization that inspires local residents to cultivate agriculture, feed the community, and restore relationships to land to build a more sustainable food system within a just and healthier community. The Richmond High School Garden, one project of Urban Tilth, is a place for students to learn how to grow and tend to fruits and veggies and to strengthen their connection with the land. Together with Urban Tilth’s volunteers, we will be helping maintain the garden and prepare it for the fall season.
May 11, 2022
Hear from refugee crisis advocates, Joe Goldman of HIAS and Robin Mencher of JFCS East Bay, about their organizations’ efforts to support refugees with resettlement programs, legal assistance, and humanitarian crisis campaigns. This event will feature a moderated panel discussion between Goldman, Mencher, and Melissa Chapman, CEO of the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay.
April 25-May 25, 2022
Jewish Community Center of the East Bay is partnering with the Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay to host a collection drive for Bay Area-based Ukrainian refugees and their families in need of household supplies during the process of settling into homes. We invite you to support these refugees by donating approved household items at the JCC East Bay in Berkeley.
There will be donation bins located at the front of the building during our normal operation hours (Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm PT) where you can drop off the items. (We will only be accepting newly purchased items listed below). Together, we can provide relief and support to Ukrainian refugees in the Bay Area!
This initiative, spearheaded by the Jewish Community Relations Council, demonstrates the vibrancy, diversity, and values of the Bay Area Jewish community. Through grassroots storytelling videos, we seek to bring to light our personal experiences with antisemitism and educate our neighbors how to be Jewish allies in this fraught moment. For more info visit JCRC.
Join us for one or many points throughout the year when we’ll have opportunities for you to make a difference in the local Bay Area community! This series of programs is brought to you by the JCC East Bay in collaboration with Jewish Community Centers from all over the Bay Area, including: the Peninsula JCC, the JCCSF, and the Osher Marin JCC.
November 2021
What do the terms “Sephardi” and “Mizrachi” mean? How do we lift up and celebrate the stories of Jews who came from Arab and Muslim countries in our communities today? In this interactive virtual session we will explore some of the history, culture, and politics of the Jewish communities of the Middle Eastern and North Africa. Jewish Educator Tamar Zaken will guide us in an educational and engaging session during Mizrachi Heritage Month. This event is organized by the PJCC and is cosponsored by the JCC East Bay.
This series of events in celebration of Pride was a collaboration between the JCC East Bay, the Peninsula JCC, the JCC of San Francisco, the Oshman Family JCC, JCC Los Gatos, the Osher Marin JCC, and Keshet. Though the events have now passed, you’ll find Pride resources below!
June 2021
At this virtual comedy/improv show by the JCC East Bay and OneTable, “Bay Area Jewish Babes” Jess Lehrman and Emily Lubomirsky (exes and best friends) answered relationship questions, chatted about gay stuff, played silly games, and generally celebrated queer community. It featured breakout rooms to discuss queer life and allyship, and had complimentary rainbow challahs for pickup! Check out a queer Shabbat resource guide from OneTable HERE.
April 2021
Grief around climate change is powerful: the loss of biodiversity, the new normal of “fire season,” the rising sea levels. This Earth Day, the JCC East Bay and Reboot hosted a virtual gathering that provided a meaningful pause for people of all backgrounds to reflect on what we have lost recently, as well as what we have gained, through guided meditation led by Dorothy Richman and mandala art facilitated by Ava Sayaka Rosen.
A series of events brought to you in collaboration with Peninsula JCC, the JCC Los Gatos, and the Osher Marin JCC. Explore the history and meaning of protest with us through a contemporary and Jewish lens. Resources that can be accessed after the event ended can be found below.
January 2021
At this year’s Jewbilee, renew your commitment to improving our world by engaging with a range of community leaders immersed in the work of tikkun olam (social justice) or chesed (social action). Choose between multiple opportunities to learn, explore, and do, and get inspired to take ongoing action. Special programs for teens and for young adults are included. Watch the event recordings HERE.
