Washington, D.C. – The Jewish Federations of North America applaud the United States Congress for passing resolutions that support Israel’s right to exist. With majority support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is clear that the America stands with Israel at this difficult time.
More than two dozen American Jewish communal leaders are currently touring communities in Southern Israel in an emergency solidarity mission of the Jewish Federations across North America (JFNA). The mission is an effort to visit locales directly affected by rocket attack and to demonstrate that the North American Jewish community stands alongside the people of Israel at this time.
Hazon, the world’s largest Jewish environmental organization, joins the North County Jewish Hub, a Leichtag Foundation Initiative based at the Ranch in Encinitas. Hazon, Hebrew for vision, was founded in 2000 in New York, and adds North County San Diego to its regions alongside Philadelphia, Boulder/Denver, and San Francisco, as well as the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in the Connecticut Berkshires.
Washington, D.C. – The 2014 Health and Long-Term Care Summit brought health care leaders from across the country together this week for two days of strategic thinking, planning and advocacy. Convened by The Jewish Federations of North America, the HLTC Summit brought together lay and professional leaders from a wide range of fields to discuss pressing health topics; among them Medicare & Medicaid reform and behavioral health information technology.
New York – Following a long and often contentious process, the membership of the Modern Language Association (MLA) announced today that the membership failed to ratify a resolution criticizing Israel for “denials of entry to the West Bank by U.S. academics” traveling to Palestinian universities. The Israel Action Network (IAN) applauded the membership for “choosing to honor academic freedom and integrity by refusing to ratify this baseless and discriminatory resolution.”
Former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was honored by hundreds of dignitaries from around the world as the inaugural Genesis Prize Laureate at a ceremony at the Jerusalem Theatre. The evening’s celebration was emceed by the iconic comedian Jay Leno.
In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, the Senate passed with unanimous consent a resolution honoring the contributions of Holocaust survivors to the United States. The Jewish Federations of North America lauded the Senate for passing the resolution, noting with pride the work being done in coordination with the federal government to assist and provide for survivors living in need.
The Genesis Prize Foundation announced that the inaugural Genesis Prize Laureate, Mr. Michael R. Bloomberg, has chosen to invest the $1 million award to create a global competition, named the Genesis Generation Challenge. The new competition will strive to find – and fund – the next big idea that would measurably better the world.
Speaking in depth publicly for the first time about the possibility of unilateral Israeli action, former ambassador of Israel to the United States Dr. Michael Oren said “Plan B” would constitute Israel’s pro-active, Zionist response in a special address before the Bar-Ilan University Board of Trustees and Ambassador’s Forum.
Teen Emily Dubin processed her experience on the March of the Living with BBYO Passport through a heartfelt, multimedia poem. The poem conveys the impact of the experience through raw emotion and reinforces that this an important experience to have in order to “never forget.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today released the results of an unprecedented worldwide survey of anti-Semitic attitudes. The ADL Global 100: An Index of Anti-Semitism surveyed 53,100 adults in 102 countries and territories in an effort to establish, for the first time, a comprehensive data-based research survey of the level and intensity of anti-Jewish sentiment across the world.
ADL will release the findings of its first-ever global survey of anti-Semitic attitudes in more than 100 countries around the world.
Upon accepting the Ambassador for Humanity award from the USC Shoah Foundation, President Barack Obama stressed Wednesday the importance of providing care and assistance for Holocaust survivors living in need. The Jewish Federations of North America, which has led the effort to implement such programs, applauded the President’s speech and reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to raising funds in support of survivors.
Judith Laikin Elkin’s foundational book on the Jewish communities of Latin America quickly became the standard resource on the topic, and has been updated for the first time in fifteen years.
The David Project hires Dylan Morpurgo, former President of Temple University’s College Democrats, LGBT community activist, and former Israel Uncovered trip participant as their newest Campus Coordinator.
Today, The Jewish Federations of North America made a statement responding to the remarks attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
At a time when Israel is increasingly experiencing negative media coverage due to the breakdown in the peace talks, people throughout the New York region are being urged to attend a special conversation on “How Israel Can Win the PR War.” This event will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 7:30 pm at the Park Avenue Synagogue, 50 East 87th Street, at Madison Avenue. It is being presented by the American Friends of Bar-Ilan University (AFBIU) together with The Jewish Week.
