Support your local Judaica shop
For three decades, Afikomen Judaica in Berkeley has served as more than just a retail storefront; it has been a vital cultural anchor, a sanctuary for discovery and a living resource for the diverse Jewish community of the Bay Area. Yet, a recurring and painful disconnect threatens the very institution we claim to cherish.
Just recently, a student walked into our shop looking for required texts for an upcoming local Jewish education program. Because the organization neglected to communicate with Afikomen, the specific books were not on hand. This wasn’t an isolated incident — it is a decades-long pattern.
We often talk about the importance of buying local. Although vitally important, supporting a unique Jewish institution requires more than just transactional patronage; it requires structural partnership. When rabbis, educators and community organizers plan their curricula and events without looping in Afikomen Judaica, a vital link in our communal chain breaks.
We cannot take our cultural infrastructure for granted. In an era where algorithms dominate and physical Jewish spaces are shrinking, an independent Judaica shop and bookstore is a rare and vulnerable treasure. Afikomen Judaica stands ready to provide the texts, ritual items and resources our community needs to learn and grow — but we cannot do it in a vacuum.
We ask our local Jewish leaders, educators and institutions to reflect on how they engage with the resources right in our own Bay Area backyard. Make Afikomen Judaica, Bookshop & Gifts your first call, not an afterthought. Promote Afikomen as a destination and resource. Do this all year, all the time. Let us work together to ensure that when your students and constituents seek knowledge, goods and connection, they know where to go and our shelves are stocked.
Rabbi Chaim and Nell Mahgel-Friedman
Co-owners, Afikomen Judaica, Bookshop & Gifts
Berkeley
Democrats must pick a side
Scott Wiener was harassed during a transgender event (“Jewish leaders rally in Scott Wiener’s defense over harassment,” June 29). Even his pandering that Israel is committing genocide is not enough to make him acceptable in the eyes of the Israel haters (“Wiener explains his ‘painful’ decision to call Israel’s war a genocide,” Jan. 12). Where are our national Democratic leaders to condemn such behavior as un-American? With the election of radical progressives to Congress in the N.Y. primary, the Democrats will be forced to confront which side of morality and decency they will side with. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should define the boundaries. If not, the Israel haters will be doing it for them.
Jeff Saperstein
Mill Valley
Israel’s missing constitution
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Had generations of Israelis been raised to respect a constitution and a bill of rights for all human beings, the racism in Israeli society might have been diminished. The indifference to the genocide perpetuated in Gaza and the daily crimes against Palestinians by the West Bank settlers might also have been prosecuted.
Any positive results that Zionism brought 80 years ago is stained by violence, ethnic cleansing and racism.
George Z. Banks
San Leandro