We envision a Los Angeles where people are deeply connected with each other, purposefully engaged in living joyful, meaningful lives, and are collectively building a more just world.
Informed by our Jewish roots, we create deep connections that engage, challenge, celebrate, and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds with a primary focus on our local communities.
CONNECTION: We believe shared experiences among diverse people bring us closer to each other and our true selves.
JEWISH ROOTS: We believe Jewish culture, practices and rituals can help all people live lives of meaning and purpose.
JUSTICE AND EQUITY: We believe in actively making our world a more just and equitable place.
OPENNESS AND INCLUSIVITY: We believe we must commit to the work of being a deeply open community that embraces diversity, including of backgrounds, perspectives, and beliefs.
LIFELONG GROWTH: We believe in constant evolution and learning at all life stages and in all life’s settings.
JOY: We believe that fun, laughter and joy connect us in learning, growth, and healing.
We are a Jewish organization that includes those who support and those who are critical of any given Israeli policy, just as Israel’s active democracy does.
That said, we call on our wider community to be vigilant to the influence of systemic antisemitism on public discourse around Israel. We stand against holding Israel to standards not applied to any other country, and we believe that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel are antisemitic.
We believe in the dignity and rights of the Israeli people.
We believe in the dignity and rights of the Palestinian people.
We embrace the complexity of holding multiple viewpoints and seek to nurture a vibrant, pluralistic, mutually respectful conversation among our community members.
SIJCC stands with our brothers and sisters in Israel as they face unimaginable injury and death.
We are a place where wildly diverse ideas and perspectives are nurtured and held in community. We understand that the topic of Israel/Palestine is incredibly nuanced. However, as an institution that seeks to offer space to gather, listen and connect, we will never support the violence seen in these attacks. You are all on our minds and we are here if you need to talk, to share, or to weep as we all contend with what is to come.
At our recent Shabbat gathering, we joined in the words of Oseh Shalom, a prayer for peace. Now more than ever those words echo. What remains to pray for in this shattered moment is the safe return of those held hostage, healing and care for the wounded, and comfort for those who are grieving the loss of someone they love.
“SIJCC is a nurturing and loving environment steeped in tradition and social responsibility, that naturally supports our belief in compassionate community. ”