The David Project, an organization dedicated to proactively shaping the conversation on U.S. college campuses about Israel, has announced that Executive Director David Bernstein will be transitioning out of the organization.
Bar-Ilan University had the highest number of women recognized in Women magazine’s Academia and Education categories among all Israeli universities. Women, which is published by the newspaper Makor Rishon, selected 12 Bar-Ilan affiliated women on its recent listing of religious Zionist women in Israel who have reached the highest ranks in their fields.
In the video “A Passover Story: Archaelogy & the Exodus,” Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman, of the Zalman Shamir Bible Department of Bar-Ilan University, discusses how the Book of Exodus and the Passover Hagaddah use the language and imagery of the Egyptian pharaohs in order to explain how Hashem freed the Jewish People. He explains how recent archaeology finds shed greater insights into this issue.
On Sunday evening, April 6, Dr. Robert Stearns will address the Friends of the IDF’s third annual “Saving Lives Gala” in Los Angeles, CA.
Elizabeth Raider, NATIONAL NA’AMAT USA President, has announced that a select group of young and talented members from around the U.S. have returned from a 10 day mission to Israel.
The Union for Reform Judaism has launched an innovative Camper Incentive Program for Jewish Military Families on Active Duty. The program will be offered at the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, Mississippi, which has served more than 10,000 Jewish children since 1970. Incentives vary in amount from $250.00 to $3,000 per child, based on the military rank of the parent(s) and the child’s age.
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino has helped thousands of readers find God, and uncover the truths and legends behind the foundational myths of Judaism. Now, his new book by URJ Press explores one of the best known–and least understood–texts in the Bible: the Ten Commandments.
NFTY, the Reform youth movement, has elected an extraordinary team of leaders for its 75th anniversary year. The new NFTY North American Board for 2014-2015/5774-5775 will be installed during the next NFTY general board meeting in June at URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY.
s the enrollment level of boys surpasses that of girls for the inaugural summer at the URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) has made a $5,000 grant from its YES (Youth, Education, & Special Projects) Fund to provide scholarships for girl participants.
Every imaginable genre of Jewish music is represented in the collection of record albums and sheet music at Temple Judea Museum in Elkins Park, Pa.
The American Technion Society (ATS) has announced that Jeffrey Richard, of Riverdale, N.Y., will become the organization’s new Executive Vice President in May, following a nationwide search. Melvyn H. Bloom, who has led the organization for the past three decades, will become Executive Vice President Emeritus. Mr. Richard, a fundraising professional with more than two …
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This Purim, at a retreat center in Connecticut, Roseanne Barr invoked ancient Jewish tradition in a modern framework and changed three women’s lives in a profound and important way.
Robby Etzkin was a guest at BBYO International Convention 2014, which brought together nearly 2,000 Jewish teens from 20 countries, including a delegation from NFTY. Inclusive Jewish teen collaboration like this, without borders, is a clear, emerging and positive trend.
Speaking in New York City, Rabbi Daniel Sperber decried what he views as the “radical move to the extreme right” by many rabbis dealing with get issues. A world-renowned Torah scholar at Bar-Ilan University, Sperber said compassionate solutions should be found within Jewish law to help agunot.
Experiences that blend Jewish learning with the outdoors, food, and environment are attracting a growing number of diverse Jews to meaningful and inspiring Jewish life, reports the first-ever national survey on Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE) —Seeds of Opportunity: A National Study of Immersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE). The report, released today by a group of six major funders and Hazon, examines the history, programs, professionals, and participants that comprise JOFEE experiences. Leaders of JOFEE are eager to share the key findings and continue a conversation about its potential for growth and for Jewish engagement.
New York – The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has established the Ukraine Assistance Fund as an initial response to the situation in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced, during her recent visit to Israel and after discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Germany will dramatically
expand its Ghetto pension (ZRBG) program by eliminating all deadlines associated with this program.
