Building Jewish Communal Understanding: Navigating Immigration Today
A Four-Part Webinar Series
A four-part webinar series designed to help Jewish communal leaders, professionals, and community members better understand the complex and evolving landscape of immigration policy and enforcement.
Rooted in Jewish values and responsive to current realities, this series explores how this issue intersects with communal life, legal systems, and faith-based institutions—especially within Washington State.
Webinar Dates
All programs will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 pm.
April 15, 2026
April 22, 2026
May 6, 2026
May 13, 2026
After registering, you will receive links to the sessions you select.
Session Information
Grounded in Jewish text and tradition, this session explores the moral and ethical frameworks that inform Jewish approaches to immigration. Featuring leaders from different streams of Judaism, participants will reflect on how Jewish values shape communal responses in today’s political and social climate.
Access the recorded webinar here.
Rabbi Jill Borodin has been the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom since 2005. She is a native of Toronto, Canada, and graduated with a joint honors degree in Jewish and Middle East Studies from McGill University. In 2001, she was ordained as a Conservative rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and received her Master of Arts in Jewish Education. Rabbi Borodin has lived in Canada, Israel, France and the United States and volunteered with the Jewish community in Romania under the auspices of the Joint Distribution Committee. Currently, Rabbi Borodin is on the executive committee of the Rabbinical Assembly and is a co-chair of the Rabbinic Circle of American Friends of Leket, as well as serving on the executive committee of the Washington Coalition of Rabbis (WCR). She is an alumna of the American Jewish World Service Rabbinic Fellowship. Prior to coming to Seattle, Rabbi Borodin was the Rav Sheni at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Rabbi Borodin likes to read, dance, bike, and work with clay. She lives with her husband in the North End of Seattle.
Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg is a Reconstructionist rabbi and the Senior Rabbi and Director of Education at Kol Ami: A Center for Jewish Life in Kirkland, Washington. With more than 25 years of experience—including service as a hospital chaplain specializing in end-of-life care—she brings warmth, depth, and a steady presence to her work. Rabbi Kinberg is passionate about creating Jewish spaces that are alive, inclusive, and rooted in connection—where people can show up fully as themselves and grow in meaning, community, and purpose. Drawing on her background as the child of a rabbi and the descendant of a Moroccan Israeli immigrant, she weaves tradition, justice, and creativity into everything she does.
Rabbi Ronit Tsadok is the Director of Project Kavod at Jewish Family Service of Seattle (JFS), where she develops and leads community engagement and education initiatives. She joined JFS in 2024 after serving for over 12 years as a rabbi at IKAR in Los Angeles, where she found a passion for creating Jewish community rooted in belonging, tradition and justice. She is excited to bring these values to her work at JFS.
This session examines how federal immigration enforcement actions affect Jewish communal institutions. Join us to learn about the unique challenges of this moment and how Jewish Family Service and Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW are responding.
Recording available upon request. Please reach out to jcrc@jewishinseattle.org for access.
Griff Lambert is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direct oversight to all client services. This includes ensuring programs deliver a comprehensive suite of high-quality, integrated, and trauma-informed services. Griff also continually assesses JFS’s suite of programming, seeking opportunities to enhance client impact and meet community needs. Griff has served in six different roles over 17 years at JFS. Prior to his current role, Griff served as Director of Strategy, Data, & Performance. Griff spent his first six years at JFS working in the Refugee & Immigrant Services program. He started as an AmeriCorps service member, coordinating volunteers and furniture donations. Griff received his Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Whitman College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Andrea Soroko Naar is the Executive Director of the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest and co-founded the Jewish Coalition in 2017 with the goal of raising the engagement of Jewish and multifaith communities. Andrea believes that telling our stories, seeing systems up close, taking action together, and showing solidarity is how we build the world we wish to see – a world where all of us can thrive.
Focused on Washington State, this session provides an overview of the state’s legal system(s) and the impact on immigrant communities. Participants will learn about state laws, and how Washington state’s Attorney General, legislature, and local law enforcement are responding.
