‘JAM’ session a success for Bay Area women’s group

Dialogue or dinner?

That question was tossed around for a while before the women of JAM agreed on a definitive answer: For their first community project, they would serve dinner to the homeless, and save the discussions for another time.

On Feb. 25, JAM, the Bay Area cohort of Jewish, Arab and Muslim women, convened at First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco to feed 80 men who were staying there overnight.

“We didn’t just want to sit and talk,” said Carolene Marks, a member of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. “We’re understanding each other, working together and possibly having some influence upon the thinking of others.” 

Working the stove at a homeless shelter are (from left) JAM members Amany Nasser, Farah El Abed and Frana Price. photo/amanda pazornik

Others manned the stove, its burners hidden by smoking pans of grilled onions and seared beef, with large pots of simmering whole-wheat couscous.

The dining room boasted large tables with bowls brimming with spinach salad and fresh oranges; coffee and cupcakes would end the meal on a sweet note.

It was the group’s first project, following a series of monthly organizational meetings at Congregation Emanu-El and the Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC), both in San Francisco.

Donations from Costco, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and That Takes the Cake! helped make the night a success; the group even shopped together for groceries.

“All of us are take-charge women,” said Frana Price, director of programs at Emanu-El. “We’re out in the community and getting to know each other.”

The list of JAM members reads like a who’s who of influential women on the Bay Area religious scene. There’s Rita Semel, vice president of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; Abby Porth, associate director with the Jewish Community Relations Council; Farah El Abed, health and education coordinator for the ACCC; and the Progressive Jewish Alliance, to name a few.

For El Abed, this project was an opportunity to broaden her knowledge of other cultures through personal connections.

“I’ve grown a lot since joining this group,” El Abed said. “It’s nice to get out and see what similarities and differences all the women have.”

Though the idea for JAM was initiated a few years ago, the organization’s activities are very much in the early stages. The recent feeding was a collaborative effort between JAM and the S.F. Interfaith Council, which has been sponsoring the winter shelter program for nearly 20 years.

The shelter program, which started the Sunday after Thanksgiving and ended last month, has nearly 30 congregations provide meals to the homeless at various sites in San Francisco. JAM picked an open night to serve dinner and the planning began.

“It was an important thing for us to do,” Semel said. “People needed help and we were able to provide it. It gave us a purpose and a reason.”

Semel and other JAM members are hoping that through ongoing activities, they will continue to learn about each other’s cultures, histories and perspectives on the Middle East — in a casual, community-building setting.

Added Semel, “If you don’t talk to people, you don’t get to know them.”

As for future events, JAM is looking to get involved in additional feeding projects, specifically at a women and children’s shelter. Breast cancer awareness is another cause the group might take up.

“Let’s call us a work-in-progress,” Semel said. “I see us responding to community needs, involving more people and finding out what we can do together to help bring about great understanding between Jews, Arabs and Muslims.”

For more information about JAM, contact Frana Price at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).