Dear Friends, Shalom.

On July 12, a cascade of events led Israelis into a war that pitted them against forces that have vowed to eliminate Israel and who consider the Jewish people and Americans, among others, to be infidels. We are now facing a new global reality that puts us in even closer partnership.
 
Almost immediately, UJC and the Federations of North America responded in the way that is core to our mission, mobilizing our communities, documenting needs and taking steps to help immediately. We were there to be counted even before the Israeli government was able to act.
 
The Israel Emergency Campaign has been built upon the solid foundation of our UJC/Federation system. We have raised in excess of $330 million, have reached agreement with the four major movements of Judaism to merge their campaign efforts for the victims with ours, and we have created the possibility of changing the way we do business.

All the while, we have met our needs at home and in other Jewish communities around the world, improving service delivery and working to embrace new generations of Jews in our great legacy.
 
The General Assembly reflects all of this. This is the time to bring the Jewish world together to take stock of our situation, engage the core challenges of the new reality, draw upon our heritage for strength and perspective, and determine how we can capture the sense of collaboration and good will that exists right now, and effectively reposition our system for years to come.
 
Thank you for joining us at this critical time. We need you. And we need to celebrate the strength and vitality of the federation movement with you.

Robert Goldberg
Chair of the Board

Morton B. Plant
Chair of the Executive Committee

Joel Alperson
Chair, National Campaign

Kathy Manning
Treasurer

Howard M. Rieger
President & CEO