Several months ago, (January 31, 2025) I wrote here explaining in great detail the false, pernicious, even diabolical narrative that Israel is perpetrating a genocide in Gaza. It was apparent to me then, and has only become clearer to me now, that those who platform the modern version of the blood libel are either adversaries acting with evil, hateful intent, or useful tools who parrot words without concern for truth or accuracy - words which endanger Jewish spaces and Jewish lives in ways no...
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Today we celebrate the 249th anniversary of the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Several months ago I was in Philadelphia and took a tour of Independence Hall. One thing that struck me was the combination of reverence for the place and access for everyone that characterized the “room where it happened” and the engagement of everyone listening to the guide (including my young daughter, who was fascinated).
It is no coincidence that so many of the concepts underpinn...
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Early on in the post 10/7 conflict, I began to listen to podcasts featuring Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur. Gur had a very incisive approach to his analysis. It wasn’t ideological, it was extremely well informed, and it was clear eyed about the challenges faced by Israeli society, by the IDF, and by the Jewish people. Even more compelling was his evident love for Israel and the Jewish people, and his desire to comfort the bereaved and traumatized without compromising on his very matter...
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A few minutes ago early this morning, my daughter returned home to Toronto.
In Israel on a seminar with educators and group leaders when the war with Iran began, like millions of others she spent most of a week in and out of a bomb shelter. She and her group were evacuated through Ashdod to Cyprus, and from there she was to have circuitously made her way here. Yesterday, while waiting to take off, Iran launched the attack that culminated in a missile strike on Sheba Medical Center in Beer Sh...
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For the second time in two weeks, I find myself compelled to write a new message hours before we publish our newsletter. Circumstances give me no other choice. It reminds me of November 1989, when my Modern European History course in my 2nd year at the University of Toronto had to be reworked from week to week by my professor as Europe transformed itself and the Iron Curtain fell.
The events now occurring in Iran and Israel are no less transformative. Yet I know for myself, and for most, if ...
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As Pride Month continues, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, we also take a look back at a number of Jewish leaders who made cultural and historic contributions to that community. From politicians and lawyers to religious leaders, here is a list of some of those who have made a great impact for the LGBTQ+ movement and a just, equitable society.
Barnett (Barney) Frank, a congressman from Newtown, Massachusetts was the first openly gay member of Congress. In 1987, he came out as gay and in 201...
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One of the most important values in all of Jewish life is unity (achdut in Hebrew). And one of the supreme institutions that strives in the finest ways to insure unity in our Jewish community and b...
Kfar Silver
The connection between Rockland’s Jewish Federation and Kfar Silver Youth Village is a recent one when a group of Rockland County residents visited the school, which is supported by ORT. The agricultural/residential school located just eight miles from Gaza is part of the Zionist dream to make the Negev bloom.
Students come from all over to Kfar Silver, some born in many parts of the FSU…former Soviet Union, as well as students from Ethiopia who were airlifted to Israel with their parents. One third of the student body—750 students—live on the campus. Many come from low socio-economic and single parent families, the disadvantaged part of Israeli society. By the time these kids graduate and move on to the IDF and further educational opportunities, Kfar Silver will have given these kids a leg up they might otherwise not have had.
Rockland County’s Jewish community supports Israel in many ways. Federation’s direct support of Kfar Silver is as much about supporting Israel as it is about supporting a special project we feel a connection with…one we have grown to love.
Adult Jewish Education
- For those who stopped learning about what it means to be Jewish during their last Sunday school session before their bar/bat mitzvah…
- For those who have studied Jewish customs, religion, and culture on their own, but are hungry for more…
- For those who want to be educated about who they are and where they came from, but know little or nothing of what it means to be Jewish…
- For those who aren’t Jewish but are fascinated with Judaism in all its many forms and want to learn about it…
Rockland’s Adult Jewish Education classes are for you. Background doesn’t matter. Level of education doesn’t matter. A desire to learn and participate in riveting, fascinating classes is all you need. Join our classes taught by fascinating, articulate teachers and enjoy!
Got questions? We have answers.
PJ Library
For young moms and dads, reading stories to their children is something many do every night at bedtime…or even in the middle of the afternoon! PJ Library, which is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is underwritten in Rockland County by Rockland’s Jewish Federation. It provides Jewish-themed books for children, ages 2-8 every month and gives those moms and dads a wonderful way to help them understand and appreciate what it means to be Jewish…even at a young age.
PJ Library books are wonderful additions to every Jewish family’s library. It doesn’t matter what the family’s background, knowledge or family make-up or observance is. There are PJ Library books for every kind of Jewish family.
But PJ is not only about books. It’s also about Jewish-themed activities…like Zoom classes on cooking for the holidays. And outings where young Jewish families can meet and make friendships with other young Jewish families.
Leket Israel
Leket Israel is the largest food bank and food rescue organization in Israel. Rockland’s Federation has had a long-standing relationship with Leket because we know how important it is to take care of the most basic need of making sure people who struggle to feed themselves and their families have food to put on the table each and every day.
During the year of the pandemic, Leket Israel had to change the way it feeds people in need. It went from rescuing good, nutritious food from restaurants, hotels, and even the IDF, and feeding more than 200,000 Israelis per week, to buying 12,000 meals a day because just like here in Rockland County, the need for food increased tangentially as the Pandemic worsened and people lost their jobs.
Here in Rockland County’s Jewish community, we have a strong relationship with Leket Israel. It’s a special project we support directly and that has come to mean a lot to us. Through donations to Jewish Federation, we can see the difference those donations make in the lives of those who are helped by Leket Israel.
Community Relations Council
If you see something…
The Community Relations Council is Federation’s advocacy arm. One of its prime roles is as the Rockland Jewish community’s voice with elected officials at every level from national to local. The CRC has developed relationships with many of these people and will contact them when there’s an issue that is of concern, and must be addressed. From gatherings the were highly visible, such as the one that occurred after the Monsey stabbings, to those that are strictly behind-the-scenes, the CRC takes a strong and active role in combatting antisemitism no matter where it occurs.
The CRC makes sure our elected officials understand the pernicious effects the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) has on the State of Israel, and the hateful rhetoric that is too pervasive on certain social media channels and group pages in and around Rockland County. When the CRC becomes aware of such hate speech or any violent threats against the Jewish community, it makes sure our local officials are aware of them so they can be dealt with.
Community Weaving
The most important role Jewish Federation plays in the community is in community weaving. Federation has built a platform where all organizations and individuals can come together to share common concerns. Through Community Weaving, Federation brings synagogues and organizations together to work for the common good of Rockland’s Jewish community.
Whether it’s to learn how to apply for security grants, or the PPP during the pandemic, or learning how to set up endowment funds for the financial security of an organization through Life and Legacy, Federation has made Community Weaving the important initiative it is for the community.
