For the individuals, including Mayor Todd Gloria, who have said they will not attend the San Diego Pride Festival over Kehlani’s headlining show, there is now an alternate place to spend the afternoon after the Pride Parade on July 19.
They can head to the J Pride Festival starting at 2 p.m. in La Jolla at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) Jacobs Family Campus, 4126 Executive Drive.
The event includes kosher food trucks, live music, colorful crafts, games, art stations and community tie dye.
The free community event is being put on by prominent Jewish organizations like Temple Emanu-El, Congregation Beth Israel, the Jewish Community Foundation, Leichtag Foundation and Jewish Federation of San Diego.
The J Pride Festival is part of a new J Pride Weekend in support of LGBTQ+ people, both Jewish and not.
On its website, Lawrence Family JCC said this is a chance for the Jewish community to create something new that uplifts LGBTQ+ Jews and allies in a joyful space where everyone can feel seen, safe and proud.
“This is not just a reaction – it’s a declaration. We believe in showing up not in anger, but in purpose. Not to retreat, but to rejoice. We are creating a celebration that honors who we are, the values we hold, and the future we’re building together,” the website reads.
In addition to a community festival on Saturday, J Pride Weekend includes a Shabbat service at 6:15 p.m. July 18 and The Big Gay Brunch at 10 a.m. July 20.
Already, J Pride has backing from Jamul Casino, which donated its $10,000 parade contingent costs to the event and is dropping out of the parade. In a statement, the casino said “Jamul Casino Resort’s position is one that prioritizes its firm commitment to core values such as artistic freedom, equality, diversity and genuine respect for community concerns.”
Jamul Casino is honoring its financial commitments to the San Diego Pride Festival, sponsoring The Movement stage which centers Black musicians and artists, but will not have a physical presence at the parade or festival.
The alternate pride festival emerged after outcry over San Diego Pride’s Saturday headlining performer, Kehlani.
While advocating for Palestine’s autonomy and against genocide amid the war in Gaza, the singer has made perceived antisemitic comments, such as ending a livestream with “It’s f— Israel, its f— Zionism, and it’s also f–k a lot of y’all too.”
In San Diego, 91% of Jews said they believe Israel should exist in a 2022 community study, making a huge majority of the local Jewish population Zionist, according to opinion columnist Sara E. Brown.
Finest Community Coalition, made up of local Jewish organizations including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of San Diego, urged Pride to cancel the show in an open letter sent May 22. The coalition stated, “A celebration of one group should never come at the expense of another. There is no pride in exclusion.”
Signers later dropped out of the festival after Pride did not reverse course.
A month later, the Antisemitism Task Force of San Diego at StandWithUs mounted a pressure campaign called “Pride, not Prejudice” that has so far not seen results from the Pride organization. The list, though, of corporations and nonprofits boycotting the event has grown.
Harrahs, Viejas, UC San Diego, UCSD Health, Meals on Wheels and Mamas Kitchen San Diego are among notable absentees. Some boycotters are choosing to participate in the festival, just not the parade, during a year where the LGBTQ+ community has faced national attacks. Others, like Jamul Casino, will not be at either.
Despite the controversy, San Diego Pride, the nonprofit which puts on the parade and festival, announced that ticket sales are outpacing previous years.
Pride’s Interim Executive Director Kristin Flickinger told KPBS, “Whether someone wants to show up and celebrate or someone wants to show up and speak their mind in disagreement, it’s really important that everyone shows up at this moment when our community is being silenced and erased.”
The anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from Washington and potential for protesters of Kehlani have prompted the organization to increase security, including a new clear bag policy for the festival, additional private security and the presence of legal observers to document interactions between law enforcement and protesters.
For details on J Pride Weekend, visit the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center online.
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