INTERFAITH
As the product of an interfaith background, Rabbi Bassin knows firsthand how relationships with people from other faith communities can be transformative. Far from diluting her commitment to Judaism, encounters with difference have helped her better understand and appreciate her own tradition.
Rabbi Bassin has been invited to share her expertise in interfaith work in a variety of settings. She taught a semester course on community relations at the Hebrew Union College School of Nonprofit Management. She was a civilian diplomat with a State Department delegation to England and France exploring the role of religious communities in countering extremism. She presented at an international interfaith conference in Doha, Qatar on best practices in grassroots interfaith work. And she has spoken at many communal events including at the annual Muslim Public Affairs Council convention where she spoke on anti-Semitism and rising hate in America.
At the personal level,
Rabbi Bassin believes it vital not just to welcome interfaith families, but to celebrate how they strengthen the Jewish community by imbuing us with new energy, diversity, and perspective. It is a philosophy rooted all the way back to her undergraduate thesis on interfaith marriage in which she challenged the Reform movement’s ambivalent position of welcoming interfaith couples while officially disapproving of interfaith marriage. All of her life cycle counseling and teaching — from weddings, to baby namings, to her Introduction to Judaism course — are designed to help families reach informed decisions that are best for them and their circumstances. Rabbi Bassin was proud to staff one of the earliest Honeymoon Israel trips geared toward creating community for interfaith families.
At the communal level, her emphasis on interfaith work has translated into building cross-communal relationships in order to strengthen our civic fabric. As the inaugural executive director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, Rabbi Bassin helped build a network of hundreds of Muslim and Jewish leaders trained with the skills to engage in difficult conversations and work through conflict toward shared goals.
Selected Media Coverage of Rabbi Bassin’s Interfaith Work:
Interview with Krista Tippet (On Being)
“A Jew and a Muslim? L.A.-based NewGround wants to show we can all get along” (Jewish Journal)
“Reimagining Muslim-Jewish Relations” (Reform Judaism Magazine, p.52)
“Temple and mosque collaboration seeks to become a national interfaith model” (KPCC)
“California Group Helps Young Muslims, Jews Find Common Ground” (Voice of America)