How are you experiencing this moment in your heart, spirit, and body?

In what ways are you navigating belonging among multiple communities?

Join Mariana Pardes and Debórah Eliezer for three participatory sessions inviting Jews at the intersection of multiple perspectives to engage in open-hearted, body-centered, and empathy-led dialogue. 

This series is intended to provide a supportive and brave space in community to express and listen to each other with respect for our shared humanity and dignity. Rooted in liberatory/anti-oppressive values, this circle welcomes a critical analysis of the U.S., Israel, and Hamas, and other actors involved in the Middle East/SWANA region, both currently and historically. Join us if you’re looking for a community to explore difficult questions during this chaotic time of immense pain, grief, loss, and ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine. 

Dates: May 10, 17, 24

Time: Fridays at 10:30am-12pm PT/ 1:30pm-3pm ET

Is this for me? 

At the Intersection is a Jewish-oriented space that celebrates Jewish values, dialogue and perspectives. We recognize that being Jewish encompasses a variety of lived experiences. We respect diversity as integral to Jewish existence and tradition for centuries.  

This group welcomes Jews of all diasporic lineages (Mizrahi, Sephardic, Ashkenazi, etc.), races, and genders, with an explicit invitation to Jews existing at the margins and/or multiple intersections: LGBTQ+ Jews, Arab Jews, Jews of Color, Jews who immigrated to North America within the last one or two generations, Jews who lived in diaspora in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, or Asia, disabled/chronically ill Jews, and working class and mixed-class/class-straddling Jews. We welcome Jews from multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-faith families, and Jews with any orientation to religious observance or non-observance. 

What if I don’t identify as Jewish? 

We welcome those who may not identify as Jewish and are also wrestling with questions around Israel/Palestine and/or benefitting from Western colonization/imperialism. We offer this framework not to be exclusive, but rather to set up a foundation of sufficient common ground to enable participants to share vulnerably in community during this deeply polarizing and traumatic period. 

Why now? 

Mariana and Debórah met years ago in a Jewish affinity room on zoom. After several conversations, they came together to provide this At the Intersection space for somatic healing, dialogue, and to witness each other as we navigate ongoing crisis. We are devastated and heartbroken by the death and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas on October 7, the ongoing death, wounding, and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza due to Israeli bombardment and ground invasions, and the destruction of Palestinian life and homes in both Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli military and settlers. This circle welcomes a critical analysis of the U.S., Israel, and Hamas, and other actors involved in the Middle East/SWANA region, both currently and historically. 

What is the Somatic Approach:  

The body has wisdom and holds the key to our liberation. The word “somatics” is derived from the Greek word “soma” which translates to “the living body in its wholeness.” Our bodies carry information about our experiences in a different way from our minds. Our bodies' nervous systems, muscles, tissues, and cells hold wisdom about how we register and move through the world around us.

We are more than our cognitive selves and somatic practices invite us to discover how life shows up within us, in our bodily responses, in a moment by moment way. Our bodies hold trustworthy information about how we interact with our environment in ways that are often out of reach to our conscious mind. 

Our bodies communicate in the language of physical sensations, movement of energy, imagery, bodily postures and gestures, and colors. With that said, any level of familiarity with somatic practice is welcome.

What are our Guiding Principles: 

A part of informed consent.  This list may not resonate 100% with you. We invite you to self-assess if this container is a “good enough” fit for your participation.

• We practice the Jewish value of holding space for questions, inquiry, and discourse.  

• We welcome a diversity of perspectives, lived experiences, and ancestral histories.  

• We acknowledge the value of respectful tension and disagreement.

• We recognize the intersectionality of identifiers such as Jewish, Arab, SWANA, etc.

• We value personal nuance, multiple truths, and “both/and” viewpoints.

• We make space for grief, anger, stress, rage, pain, shame, anxiety, distress, sadness, hurt, vulnerability, tears.

How do I sign up?
Click on the "Register now!" button. We are offering this series using a tiered sliding scale fee structure: $18/$36/$54/$72. Your ticket includes access to all 3 sessions of the series. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds; contact us if the lowest fee tier is out of your budget. Please keep in mind that ticket purchases at higher tiers enables Aviva Arts and Somatic Support Philly to continue to provide accessible arts and wellness programming for our communities. If you have any questions about the sliding scale format, please refer to this link, or use the following guide to identify which tier represents an equitable exchange given your resources.

Pay less on the scale if you…

• struggle to meet basic needs with your income

• have limited to no savings

• have debt that interferes with meeting basic needs

• have less access to money/income due to abuse or chronic illness

• don’t have a relationship with your family of origin and/or your family of origin can’t offer you financial support, even in cases of emergency.

• are an elder on a limited income

Pay more on the scale if you…

• can consistently meet your basic needs and have disposable income

• have significant personal savings and other assets or investments (home, car, retirement account, pension fund, real estate, etc.)

• have access to financial support from your family of origin in cases of emergency and/or as gifts

• have a college, graduate or professional degree without student loans

• work part-time by choice

Meet Your Facilitators:
Mariana Pardes (she/her) is a queer Ashkenazi Jew who was raised in a class-straddling family that’s experienced recent and multiple transnational migrations over the last 3 generations. Mariana’s grandparents were born in Eastern Europe and found refuge in Argentina both pre– and post–Shoah; her parents were born and raised in Argentina and moved to the U.S. when Mariana was a baby. Mariana is a somatic practitioner in private practice in Philadelphia, PA; she believes that embodied practices are integral to embracing the depth and breadth of our humanity and to nurturing our liberation at personal, collective, and structural levels. Mariana participated in the 2022-2023 Mitsui Collective Kollel and holds an M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from NYU and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Mariana is pursuing a M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology at Temple University. www.somaticphilly.com @somaticphilly

Debórah Eliezer (she/her) is a mixed-identity Arab Jewish artist, activist and California fire survivor. Passionate about the power of human transformation, her work focuses on disrupting assumptions about art, identity, human values and society. She is the Artistic Director of Aviva Arts, an arts and wellness hub for intersectional storytelling, an Associate Artist with Golden Thread, a Mitsui Collective Somatic Jewish Leader Fellow, an artEquity arts facilitator alumna, and proudly serves on the inaugural MENA Theatermakers Alliance board. Debórah has devised numerous world premieres and toured internationally, including writing and performing (dis)Place[d], her solo show about Iraqi Jews. Debórah holds a B.A. Cum Laude in Drama Cum Laude from SFSU, is a certified Sound, Voice Music Healing practitioner from CIIS, and a certified Kaula Tantra Yoga instructor. www.avivaarts.org, @gamma.girl