Weekly Round-up April 1-5
Dear Colleagues,
This Sunday marks six months since the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7th. Jewish Federations joined the Orthodox Union’s campaign to write and hand-deliver 180,000 letters to President Biden highlighting the hostages’ 180 days of captivity.
Our Israel Emergency Campaign has reached nearly $800 million, with over $400 million allocated to date.
We mourn the aid workers from World Central Kitchen who were killed in Gaza this week and welcome the Israeli government’s response, assuming responsibility for the tragic episode and taking concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again. For more, see our most recent Israel Update.
Across the country, Jewish Federations are leading the way in combating antisemitic, anti-Zionist city council resolutions, garnering coverage from Jewish Insider. Evan Bernstein, Vice President for Community Relations, was quoted saying that his office has worked with close to 80 Federations across the country to help stem the tide.
Yesterday’s Community Mobilization Center (CMC) Dispatch focused on the killing–presumably by the IDF–of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, along with his deputy general and five other members of the Revolutionary Guards, the military group that he commanded in Syria and Lebanon. IDF forces, along with Jewish communal security professionals around the globe, are on high alert in the event of a retaliation by Iran against Israel.
National Young Leadership Cabinet will embark next week on its annual Study Mission, this year to Argentina and Uruguay. 183 Cabinet members from 44 communities across North America will witness the impact of Federation philanthropy in South America. The mission is chaired by Haley Trager (Northeast Florida) and Gil Selinger (Colorado). For more information about Cabinet, please connect with Ben Schindler, Managing Director, National Young Leadership Cabinet.
This weekend, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum will sponsor a March on Washington. It will take place on Sunday, April 7 at 2:30 pm at the Washington Monument, and will conclude with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial an hour later.
The latest installment of “The Glue” features Barak Herscowitz, the former head of government relations for TikTok’s Israeli division. Herscowitz pulls back the curtain on the growth of antisemitism in the inner workings of the platform and explains why he decided to resign over this issue. To do your part to help remove TikTok from Chinese ownership, click our Action Alertto urge the Senate to pass the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
On Wednesday, we congratulated the Jewish Future Project on achieving the milestone of 50,000 people who have promised to donate half of their charitable bequests--of whatever amount--to Jewish causes or to the State of Israel.
Black and Jewish communities have come together over the decades to fight hatred and discrimination. At a time when these relationships are strained in many communities, the Jewish Federation of Broward County is fostering dialogue around shared values and creating synergies through its Alcee L. Hastings Broward Black-Jewish Alliance. Read more about the Federation’s approach and the impact of its relationship-building in this week’s impact blog.
For more updates and reminders, please see below.
Calling All Florida Professionals: Palm Beach, Florida is the location of our first in-person regional people management training and networking program, which will take place from Monday, May 20 to Tuesday, May 21. Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County for enabling us to have opportunities for networking, sharing of best practices, and celebration. Open to Florida pros only, but stay tuned for dates and locations of future programs. Register today.
Israel 101: Join us for a five-part online series led by Rabbi Mike Uram for all Federation professionals, beginning on Wednesday, May 8. The series will unpack Israel’s history and delve into key features of Israel and Zionism. No prior knowledge is needed. Register to participate.
Drop-In Jewish Learning - Passover Focus: Learn three tricks to make your seder come to life. Meet with Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek to reflect on preparing for Passover at this stand-alonesession on Tuesday, April 16. Drop in for just five minutes or stay for the whole hour–whatever works for your schedule.
Passover Marketing Resources Package: Take advantage of our Passover resources and also check out the Annual Campaign package we’re launching in May. You can also see an overview of the resources available for the historic, ongoing Israel Emergency Campaign.
Scaling Masterclass, Cohort 6: Expand the reach and effectiveness of your programs by scaling them. If there is evidence of demand for your program or model and you love the idea that this work could blossom in other places, this class, which will be held in Boston from Monday, June 3 to Wednesday, June 5, could be for you. For questions, email Rabbi Dena Shaffer.
JEDI Learning Circle: Standing for justice – for everyone – is at the center of Judaism. The JEDI Learning Circle is a seven-unit course designed to educate the Jewish community on issues of race, diversity, and inclusion in America. The JEDI team is excited to offer a three-part facilitator training for our curriculum. You may nominate yourself and from two to four educators—lay volunteers or professional staff--in your community. Nominations are due by Tuesday, April 9; our first session is on Thursday, April 11. By signing up, you are committing to taking the training AND facilitating it in a local setting (synagogue, taskforce group, staff, committee, etc.) by the end of 2024.
Creating a Culture of Candor & Safety: This two-part series, which is open to all Federation pros, will take place virtually on Wednesday, June 26 and Tuesday, July 23 from 1-2:30pm ET; there will be a separate session for Senior and C-Suite Leaders on Tuesday, August 20. Jewish Federations have received a grant from SRE (Safety, Respect, Equity) Network to provide professional development to create “speak- up” cultures in Federations. Research shows that engagement, productivity, inclusion, and performance all increase in team environments in which people feel safe to raise concerns, share ideas, admit errors, and have constructive disagreements. These sessions, which are taught by workplace climate expert Fran Sepler, will include both practical guidance and Federation-focused case studies. Learn more about his program and register.
Shabbat Shalom,
Shira Hutt
Executive Vice President
Jewish Federations of North America