Recording available upon request. Please reach out to jcrc@jewishinseattle.org for access.
Senator Javier Valdez is a dedicated public servant and community leader, deeply rooted in a legacy of farmworkers and laborers. A proud product of public education, Javier holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College, City University of New York, where he participated in the National Urban Fellows program.
As the state senator for Washington’s 46th Legislative District, Javier has championed key issues such as gun safety, hate crimes, and election integrity. His notable achievements include establishing a hate crimes hotline, enacting anti-swatting laws, banning weapons in public places frequented by families, and prohibiting ghost guns—untraceable, 3D-printed firearms. He also played a key supporting role in efforts to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Javier currently serves as chair of the State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections Committee and is a member of the Law and Justice and Transportation committees.
Javier has dedicated over two decades to public service in Seattle, currently serving as a senior equity and inclusion advisor. His previous roles include leading Seattle City Light’s Women and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) program and serving as a special assistant on WMBE initiatives in the mayor’s office.
Enoka Herat is the Policy Director in Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown’s Administration. She has worked alongside immigrant rights and police accountability advocates across the state, making WA a more humane place to live for all of us. Prior to the AG’s office, Enoka was Policing and Immigration Policy Program Director with the ACLU-WA for nearly eight years, where she helped create landmark legislation around immigration, police tactics, and use of force. Enoka received her Juris Doctor at University of Washington and her bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University. Enoka is the proud daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, and lives in Beacon Hill, Seattle with her husband and two kids.
This session explores how houses of worship and faith-based institutions navigate immigration-related issues within sacred spaces. Topics include sanctuary policies, safety planning, pastoral care, and the balance between spiritual mission and legal realities. Participants will learn from local faith leaders about how they are navigating this moment.
Joanne Engquist is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America currently serving in downtown Seattle with Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Gethsemane is the city’s oldest Lutheran church, having begun in 1885 when it was a church of Swedish immigrants. Today Gethsemane thrills to welcome people from all the world, including neighbors from across town: in low-cost apartments above the church, in a multifaith network providing accompaniment for immigrant neighbors at risk of detention and deportation, as a church seeking justice and peace, proclaiming love and welcome at its core, and as host for a new community hub serving the needs of our wider neighborhood.
Thirty-seven years ago Pr Joanne began her ministry serving a tiny congregation in the woods of Maine. She then served for fifteen years as pastor and university chaplain in the urban jungle of Boston-Cambridge. She taught for many years at Harvard Divinity School and says that she learned even more alongside those who operated in their church building what was then the only student-run emergency shelter for people experiencing houselessness. Then and now, she loves agitating for justice not solely in church but in the community.
Robert Perretz-Rosales has been a member of Temple Beth Hatfiloh for almost twenty-five years and has been actively involved with the Immigration Task Force and related groups since 2016. This includes the Mosqueteers, who stand in support of our Muslim neighbors each week during Friday prayers. In 2019, Temple Beth Hatfiloh provided sanctuary for a Guatemalan mother and her son. Robert’s wife is an immigrant from Argentina and both his maternal grandparents immigrated from Ukraine. As a Jew, Robert sees this moment as a call to defend those facing persecution in ways that feel all too familiar. Professionally, Robert worked as a family therapist in Olympia for over thirty years.
Dr. Jasmit Singh is a Washington State community leader, civil rights advocate, and technology entrepreneur who has lived in the state since 2002. He is the founder and board member of the Sikh Coalition, created in response to anti-Sikh violence and discrimination following September 11, 2001. Since then, the organization has become the nation’s largest Sikh American advocacy and community development organization, focused on civil rights, education, and community empowerment.
In Washington State, Jasmit has led coalition-building and anti-hate initiatives in partnership with organizations including OneAmerica, and has served on the boards of the Wing Luke Museum and Asian Counseling and Referral Service. He also serves on the Interfaith Leadership Council of the Faith Action Network. Jasmit is also the founder of Khalsa Gurmat Center, which focuses on youth education and civic engagement. Professionally, he is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Pixatel Systems and principal of Eflow Systems, where he has worked with Washington State agencies on technology modernization initiatives.
