But Rabbi Denise L. Eger, its spiritual leader for the past 12 years, stresses that Kol Ami is not that different from other Reform congregations. There are also differences. Kol Ami holds discussions on spiritual issues affecting gay men, on the breast cancer incidence among Jewish lesbians, and once a month schedules an early Shabbat family service, to which some gay and lesbian congregants bring their children and others their parents. Kol Ami actively participates in the annual Holocaust memorial observance at the Babi Yar monument in Plummer Park. It is the one time when all factions of the city, from bemedaled Russian war veterans to gay activists and American-born Jews gather to mourn their joint losses during the Nazi terror.
People know each other, they are creative and willing to try new things.
Temple Beth El, West Hollywood's grandest and oldest synagogue, which once drew Tinseltown's stars, has been in a sharp membership and physical decline for a long time. Last year, it was purchased by the affluent Iranian community, so in the future a new ethnic strain may join the variegated fabric of West Hollywood. As the city attracts new business and residents, ethnic, cultural and lifestyle strains are being submerged in the face of overriding common problems. With a population density second only to that of New York City, West Hollywood is running out of the affordable apartments that attracted seniors and immigrants in the first place. But topping West Hollywood's headaches are traffic and parking, says Koretz, problems aggravated by massive construction along the city's main artery, Santa Monica Boulevard, to add a median strip, bike lane, landscaping and wider sidewalks.