Click here for resources on protest throughout Jewish history! Curated by the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco.
March 2021
Presented by the author series of Mittleman Jewish Community Center in Portland, OR; cosponsored by JCC East Bay and others.
Abby Stein is the tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. In 2015, Stein came out as a woman, and she now works as a trans activist. In 2019, she served on the steering committee for the Women’s March in Washington, DC, and she was named by the Jewish Week as one of the “36 Under 36” Jews who are affecting change in the world. Powerful in the truths it reveals about biology, culture, faith, and identity, Stein’s book Becoming Eve poses the enduring question: How far will you go to become the person you were meant to be? Learn more about her book HERE.
April 2021
We are thrilled to cosponsor JCRC‘s Multicultural Passover Freedom Seder to celebrate our community as a bastion of freedom. This participatory, cross-cultural, interfaith exchange honors one of the most important Jewish holidays of the year! This is a critical moment to come together because we are living through a time of racism and xenophobia, and this event will inspire us to action in the year ahead. Now more than ever, the story of Passover is resonant with the systemic injustices and inequities of our era. We will hear the important civic and elected voices who are in solidarity with our community at a time of rising antisemitism. Read the Haggadah HERE.
March 2021
In the spirit of these two holidays, we will serve people (especially women) in need by donating much needed items to two local organizations! Keep an eye out for our next collection drive!
March 2021
Presented by the JCC East Bay in honor of International Women’s Day, featuring the local organization Shalom Bayit, this workshop covers what domestic violence and abusive relationships are, why it is important that we talk about them in the Jewish community, and what you can do to help a friend or loved one in crisis.
January 2021
How have our worlds changed since we began sheltering in place? Have they shrunk to the size of a room, or expanded through virtual connections? The pandemic has forced us to think globally and act locally more than ever. How might we visualize the impact we can have within our geographic and interpersonal circles? LABA East Bay fellows Dan Schifrin and Rachel Berger will lead a creative conversation about maps and our capacities to make a difference, with a guided map-making exercise.
January 2021
Not sure where to get started on racial justice? This event for young professionals allows participants to reflect on their relationship to race and Judaism, and how to get involved in MLK weekend volunteer opportunities. This event is created by Repair the World Bay Area, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, and the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay.
November 2020
Join a powerful gathering that will provide a space to be together, resources and tools to take action, and inspiration to move forward towards a more just and vibrant future for all.
Speakers: Rabbi Adina Allen, Jewish Studio Project; Tonda Case, Jewish Women of Color Resilience Circle; Melissa Chapman, JCC East Bay; Tyler Gregory, Jewish Community Relations Council; Adrienne Mermin, Jewish Youth for Community Action; and Avi Rose, Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay.
Music by Candace Goodwin and Isaac Zones.
CLICK HERE to view our Post-Election Resources for Reflection and Action.
In recognition of the 2020 election, and in collaboration with all seven Bay Area JCCs, we will offer events and resources focused on getting out the vote and addressing voter suppression. This nonpartisan series will feature guest speakers, phone bank opportunities, discussion happy hours, and more.
October 2020
The results of the November 2020 election are not only important for us as a society, but also for our own community. We are glad to have guest speaker Dr. Steven Windmueller join us on Zoom, where he will share a nonpartisan election analysis designed to educate about the diverse and significant roles Jews have played and continue to play in American politics. Dr. Windmueller’s work in Jewish political behavior has been central to his research and writings. His 2014 book, The Quest for Power, seeks not only to define the nature of Judaism as a political system but to demonstrate how Jews have historically governed themselves over the course of their complex historical journey. Watch the recording here.
September 2020
We are thrilled to kick-off our new series of Power through Voting programs on zoom! This 45 minute introduction speaks to the history of voter suppression and what we can do to make a difference. Featuring guest speaker Andrea Miller, founder of Reclaim Our Vote.