Jewish Federations of North America on Tuesday announced a concerted, long-term effort to Rebuild Israel in the aftermath of the two-year war with Hamas and the winding down of the historic $908 million Israel Emergency Campaign.
“One of the major goals of this General Assembly is to put us firmly on a path to a long term investment in the recovery and rebuilding needs in Israel,” said Jewish Federations of North America National Campaign Chair David Heller on the final day of the group’s General Assembly in Washington, DC.
Heller outlined three planks of the vision. The first is leveraging the long-standing partnerships between federations and communities around Israel, as well as the more recent partnerships formed with Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the aftermath of October 7th.
The second is collaborations with partner organizations, including redoubling the work with core partners such as the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and nurturing new partnerships with groups such as Birthright Israel and ReGrow.
Mark Wilf, Chairman of the Board of Governors at the Jewish Agency, laid out how the organization is stepping in to help Israelis from all walks of life, saying, “These past two years have been among the most difficult in the history of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. In Israel, we've been dealing with an ongoing war, Israelis displaced from their homes, reservists away from their families and businesses, physical rebuilding in the north and the south. Mental health challenges and much, much more, our country is just beginning, the long process of rehabilitation, and the Jewish Agency for Israel is out in front, leading that process.”
Doron Almog, Chairman of the Executive at the Jewish Agency, added, “Since the seventh of October 2023, the Jewish Agency has worked tirelessly with you and Jews around the world to strengthen Israel. Together, we have helped 8,000 business owners stay afloat through loans and grants and we have a campaign close to 20,000 families through our victims of terror fund. We sent 800 Israeli kids to North American summer camps this past summer, and with Jewish passion and involvement stronger than ever before. There have been a record 55,000 people who have made aliyah since October 7. This work cannot be done alone. No person and no organization can do it by themselves. It takes all of us.”
“We know that it's a long road to recovery that will be long and difficult in Israel, where loss, trauma, and displacement have touched every corner of society,” said Annie Sandler, President of the Joint Distribution Committee. “JDC continues to rebuild lives. Since October 7, JDC has helped more than 1 million of the hardest hit Israelis.”
The third is addressing long-term issues through innovation.
“[We] have been tackling some of the biggest and toughest long term issues, including mental health education and families of reservist soldiers. We will continue to seek out innovative and needed projects that will operate at scale both working among federations and with our partners,” Heller said.
Speaking at the Tuesday morning plenary, Federations President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut reflected on the accomplishments of the past year while looking towards future opportunities to leverage the vast network of relationships that Federation leaders have made.
“All of us have relationships in our communities that matter,” said Fingerhut. “We belong to professional associations and PTOs. We purchase season passes to museums and orchestras and sports teams. We are alumni of high schools and universities and graduate schools. We work on and donate to campaigns - and we vote – or we better vote. This must be our model. Not just Jewish leadership alone, but Jewish leadership and communal leadership, side by side.”
Closing out Tuesday’s plenary was Dan Senor, host of the “Call Me Back” podcast and author of the books “Start-Up Nation” and “The Genius of Israel.” During an onstage conversation with scholar-in-residence Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, he discussed the importance of investing in Jewish life.
“The way Jewish life flourishes it's not just by the antisemitism. It's about guaranteeing Jewish continuity. And the single best, proven model to guarantee Jewish continuity is making sure young people have experienced part of their lives in Jewish bubbles, where they live rich Jewish lives, they create formative relationships with Jewish peers,” he said. “Creating these deep connections between young Jews, partnering and forming friendships with other Jews, is the kind of stuff that lasts a lifetime against a huge return on investment in terms of Jews life, and it gives Jews the upside of Judaism.”
Over three jam-packed, energetic days in Washington, D.C., 2,000 Jewish community leaders from across the United States and Canada gathered to discuss the most important issues of the day, and to set the agenda for the coming year.
Focusing on three themes - rebuilding Israel, securing our communities, and driving Jewish engagement - the 40+ sessions and four main stage plenaries featured thought leaders from various sectors, including politics, academia, the media, and civil society.
The conference opened emotionally, as four Israelis who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza took the stage to thank the Jewish community for its support. Guy Gilboa Dalal, Evyatar David, Avinatan Or—who were among the longest-held surviving hostages—and Noa Argamani, who was released after 246 days, spoke movingly about their hope for the future and the need for unity.
At a consequential time for the North American Jewish community, this year’s General Assembly emphasized the importance of unity and resilience in combating the most serious challenges we face.
As part of Federations’ ongoing work to secure Jewish communities across North America, Executive Vice President Shira Hutt announced that Federations are doubling down on their work on the front lines of fighting antisemitism, bolstering civic engagement to build the strong alliances necessary to fight hatred.
“Our next challenge is not only to secure our buildings, but to strengthen the front lines of civic engagement and bridge-building across our communities, to build relationships with our neighbors, educators, business leaders, and public officials,” Hutt said.
Some of the highlighted speakers were former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX); former IDF Spokesperson and Rear Admiral (ret.) Daniel Hagari; CNN contributor Scott Jennings; Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov; The Free Press Staff Writer Olivia Reingold; author and podcast host Dan Senor; and former White House speechwriter and best-selling author Sarah Hurwitz. Anchoring the General Assembly with her spiritual guidance and wisdom as the scholar-in-residence was Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City.
Jewish Changemakers, a Jewish Federations fellowship program for emerging Jewish leaders, brought 62 members to the General Assembly, where they connected with their local Federation delegations by attending sessions and eating meals together.
Also among the attendees were 50 Jewish college students who participated as part of a track developed by the Hillel Leadership Passport program, a new initiative designed to elevate and expand Jewish student experiences. The program connects outstanding Jewish college students with conferences and gatherings hosted by Hillel partners and provides experiences and expertise that they can bring back to campus to energize and strengthen their communities.
Representing over 30 Hillels, these students were nominated as top leaders from their campuses, with some sitting on their Hillel lay board and many interested in Jewish communal work following college. Given the leading role the Federation system plays in shaping the Jewish community’s agenda, there was no more important place than the General Assembly for these student leaders to gather.
Immediately following the General Assembly, the National Young Leadership Cabinet, Jewish Changemakers, and National Women's Philanthropy brought over 80 volunteer leaders representing 41 different Federations to Capitol Hill for an advocacy day. In 70 meetings, the groups built support for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, a continuation of funding for SNAP benefits, and increased Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) funding and the Pray Safe Act, two points on Federations’ Six-Point Security Plan.
For photos from the General Assembly, click here.
Photo credit: Jewish Federations of North America
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