Jewish LA series – Joyce Linden, “My Family, Los Angeles Deaf Education and the Founding of a Synagogue for the Deaf.”

Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf was the first Reform Temple for the deaf established in the US, and the only Temple for the Deaf west of Chicago.  Both of Joyce Linden’s parents were deaf and were actively involved in the synagogue.  This presentation involves families who emmigrated to the U.S. in the late eighteenth century.  Her grandparents moved to Los Angeles in the very early part of the twentieth century because the Los Angeles Unified School District offered education for deaf children.  She will speak about her Jewish family in the early days of the San Fernando Valley when the Valley consisted mainly of farmland.  Her family has an interesting story of Jews settling in the Valley and creating a synagogue for the deaf.  Joyce Linden is one of the few remaining founding members of Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf and retains the synagogue’s archive.

Biography:
Ms. Joyce Linden, Associate Professor Emeritus received her M.A. in Special Education from California State University, Los Angeles. Professor Linden has been in the field of Deaf Education for 46 years, of which 31 have been at CSUN, preparing teachers of the Deaf and teaching generic Special Education courses. She has held office in such national organizations as the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf and on the Professional Publications Committee of the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf where she is currently a reviewer. She was co-chair of the 2003 statewide convention for California Educators of the Deaf and has done program reviews for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She is a founding member of the interdisciplinary Genetic Counseling Certificate Program and still serves on its Advisory Committee. She served on the Faculty Senate Educational Equity Committee for 6 years, one year as Chair. She has received a University award for her publication, Fingerspelling: Expressive and receptive fluency – A video guide and a guide to the video (1992), which is based on her highly successful fingerspelling workshops that she has presented in 17 states, Canada and The District of Columbia.

 

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June 22, 2025   Jewish LA series – The Jews of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek LA Jewish Connection.

A panel discussion at Temple Ramat Zion.