by There is now another location to spend the afternoon following the July 19 Pride Parade for those, like Mayor Todd Gloria, who have stated that they will not attend the San Diego Pride Festival due to Kehlani’s headline performance.
They can go to the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) Jacobs Family Campus, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, where the J Pride Festival will begin at 2:00 p.m.
Kosher food trucks, live music, vibrant crafts, games, painting stations, and community tie dye are all part of the celebration.
Leading Jewish groups, including Temple Emanu-El, Congregation Beth Israel, the Jewish Community Foundation, Leichtag Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of San Diego, are organizing the free community event.
A new J Pride Weekend that supports LGBTQ+ individuals, Jewish and non-Jewish, includes the J Pride Festival.
This is an opportunity for the Jewish community to build something new that supports LGBTQ+ Jews and allies in a happy environment where everyone can feel seen, safe, and proud, according to Lawrence Family JCC’s website.
This is a declaration rather than merely a response. We think it’s important to show up with a purpose rather than in rage. To celebrate, not to back down. According to the website, we are organizing a celebration that recognizes our identity, our core beliefs, and the future we are constructing together.
J Pride Weekend has a Shabbat service at 6:15 p.m. on July 18 and The Big Gay Brunch at 10 a.m. on July 20, along with a community carnival on Saturday.
J Pride already has support from Jamul Casino, which is withdrawing from the march and contributing their $10,000 contingent fees to the event. According to a statement from the resort, Jamul resort Resort places a high priority on its steadfast adherence to fundamental principles including diversity, equality, artistic freedom, and sincere regard for local issues.
Although Jamul Casino will not be physically present at the parade or festival, it is still fulfilling its financial obligations to the San Diego Pride Festival by supporting The Movement stage, which features Black performers and artists.
Following criticism over San Diego Pride’s Saturday headliner, Kehlani, the alternative pride festival was born.
The singer has made what are seen to be antisemitic remarks while supporting Palestine’s sovereignty and opposing genocide in the midst of the Gaza War. For example, she ended a livestream by saying, “It’s f Israel, it’s f Zionism, and it’s also f k a lot of y all too.”
According to opinion columnist Sara E. Brown, a 2022 community research in San Diego found that 91% of Jews feel Israel should exist, meaning that the vast majority of the city’s Jewish population is Zionist.
In an open letter dated May 22, the Finest Community Coalition, which is composed of local Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of San Diego, encouraged Pride to cancel the show. “Celebrating one group should never come at the expense of another,” the coalition declared. Exclusion is not a source of pride.
Later, when Pride did not change its mind, signers left the festival.
A month later, the San Diego Antisemitism Task Force at StandWithUs launched the Pride, not Prejudice pressure campaign, which hasn’t produced any results from the Pride group as of yet. However, the number of businesses and charitable organizations boycotting the event has increased.
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Notable absentees include Mamas Kitchen San Diego, Meals on Wheels, UC San Diego, UCSD Health, Harrahs, and Viejas. In a year when the LGBTQ+ community has been the target of nationwide attacks, some boycotters are opting to take part in the festival but not the march. Some won’t be at either, such as Jamul Casino.
The nonprofit organization that organizes the parade and festival, San Diego Pride, said that ticket sales are surpassing past years’ sales despite the controversy.
“It’s really important that everyone shows up at this moment when our community is being silenced and erased,” Kristin Flickinger, the interim executive director of Pride, told KPBS, regardless of whether someone wants to show up and celebrate or to voice their disapproval.
The organization has increased security in response to the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric coming from Washington and the possibility of Kehlani protesters. This includes a new clear bag policy for the festival, more private security, and the presence of legal observers to record interactions between protesters and law enforcement.
Check out the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center’s website for more on J Pride Weekend.