Session Information
Grounded in Jewish text and tradition, this session explores the moral and ethical frameworks that inform Jewish approaches to immigration. Featuring leaders from different streams of Judaism, participants will reflect on how Jewish values shape communal responses in today’s political and social climate.
Access the recorded webinar here.
Rabbi Jill Borodin has been the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom since 2005. She is a native of Toronto, Canada, and graduated with a joint honors degree in Jewish and Middle East Studies from McGill University. In 2001, she was ordained as a Conservative rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and received her Master of Arts in Jewish Education. Rabbi Borodin has lived in Canada, Israel, France and the United States and volunteered with the Jewish community in Romania under the auspices of the Joint Distribution Committee. Currently, Rabbi Borodin is on the executive committee of the Rabbinical Assembly and is a co-chair of the Rabbinic Circle of American Friends of Leket, as well as serving on the executive committee of the Washington Coalition of Rabbis (WCR). She is an alumna of the American Jewish World Service Rabbinic Fellowship. Prior to coming to Seattle, Rabbi Borodin was the Rav Sheni at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Rabbi Borodin likes to read, dance, bike, and work with clay. She lives with her husband in the North End of Seattle.
Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg is a Reconstructionist rabbi and the Senior Rabbi and Director of Education at Kol Ami: A Center for Jewish Life in Kirkland, Washington. With more than 25 years of experience—including service as a hospital chaplain specializing in end-of-life care—she brings warmth, depth, and a steady presence to her work. Rabbi Kinberg is passionate about creating Jewish spaces that are alive, inclusive, and rooted in connection—where people can show up fully as themselves and grow in meaning, community, and purpose. Drawing on her background as the child of a rabbi and the descendant of a Moroccan Israeli immigrant, she weaves tradition, justice, and creativity into everything she does.
Rabbi Ronit Tsadok is the Director of Project Kavod at Jewish Family Service of Seattle (JFS), where she develops and leads community engagement and education initiatives. She joined JFS in 2024 after serving for over 12 years as a rabbi at IKAR in Los Angeles, where she found a passion for creating Jewish community rooted in belonging, tradition and justice. She is excited to bring these values to her work at JFS.
This session examines how federal immigration enforcement actions affect Jewish communal institutions. Join us to learn about the unique challenges of this moment and how Jewish Family Service and Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW are responding.
Recording available upon request. Please reach out to jcrc@jewishinseattle.org for access.
Griff Lambert is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direct oversight to all client services. This includes ensuring programs deliver a comprehensive suite of high-quality, integrated, and trauma-informed services. Griff also continually assesses JFS’s suite of programming, seeking opportunities to enhance client impact and meet community needs. Griff has served in six different roles over 17 years at JFS. Prior to his current role, Griff served as Director of Strategy, Data, & Performance. Griff spent his first six years at JFS working in the Refugee & Immigrant Services program. He started as an AmeriCorps service member, coordinating volunteers and furniture donations. Griff received his Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Whitman College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Andrea Soroko Naar is the Executive Director of the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest and co-founded the Jewish Coalition in 2017 with the goal of raising the engagement of Jewish and multifaith communities. Andrea believes that telling our stories, seeing systems up close, taking action together, and showing solidarity is how we build the world we wish to see – a world where all of us can thrive.
Focused on Washington State, this session provides an overview of the state’s legal system(s) and the impact on immigrant communities. Participants will learn about state laws, and how Washington state’s Attorney General, legislature, and local law enforcement are responding.
Recording available upon request. Please reach out to jcrc@jewishinseattle.org for access.
Senator Javier Valdez is a dedicated public servant and community leader, deeply rooted in a legacy of farmworkers and laborers. A proud product of public education, Javier holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College, City University of New York, where he participated in the National Urban Fellows program.
