The discussion will focus on cross-cultural communication, in uncommon and uncomfortable spaces, based on my experience as a Jewish Woman working for a Muslim government. The mindful discussion will look at what’s important to know, remember, and be aware of in building positive cross-cultural relationships— what truly working together looks like.

“Marrying one woman is like eating chicken every day for the rest of your life,” the cultural attaché —a.k.a. my boss—warned the week before my Jewish wedding. I replied, “I Iike chicken.”

Jessica Keith never believed she could walk down an aisle. With crippling anxiety fueled by unpredictable panic attacks, she said, “I can’t” so many times she never thought she’d say “I do.”

After finally setting a wedding date, to Tyrone, her beau eight years, Jessica made the impulsive decision to move away, accepting an offer to work for the Consulate of Kuwait in Los Angeles. The culture was unfamiliar territory—with a lot to unpack—she felt lost in translation.
Adrift in life and at work, nothing seemed to go right. When the rabbi refused to perform an interfaith ceremony, and her grandmother warned, “You can’t marry a Black man,” rather than speak up, Jessica found it easier to bite her tongue. But when she hears on the job, “Jews need not apply,” it shatters her faith in herself.
While illuminating the depths of anxiety and love, Jessica must find the resilience it takes to persevere.

Jessica Keith is a professor of cross-cultural communication at San Diego State University. She graduated from Occidental College and received her master’s degree in international education from the University of San Francisco. She has worked for two foreign governments at the Embassy of Spain and The Consulate of Kuwait. A Community Action Grant from the American Association of University Women was awarded to her to produce her documentary, Beyond Our Boundaries, distributed by Berkely Media. She has been published in the New York Times, Kveller, McSweeney’s, The Nosher, Scary Mommy, Uptown News, Sammiches & Psych Meds, PJ Library, Medium, and BLUNT moms. Publications are chronicled at Jessica’s website, www.jessicakeithwriter.com. Jessica lives in sunny San Diego with her soulmate and their three children, the family’s first generation of Black Jews.

Originally from New York City, Rabbi Jason Nevarez graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and went to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he received his BA. He was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2006, where he earned Master’s degrees in both Hebrew Literature and Religious Education, and was the recipient of a number of scholarships, in addition to several academic prizes in Jewish education. Rabbi Nevarez held residencies in and internships in NY and MI and served Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford, NY for 17 years before becoming the Senior Rabbi and Spiritual Leader of Beth Israel.

Rabbi Nevarez has had a wide variety of articles and writings published both locally and nationally, and continues to be outspoken on ways to combat antisemitism and the importance of building and sustaining multi-faith partnerships.

Praise for Saying Inshallah with Chutzpah

“In a world of increasing division and hatred, this inspiring book holds out a

vision and hope for human renewal and reconciliation.”
—Rabbi Paul Citrin, author of I Am My Prayer: A Memoir and Guide for Jews and Seekers

“Jessica Keith has just the kind of fresh and funny voice that our country needs right now. Timely, sardonic, and insightful, Keith speaks to the heart of cultural questions of belonging, acceptance of what it means to know a person beyond a cultural label. Hilarious and eye-opening!”
—Marni Freedman author of Permission to Roar

“This thoughtful work offers us a model for resilience, while illustrating the best of humanity through humor and other powerful cultural synergies.”

—Rabbi Jason Nevarez of Congregation Beth Israel, San Diego, California “Jessica Keith is a rare voice—one that combines extraordinary sensitivity, deep understanding, expansive curiosity, and genuine authenticity. Hers is a voice to which we should give ear—she expresses a vision of what real human connection ought to look like in our broken and fractured world.”

—Rabbi Dan Levin of Temple Boca Raton