Washington, D.C. – Today, a new tax reform plan was unveiled in the House of Representatives that could significantly decrease contributions to America’s charities. The Jewish Federations of North America questioned the need for several provisions that would negatively impact giving in the bill proposed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), saying that the proposal would impact the ability of the charitable sector to help those most in need.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed concern that hundreds of copies of literature written by and about Anne Frank, the most internationally known Holocaust victim, were vandalized in public libraries across Tokyo.
Adherents of the sovereign citizen movement are forming their own vigilante “grand juries” in counties across the United States in an attempt to exact pressure on local government officials to accede to their anti-government demands and whims.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors domestic anti-government groups and reports on their activities, has noted with concern the attempted formation of numerous so-called “common law grand juries” or people’s grand juries” in various counties across the country.
With Earth Day falling on the Eighth Day of Passover this year, Hazon has announced ‘Eco-Passover’ as the theme for Isabella Freedman’s annual Passover Retreat, both to enjoy the holiday and to explore the relevance of Passover to our collective responsibility to care for the planet.
The “must see Jewish show of the millennium” concludes its run Mar. 9, 2014.
Abraham H. Foxman today announced he will step down from his position as National Director of the Anti-Defamation League on July 20, 2015, bringing to a close a 50-year career in Jewish communal service.
Former NASA astronaut, NASA Ames Research Center chief scientist, Ramon Foundation officials join together at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University to prepare launch of Ramon Campus in memory of Israeli Astronaut Ilan Ramon.
Economic independence and protecting the rights of people with disabilities at home and abroad were the top items on the agenda today as disability advocates from across the country converged on Capitol Hill for the fourth annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day. The Jewish Disability Network’s members and advocates met with congressional representatives to convey the necessity of passing the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act and approving the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
2014 Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Award contest deadline is May 10, 2014.
Diverse group of Jewish educational organizations and initiatives awarded grants totaling $1.6 million; approximately $1.8 million to be disbursed in 2014.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on Facebook to remove a “Jewish Ritual Murder” page that has been the subject of public criticism.
A new tool from the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance is turning a millenia old practice into something accessible to everyone. JOFA’s Megillat Esther App (available for iOS and Android) is a one stop shop for learning the trope, practicing entire portions and reading Hebrew and English translations of the text. Gone are the days of sitting …
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended the Italian authorities for their strong condemnation of two anti-Semitic incidents in which pig heads were sent to a Rome synagogue, the Jewish Museum of Rome and the Israeli embassy on January 25, two days before International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In response to reports of anti-Semitism in the Pine Bush, N.Y. school district and elsewhere in the town, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has brought its Confronting Anti-Semitism program to Orange County in an effort to empower and equip the local Jewish community with constructive and effective responses to anti-Semitic incidents and stereotypes.
The Jewish Federations applauded the White House appointment of Aviva Sufian as the Department of Health and Human Services’ Special Envoy for U.S. Holocaust Survivor Services, while also unveiling a new national Federation effort to boost community programs for Holocaust survivors, led by veteran Federation philanthropist Mark Wilf of New Jersey.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep concern about recent violent attacks on visibly identifiable Jews in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Saying the Economist“cannot repair the damage of publishing an anti-Semitic image with only half-measures,” the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on the editors to issue a full-throated apology for an editorial cartoon depicting President Obama as hindered in his efforts to reach an agreement with Iran by the machinations of a United States Congress under the control of a nefarious Jewish lobby.
Washington Jewish Week, owned and operated by WJW Media Group, an award-winning publication serving the Jewish community for the most powerful city in the world — is seeking a dynamic editor to be the face of the publication and lead its editorial team.
Award recognizes outstanding young community leader.
The Anti-Defamation League welcomed the introduction of legislation to revive and strengthen important provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Last year, in Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key portions of the VRA, essentially gutting the heart of the law. The legislation introduced yesterday, H.R. 3899/S. 1945, known as the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, among other things creates a new formula to determine which states and jurisdictions will have to “pre-clear” voting changes with the federal government.
In response to a surge in digital downloads of e-book editions of Adolf Hitler’s biographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, and in anticipation of the expiration of the book’s Bavarian copyright in 2015, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has made available on its website a digital version of an introduction to the English translation written by Holocaust survivor and ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman.