As the state senator for Washington’s 46th Legislative District, Javier has championed key issues such as gun safety, hate crimes, and election integrity. His notable achievements include establishing a hate crimes hotline, enacting anti-swatting laws, banning weapons in public places frequented by families, and prohibiting ghost guns—untraceable, 3D-printed firearms. He also played a key supporting role in efforts to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Javier currently serves as chair of the State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections Committee and is a member of the Law and Justice and Transportation committees.
Javier has dedicated over two decades to public service in Seattle, currently serving as a senior equity and inclusion advisor. His previous roles include leading Seattle City Light’s Women and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) program and serving as a special assistant on WMBE initiatives in the mayor’s office.
Enoka Herat is the Policy Director in Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown’s Administration. She has worked alongside immigrant rights and police accountability advocates across the state, making WA a more humane place to live for all of us. Prior to the AG’s office, Enoka was Policing and Immigration Policy Program Director with the ACLU-WA for nearly eight years, where she helped create landmark legislation around immigration, police tactics, and use of force. Enoka received her Juris Doctor at University of Washington and her bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University. Enoka is the proud daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, and lives in Beacon Hill, Seattle with her husband and two kids.
This session explores how houses of worship and faith-based institutions navigate immigration-related issues within sacred spaces. Topics include sanctuary policies, safety planning, pastoral care, and the balance between spiritual mission and legal realities. Participants will learn from local faith leaders about how they are navigating this moment.
Joanne Engquist is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America currently serving in downtown Seattle with Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Gethsemane is the city’s oldest Lutheran church, having begun in 1885 when it was a church of Swedish immigrants. Today Gethsemane thrills to welcome people from all the world, including neighbors from across town: in low-cost apartments above the church, in a multifaith network providing accompaniment for immigrant neighbors at risk of detention and deportation, as a church seeking justice and peace, proclaiming love and welcome at its core, and as host for a new community hub serving the needs of our wider neighborhood.
Thirty-seven years ago Pr Joanne began her ministry serving a tiny congregation in the woods of Maine. She then served for fifteen years as pastor and university chaplain in the urban jungle of Boston-Cambridge. She taught for many years at Harvard Divinity School and says that she learned even more alongside those who operated in their church building what was then the only student-run emergency shelter for people experiencing houselessness. Then and now, she loves agitating for justice not solely in church but in the community.
Robert Perretz-Rosales has been a member of Temple Beth Hatfiloh for almost twenty-five years and has been actively involved with the Immigration Task Force and related groups since 2016. This includes the Mosqueteers, who stand in support of our Muslim neighbors each week during Friday prayers. In 2019, Temple Beth Hatfiloh provided sanctuary for a Guatemalan mother and her son. Robert’s wife is an immigrant from Argentina and both his maternal grandparents immigrated from Ukraine. As a Jew, Robert sees this moment as a call to defend those facing persecution in ways that feel all too familiar. Professionally, Robert worked as a family therapist in Olympia for over thirty years.
Dr. Jasmit Singh is a Washington State community leader, civil rights advocate, and technology entrepreneur who has lived in the state since 2002. He is the founder and board member of the Sikh Coalition, created in response to anti-Sikh violence and discrimination following September 11, 2001. Since then, the organization has become the nation’s largest Sikh American advocacy and community development organization, focused on civil rights, education, and community empowerment.
In Washington State, Jasmit has led coalition-building and anti-hate initiatives in partnership with organizations including OneAmerica, and has served on the boards of the Wing Luke Museum and Asian Counseling and Referral Service. He also serves on the Interfaith Leadership Council of the Faith Action Network. Jasmit is also the founder of Khalsa Gurmat Center, which focuses on youth education and civic engagement. Professionally, he is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Pixatel Systems and principal of Eflow Systems, where he has worked with Washington State agencies on technology modernization initiatives.
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A four-part webinar series designed to help Jewish communal leaders, professionals, and community members better understand the complex and evolving landscape of immigration policy and enforcement.
