Myrna Melgar is a lot of things. Elected in November to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, she’s a first-time office holder; the first Latina elected to the board; an immigrant from El Salvador; a descendant of Jewish scholars; a mother; the child of an engineer and a communist militant; and a part of the local Jewish community.
And she says that unique combination is what makes her go.
“That’s like my whole shtick,” she told J. recently, speaking about efforts to bring disparate groups of people together to focus on shared concerns.
“Sometimes in this town we wear our identity, in terms of who’s progressive, who’s moderate, this or that, in ways that are not collaborative, that are more antagonistic,” she said. “And because I’m used to walking in different worlds, I’m also used to engaging with people and finding what we have in common rather than what we disagree on.”
There’s a new synagogue on the scene in San Francisco. It doesn’t have a name yet, but it can trace its roots to 1860 and it owns two buildings.
In November, 90 percent of the members at Congregation Beth Israel Judea and Congregation B’nai Emunah voted in favor of merging their two communities. The plan had been in the works for some time, and the two synagogues have even run a joint religious school since 2012.
Leaders of both congregations say it will lead to greater financial stability, more vibrant events and a more secure future for Jewish life in the southwestern part of San Francisco.