The Senate Special Committee on Aging today heard Holocaust survivors, their family members and Jewish community professionals call for social services to help low-income survivors live in comfort and dignity in their homes and communities. The Jewish Federations of North America praised the committee’s Chairman, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Ranking Member, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), for convening the panel on this pressing issue.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and MyJewishLearning (MJL) announced their intention to merge the two organizations.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed outrage and disappointment over the one-sided roundtable discussion convened at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association (MLA), which supported an academic boycott against Israel.
ZOA calls for boycotting her movie.
The Zionist Organization of America has opened a Northern New Jersey office, located in Hackensack, and named Laura Fein, Esq. as its new Executive Director.
High schoolers participate in hands-on community service projects for Young Judaea’s Alternative Winter Break.
NEW YORK, Dec. 26, 2013 – The Jewish Museum in New York City is launching the first annual JM26, a thought-provoking and entertaining list of 26 events, people, and ideas that have made a mark in 2013. From an activist bar mitzvah boy arguing for marriage equality to limited edition Katz’s Deli sneakers and President …
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a U.S.- and European-designated terrorist group and armed wing of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah, the dominant party controlling the Palestinian Authority (PA), has threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to extort the release by Israel of convicted and jailed Palestinian terrorists in Israel.
After winning their recent UN Innovation Award, US-based non-profit Innovation: Africa (iA) was honored yet again, this time with the Wharton School’s Social Media Leadership Award in the category of Nation Branding. They were recognized along with other leaders in the field such as American Airlines, Dell and Chase.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cornell University President David J. Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie today formally executed a 99-year lease between the City of New York and Cornell Tech, which will pave the way for construction of the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, exactly two years after Cornell and academic …
The Zionist Organization of America calls the ASA vote “a vicious, discriminatory movement seeking the extinction of Jewish national rights and the Jewish state of Israel.”
URJ commits $1 million to drive participation in youth engagement strategies, announces $1 million more from outside donors
The interim nuclear agreement between the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States as well as Germany) and Iran is a disaster, writes ZOA National President Morton A. Klein.
Youth engagement, partnerships, inclusion, Israel-Diaspora relations and religious pluralism were key themes
Following an unusual and troubling process over the past few weeks, the American Studies Association (ASA) today announced its endorsement of a resolution by its National Council to institute an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions by the organization. The decision represents a narrow fraction of overall members, approximately less than 20 percent of ASA membership took part in the vote. Further, it follows a condemnation of the boycott by eight former presidents. Geri Palast, Managing Director of The Israel Action Network (IAN), a strategic initiative of The Jewish Federations of North America in partnership with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, issued the following statement.
Hazon has received a grant from the Leichtag Foundation to place a staff person at the North County Jewish Hub located at the Ranch in Encinitas, a property recently purchased by the Leichtag Foundation that serves as a nexus of sustainable agriculture, social justice, and community development.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today reacted to a broadcast on Romanian public television featuring Christmas carolers singing a folk tune about the “damn kikes” who should be burned, saying the segment was a “perverse” display and “reminiscent of the anti-Semitism that pervaded Romania prior to and during the war, which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Holocaust.”
Rabbi David Hartman, z”l, Honored Posthumously with Reform Movement’s Highest Honor
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) welcomed Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) Centennial luncheon to launch an initiative together with the Jewish community to address the needs of Holocaust survivors living in poverty in the United States. This announcement follows years of conversations between the White House, Members of Congress, and Jewish Federations and Jewish Family and Children’s Service agencies to address the social service needs of Holocaust survivors through fundraising and legislative efforts such as the RUSH Act.
URJ Biennial and WRJ Assembly to Inspire Nearly 5,000 Participants
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the decision by Italian authorities to expel former Klansman and avowed white supremacist David Duke from the country based on what the court described as his “socially dangerous racist and anti-Semitic views.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today mourned the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela, the courageous leader who dedicated his life to ending apartheid and building a free, multiracial and democratic South Africa and, by example, a more equal world.
