The Urgency of Communal Responsibility Has Never Been Greater

The guiding Jewish principle of my life is the Talmudic expression kol Yisrael arevim zeh l’zeh, which is the concept that the entire Jewish community is responsible for one another.

I’m grateful for the many opportunities I have had to live up to this ideal, from being a member of my…

We Are Here for a Reason!

In the Purim story, after Haman convinces the king to adopt the evil decree against the Jewish people, Mordechai must persuade Queen Esther to take the huge, life-threatening risk of going to the king without having been summoned so that she could plead for her people. This was not only a ri…

We Were Built for Times Like This

We have written many times about the extraordinary ability of our Federations to respond to crises of all kinds. Unfortunately, we write today with yet another example. Still reeling from the impact of a global health pandemic, Texas was dealt a terrible blow with this week’s winter…

We Will Never Forget

In December, a building with special meaning to my family and me was completed. This new apartment complex in the heart of downtown Tel Aviv is now home to hundreds of struggling Holocaust survivors. It’s part of the Amigour Housing Program, supported by Jewish Federations through our…

LiveSecure: Broadening and Deepening a Secure Future

We took office as Chair and Secretary of The Jewish Federations of North America mere weeks before the shootings at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh. We served through the shooting in San Diego; the attacks in Poway, Monsey, Jersey City and Halle, Germany; the increase in …