Valley Beth Shalom: Ethnic Jewish Divisions
The divide between Iranian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews has been a major problem in Los Angeles. Both sides believe the other side is “cliquish”. The Ashkenazi Jewish community and Iranian Jewish community often have trouble socializing with one another. Valley Beth Shalom is unique in that it has been very successful in integrating the Iranian Jewish community with the Ashkenazi Jewish community. Valley Beth Shalom believes the reason for their success is the location of the synagogue. The population in Encino is much more diverse than in cities such as Beverly Hills, so Iranian Jews have an easier experience integrating with other kinds of Jews.
At Valley Beth Shalom’s Harold M. Schulweis Day School, the classes are heavily mixed and it is common to see Iranian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews playing together. The Day School host many student activities, including holiday celebrations and commemorations. These holiday celebrations provide a unique and revealing cultural experience for Iranian Jewish students as well as Ashkenazi Jews students, as they prepare and participate throughout the year. Students celebrate secular holidays, such as Nourouz, and Jewish holidays, such as Chanukah. According to the congregation’s website, through costumes, dances, holiday foods, presentations, songs, special guests, and stories, Iranian Jewish students and Ashkenazi Jewish students are “active participants in celebrating culture with a depth of understanding of its meaning.” This beneficial understanding of each other’s cultures has allowed young Iranian Jews to feel valued and integrated in the larger Ashkenazi Jewish community.
Valley Beth Shalom’s Iranian Jewish congregants have grown up with Ashkenazi Jews, the families and the children get along well, and they invite each other to their children’s Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. The children attend each other’s birthday parties, and many of the families have begun to mix and their children have begun dating each other. There has been more intermarriage between young Iranian and Ashkenazi Jews in the Valley than in the city, and Valley Beth Shalom has celebrated many weddings for this mixed group. Therefore, Valley Beth Shalom’s young Iranian Jewish congregates feel differently about being Iranian than Iranian youth in Beverly Hills and feel much more secure in that regard, because they know their Ashkenazi friends value them. Valley Beth Shalom’s Iranian Jewish congregants are much more integrated and therefore they are far more comfortable being part of a diverse Jewish community.
At Valley Beth Shalom’s Harold M. Schulweis Day School, the classes are heavily mixed and it is common to see Iranian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews playing together. The Day School host many student activities, including holiday celebrations and commemorations. These holiday celebrations provide a unique and revealing cultural experience for Iranian Jewish students as well as Ashkenazi Jews students, as they prepare and participate throughout the year. Students celebrate secular holidays, such as Nourouz, and Jewish holidays, such as Chanukah. According to the congregation’s website, through costumes, dances, holiday foods, presentations, songs, special guests, and stories, Iranian Jewish students and Ashkenazi Jewish students are “active participants in celebrating culture with a depth of understanding of its meaning.” This beneficial understanding of each other’s cultures has allowed young Iranian Jews to feel valued and integrated in the larger Ashkenazi Jewish community.
Valley Beth Shalom’s Iranian Jewish congregants have grown up with Ashkenazi Jews, the families and the children get along well, and they invite each other to their children’s Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. The children attend each other’s birthday parties, and many of the families have begun to mix and their children have begun dating each other. There has been more intermarriage between young Iranian and Ashkenazi Jews in the Valley than in the city, and Valley Beth Shalom has celebrated many weddings for this mixed group. Therefore, Valley Beth Shalom’s young Iranian Jewish congregates feel differently about being Iranian than Iranian youth in Beverly Hills and feel much more secure in that regard, because they know their Ashkenazi friends value them. Valley Beth Shalom’s Iranian Jewish congregants are much more integrated and therefore they are far more comfortable being part of a diverse Jewish community.
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