Elie and Marion Wiesel, the husband-and-wife team whose courageous crusade against forces of hatred and intolerance has spanned many decades, crises and continents, and who continue to exercise tremendous moral leadership on the international stage, have been honored by the Anti-Defamation League with its distinguished ADL Jabotinsky Award for Courageous Jewish Leadership.
Today, in a move condemned by numerous prominent academic scholars throughout the country, including eight former presidents and multiple ASA prize winners, the National Council of the of the American Studies Association (ASA), its governing body, recommended that its membership adopt an “ill-advised” resolution supporting an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions and scholars in a vote to be completed by December 15, 2013. The Israel Action Network (IAN), a strategic initiative of The Jewish Federations of North America in partnership with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, issued the following statement.
ZOA questions why AIPAC urges no criticism of Obama administration Iran deal & claims deal merely a “difference of strategy.”
On the fourth anniversary of Alan Gross’ incarceration, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today renewed its call on the Cuban government to release him on humanitarian grounds.
50 lone soldiers and over 200 young professional Olim celebrated “Thanksgivukkah” at a festive event organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh and White City Shabbat.
PM Netanyahu Spoke By Video, Jim Tisch, Ken Bialkin Co-Chairs
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today presented its annual analysis of hate crime response in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region and called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to ensure that the fight against hate crime remains squarely on the OSCE agenda.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led a coalition of organizations filing an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in McCullen v. Coakley, a case involving the constitutionality of a Massachusetts law creating a buffer zone around reproductive health clinics.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed profound disappointment at the failure of more than 25 percent of the nation’s law enforcement agencies to provide the FBI with their hate crime numbers, calling the lack of participation by many jurisdictions “a significant setback in the progress our nation has made in hate crime data collection over the past decade.”
BBYO, the world’s leading pluralistic Jewish youth movement, engaged nearly 7,000 teens in 32 communities across North America at pre-screenings of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” to raise awareness about hunger.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today denounced a letter issued by Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh to university students, which was sent in response to a fascist-style demonstration on the institution’s campus on November 5th.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein says, “J Street is supporting an approach that is harmful to the vital security interests of both the United States and Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the latest harsh rhetoric coming from Iran’s supreme leader, in which he referred to Israel as an unclean rabid dog and a threat to the world, “casts an ugly pall” over the nuclear negotiations currently taking place in Geneva.
Al-Quds Pres. Sari Nusseibeh: “No Jew Will Be Allowed In Palestine.”
New York, NY – The eight day holiday of Hanukkah begins at sundown on Wednesday, November 27th. The Jewish Museum’s Hanukkah app, which debuted in 2012 and has now been expanded, is available for free in the App Store and on Google Play. The app is perfect for those without a menorah, travelers, students, or …
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In a time where the Jewish community is once again shaking its head and wracking its brain in light of a Pew Study that shows that the Jewish community is increasingly disassociating itself with Judaism itself in terms of ritual and observance, a program like Blues for Challah – the Jewish Grateful DeadFest – stands to shift from novelty to strategy.
8th Night for Ethan – a series of Hanukkah fundraising events to help the family of a URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute camper who suffered a severe brain injury from a lightning strike.
November 18, 2013, New York City – Ofir Ben Shitrit, the 18-year-old Israeli singing sensation whose participation in The Voice led to her suspension from her religious school, will be performing at the upcoming international conference of JOFA, The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance on December 7 at John Jay College. Ben Shitrit, whose second-place win …
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Renowned Speakers and Innovative Sessions Focus on Food Justice, Jewish Cooking
The URJ General Disaster Relief Fund is collecting donations that will be distributed to aid groups working in affected areas.
The second session of the Knesset Caucus for Israel-US relations, held by M.K Dr. Nachman Shai in cooperation with the Ruderman Family Foundation, was held on November 12, 2013 at the Knesset in Jerusalem. The session focused on “Jewish Dialogue 2013: What are the boundaries and limitations?” Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Rabbi David Stav were guest speakers. These are Rabbi Jacobs’ remarks.
In response to the deadly typhoon in the Philippines that has already left tens of thousands of innocent victims dead and countless others suffering, members of the worldwide medical community have joined together to do all they can to lend a helping hand. Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has pledged to do everything in the organization’s power to aid in medical relief for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.