Temple Akiba brings light and goodness into the world.
Temple Akiba is deeply committed to supporting our community. The congregation partners with several organizations in accomplishing creative projects that bring light to Temple Akiba, Los Angeles and beyond.
From the Annual Mitzvah Day to Shoes for the Homeless and Jewish World Watch events, Temple Akiba does not stand idly by. Rather, Temple Akiba educates and activates its community to rise up and take responsibility for helping to care for others in need.
Our Tikkun Olam Committee focuses on Housing and Homelessness and work with the Religious Action Center (RAC-CA), the advocacy arm of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) to promote Jewish social work.
Keep Hate Out of Voter Guides
What: Earlier this year, California's Official Voter Information Guide arrived in the mailboxes of 23 million registered voters. Listed, alongside legitimate candidate statements, was a screed of antisemitic conspiracy theories and links to racist, homophobic, and white supremacist websites — printed under the seal of the State of California. Last week, JFEDLA joined a coalition in Sacramento to meet with Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin to raise serious concerns and advocate for reform.
Why Your Voice Matters: Assembly Bill 1853 has been introduced to prevent this from happening again. Authored by Assemblymembers Pellerin and Marc Berman, the bill establishes clear and enforceable standards for candidate statements in California's state and county voter guides, prohibiting attacks on individuals or groups, links to external content, false or misleading claims, and hateful or discriminatory content. The bill also authorizes the Secretary of State and county elections officials to reject noncompliant content and allows registered voters to seek judicial enforcement. It will be heard in the Senate Elections Committee in the coming weeks.
Act Now:
Sign the Action Alert below to keep hate out of California’s Voter Guide.
Add your organization's name if you are a signatory.
Share this message with three people in your network to amplify our collective impact.
Together, we can help ensure that California’s official voter guides remain trusted sources of information, free from hate, misinformation, and discrimination.
Upcoming Events
Sleeping Bag & Blanket Drive
November 1 - 15
Help give Warmth & Comfort to our Neighbors this Winter! Donate Sleeping Bags (preferred) or Dark-Colored (gently used or new) Warm Blankets to those served by Grace Diner. Put items in the donation bins when you come to any service, event, class or activity at Temple Akiba.
Antisemitism in LAUSD Talk
Monday, November 16 at 7:30 pm at Temple Akiba
As we remember the anniversary of Kristallnacht,which took place November 9–10, 1938, we will learn how antisemitism is affecting our children today. The presentation will include antisemitism in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) classrooms, litigation, & policy changes. For more information, contact Ann Sturman.
Our panel includes: Nick Melvoin, LAUSD Board Member, Rabbi Peter Levi, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Ron Galperin, Moderator.
Assemble Thanksgiving Food Boxes
Tuesday, November 17 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
At the Culver-Palms Family YMCA: 4500 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City
Bring a family member, friend or come on your own to join us. RSVP by Sunday, November 15; contact Ann Sturman at afsturman@gmail.com
Tikkun Olam Mitzvah Cooking
Thursday, December 10 at 4:00 PM at Member’s Home
Let’s prepare a tasty meal for 15 individuals living in their cars at Safe Parking LA. Join the Tikkun Olam Committee to cook at a Temple Akiba member’s home in Marina Del Rey. Cooking from 4:00 – 5:00 pm, Delivery of food from 5:00- 6:30 PM - including chatting with parking guests (optional). Safe Parking LA is the only provider of safe parking lots exclusively focused on vehicular homelessness in LA. They provide secure and legal overnight parking at sites equipped with security personnel & restroom facilities. RSVP to Helene Jaffa at hjaffa9@gmail.com Address provided when you RSVP.
MITZVAH DAY AT TEMPLE AKIBA
Each year, Temple Akiba members of all ages come together for Mitzvah Day to lend their talents, time and generosity to a wide range of good deeds helping those in our community and beyond. Some of the charitable giving opportunities include: making lunches for the homeless; beautifying the community with painted pots and planting flowers; knitting hats for children, among other activities. Many thanks to all our dedicated volunteers! To Learn more, please visit: https://www.templeakiba.net/mitzvah-day
SOVA DONATION BIN
The SOVA Community Food & Resource Program of Jewish Family Services, is dedicated to alleviating hunger and poverty in the community. They offer free, nutritious groceries to people experiencing food insecurity. "SOVA" translates to "eat and be satisfied" in Hebrew. You can help by contributing canned food simply by using the donation bin at the synagogue entry.
Political Advocacy in Washington D.C.
Every year, the 10th grade confirmation class travels to Washington D.C. to attend the Reform Movement's L'Taken seminar. The program introduces our teens to the lobbying process and some of the important social justice issues of our time. At the end of the weekend, all of the teens write a lobby speech to deliver to congress on a topic of their choice, enabling them to say and see first-hand the type of impact their opinions and actions can have in the world. This year, our students wrote speeches advocating for reproductive justice, economic justice, gun violence prevention, and Israel.
The Religious Action Center (RAC-CA), is the advocacy arm of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ), For more information go to their website at: https://rac.org/take-action
HIAS provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocates for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives. For more information go to their website at: https://hias.org/
