A SPECIAL GREETING TO THE JEWISH-IDENTIFIED ADULT CHILDREN AND OTHER DESCENDANTS OF INTERMARRIAGE

Dear Friends:

Shalom! (Peace!)

A warm welcome to you from the Half-Jewish Network. Many of you have made very long and difficult spiritual and cultural journeys to reach this point.

We thank you for giving us the chance to meet you, and look forward to getting acquainted with you.

Whether you have a Jewish father (patrilineal Jews) or a Jewish mother (matrilineal Jews), please know that we consider you to be Jewish, if that is how you have decided to identify.

We wish to assure patrilineal Jews that we are very aware of the status problems you have in the Conservative and Orthodox movements and in Israel, and that we are committed to working on those issues.

We also wish to assure both patrilineal and matrilineal Jews that we are equally aware of the status problems that some of you have in the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, because you were not raised as Jews.

We are also wish to assure matrilineal Jews that we are fully cognizant of the fact that some of you have received nearly the same lack of acceptance from many Jewish groups that patrilineals Jews have received, even from Jewish groups that claim to believe in "matrilineal descent."

We are also aware that some of you have had no problems at all being accepted as Jewish by your particular Jewish community, but you would like to get to know other people who share your family background and connect with them.

Whether you are a patrilineal Jew or a matrilineal Jew, we are delighted that you have contacted us. The Half-Jewish Network believes that as we get to know each other, we can find support, acceptance, validation, and figure out better ways to deal with  the difficulties that we experience in the Jewish community.

Let's not forget socializing and schmoozing, of course!

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