Following six months of advocacy work by the congregation of IKAR, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials announced that they would no longer impound unlicensed drivers’ cars at sobriety checkpoints, a victory for undocumented immigrants who cannot obtain drivers licenses under state law.
Recently, the nonprofit group Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) launched a bipartisan Web video, “Al Tirah!” with the hope of encouraging people to vote during the midterm elections, but the organization wants the message of the film — that people should feel empathy for others, rather than fear — to resonate beyond Nov. 2.
Community briefs.
When Max Webb was interned at 18 different concentration camps during the Holocaust, he made a promise. \”If he survived, he would make sure he would contribute to the advancement of the Jewish people and Judaism in any way he could,\” said his grandson, Greg Podell, the director of the Max Webb Family Foundation.
Webb has made good on that promise, donating to causes in Israel and to local Jewish charities, including The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. And now, as he\’s about to turn 90, his foundation has purchased a plot of land for $3 million for a center to house two socially conscious Jewish organizations.
Warren told Wolfson his interest is in helping all houses of worship, not in converting Jews. He said there are more than enough Christian souls to deal with for starters.
Don\’t call them synagogues.
They are minyanim, or spiritual communities. They have evolved from shared and individual dreams and from serendipitous, profound and beshert connections. They are new, egalitarian, independent, warm, collaborative and vibrant.
And they are all led by female rabbis.
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