Jewish Community Honors Transgender Day of Remembrance
Kol Tzedek, a San Francisco Bay Area coalition of Jewish organizations that the LGBT Alliance is a member of, works together as a catalyst for justice and LGBT rights. Kol Tzedek is committed to transforming our Bay Area Jewish community into one that is fully inclusive and affirming of all people.
The 11th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance is Friday, November 20, 2009. Kol Tzedek suggests that we honor this somber day as a Jewish community in an outreach effort to combat transphobia. Our goal is to create an affirming Jewish community that respects and genuinely welcomes trans and gender non-conforming individuals.
Whether at Shabbat services in congregations, in local non-religious gatherings and at family Shabbat tables across the Bay Area, this Day of Remembrance gives everyone a chance to step forward as an advocate. Kol Tzedek members suggest that Bay Area Jewish leaders, educators, families and congregations incorporate the following resources to honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance:
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Download tips on how to honor Transgender Day of Remembrance with your congregation, family and friends
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Add a memorial reading into your Shabbat service
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Incorporate a prayer written by Reuben Zellman for Transgender Day of Remembrance into your Shabbat Service
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Distribute the brochure, Making Your Community More Transgender-Friendly
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Read the names out loud with Congregation Sha'ar Zahav's Annual Transgender Remembrance Shabbat
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Feel inspired by reading a D'rash honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance
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Attend the Tri-City Health Center's Annual gathering in Oakland at Preservation Park
Kol Tzedek has two specific focus areas that drive our agenda: marriage equality & inclusion of trans & gender nonconforming people in the Jewish community. The following leaders, affiliated with four San Francisco Bay Area Jewish organizations focused on LGBT rights, are the founding leaders and members of Kol Tzedek: Rachel Biale with Progressive Jewish Alliance; Noach Dzmura with Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity; Karen Erlichman with Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity; Lisa Finkelstein, with LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Community Federation & Rebecca Weiner with Congregation Sha'ar Zahav. Please connect with us if you are interested in being involved in the Trans Inclusion Project, a one-year volunteer leadership commitment led by Kol Tzedek.
