AJOP Update: Are Synagogues Still Relevant?

March 24, 2011 - 18 Adar II 5771

AJOP Convention January 15-17, 2012 Save the Date!

Rabbi Motty Berger's North American Tour

Passover Across America

New Job Opportunities!

Click Here to View Photos From Convention 2011

OUTREACH

Birthright Alumni Better Israel Advocates, Marry Jewish

PHILANTHROPY/FUNDRAISING

Google for Nonprofits Launches New Services

Natan Fund 2012 Areas Open

Is Customer Service Important?

Two-Thirds of Charities Expect Giving Increase in 2011

Enthusiastic Volunteer Leaders Can Be a Challenge

NORTH AMERICA

California Professor Says Pro-Palestinian Events Were Anti-Semitic

The Happiest Man in America

JCC Day Camps Get Their Own Study

Hartford Professor Thinks He's Found Atlantis, And There's a Jewish Connection

Rabbi Richard Jacobs Slated as New URJ President

From Tri-State to Lone Star State

ISRAEL

Marketing Israeli Nonprofits to the Diaspora

Urban Outfitters, Maker of the 'Anti-War' Keffiyeh, Promote Israel

INTERNATIONAL

Uruguay Recognizes Palestinian Statehood

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Pensioner Spends 30 Years Building Amazing Model of Herod's Temple

Are Synagogues Still Relevant?

Rabbinical Seminary Launches Unique Social Networking Site

An Insider Speaks on Reform Judaism Today

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Unveils Reinvention Strategy

To View Our Archives of Past Newsletters

AJOP Board

RABBINIC AUTHORITIES

HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky

HaRav Yaakov Perlow

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Rabbi Ilan Feldman

Atlanta, GA

Rabbi Yaacov Haber

Jerusalem, Israel

Mr. Richard Horowitz

Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh

Northbrook, IL

Dr. David Lieberman

Lakewood, NJ

Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun

National Director

Rabbi Shlomo Porter

Baltimore, MD

Mr. Jeff Schachter Esq.

Passaic, NJ

Mr. Frank Storch

Baltimore, MD

HaRav Michel Twerski

Milwaukee, WI

Mr. Jerry Wolasky

Baltimore, MD

ADVISORY BOARD

Mr. Mark Bane

Lawrence, NY

Mr. Jonathan Beren

Denver, CO

Dr. Robert Edelman

Baltimore, MD

Rabbi Avraham Edelstein

Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Michael J Elman

Baltimore, MD
Rabbi David Felsenthal
New York, NY

Mr. Howard Tzvi Friedman

Baltimore, MD

Mr. Joseph Friedman

Olney, MD
Mr. Harvey Hecker

Toronto, ONT

Mr. Stephen Rosedale

Cincinnatti, OH

Rabbi Simcha Scholar

Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dovid Refson

Jerusalem, Israel

Mr Gary Torgow

Detroit, MI

Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD

Teaneck, NJ

Rabbi Motty Berger's Western Hemisphere Tour

Rabbi Motty Berger, internationally renowned lecturer, will be traveling to North America May 1-20, 2011 and will be available to speak in various locations on a weekday or over a shabbos. Please contact him directly at mberger@aish.edu to reserve your spot. Hurry! Space is highly limited.

Passover Across America

You are invited to partner with NJOP through its Passover Across America initiative by offering an explanatory seder this Pesach to those who do not normally attend or who have not yet experienced a meaningful seder. Participating locations will be offered funding to publicize and in some cases- to help subsidize the cost of the sedarim. To learn more about Passover Across Asmerica, complete the linked form and you will receive a follow up phone call.

Click Here to Access the Application

Rabbi Meir Schuster-A Call to Action AJOP asks their subscribers to take a look at a website created to honor and help one of our generation's great, holy people. A man whose impact on the last two generations is breathtaking. A man who had a seminal and profound influence on so many countless individuals. He is in desperate, desperate condition. www.RebMeirSchuster.org

New Job Opportunities! SAR HS General/Judaic Studies Teachers SAR High School Riverdale, New York Middle School Judaic Studies Teachers The Ramaz School New York, New York Principal Ben Gamla Charter School Ben Gamla Charter School South Florida, Florida

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Birthright Alumni Better Israel Advocates, Marry Jewish An Article from JTA The impact of a Taglit-Birthright experience is significant and lasts for years, according to a new study. Continue Reading

Google For Nonprofits Launches New Services
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

Yesterday Google launches an enhanced version of Google for Nonprofits, a program which provides product offerings and enhanced online resources for US nonprofit organizations. Continue Reading

Natan Fund 2012 Grant Areas Open
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

Natan is now accepting Letters of Inquiry for its 2012 Grants in the areas of: Advancing Inclusiveness in the North American Jewish Community, Economic Development in Israel, Emerging Models of Jewish Connection in North America, and Jewish Peoplehood. Continue Reading

Is Customer Service Important?
An Article from The Agitator

Most nonprofits probably don't think of themselves as providing 'customer service' ... certainly not on the sense of merchants and retailers. Continue Reading

Two-Thirds of Charities Predict Giving Increase in 2011
An Article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Giving to most charities stayed the same or increased last year, a new survey released Tuesday shows, but nonprofit officials and charities say gifts didn't increase as much as they had hoped, given the economic recovery. Continue Reading

Enthusiastic Volunteer Leaders Can Be a Challenge
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

A source of real strength and sustainability for most non-profit organizations comes from the involved and committed volunteer leaders. Continue Reading

California Professor Says Pro-Palestinian Events Were Anti-Semitic
An Article from The Washington Post

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a faculty member's complaint that a series of pro-Palestinian events at a California university crossed the line into anti-Semitism and created a hostile environment for Jewish students.

The Happiest Man in America
An Article from The Wall Street Journal

According to new research, the happiest man in the U.S. isn't a billionaire or movie star but a 65-year-old Chinese-American Jewish man who lives in Hawaii, London's Daily Mail reported yesterday. Continue Reading

JCC Day Camps Get Their Own Study
An Article from The Jewish Week

In the past decade, Jewish overnight camps have seen their status rise dramatically. Continue Reading

Hartford Professor Thinks He's Found Atlantis, And There's a Jewish Connection
An Article from The Jerusalem Post

Suggesting that a Jewish or Israeli connection can be found not only in nearly every corner of the Earth, but even far below its surface, a new documentary film claims to have discovered the fabled lost city of Atlantis - and that it may have a link to the Old Testament. Continue Reading

Rabbi Richard Jacobs Slated as New URJ President
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) announced today the recommendation of Rabbi Richard Jacobs for President of the organization, to succeed Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, who will retire in 2012 after 16 years in the position. Continue Reading

From Tri-State to Lone Star State
An Article from The Jewish Week

The Geralniks from northern New Jersey, a young Orthodox family, weren't looking to leave the New York area. Continue Reading

Marketing Israeli Nonprofits to the Diaspora
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

In order to more effectively market themselves to the Diaspora, Israeli nonprofits need first to focus on targeting donors at home, improve their usage of technology and refine their administrative skill sets, field leaders say.

Urban Outfitters, Maker of the 'Anti-War' Keffiyeh, Promote Israel
An Article from The Vicious Babushka

The American fashion chain Urban Outfitters had decided to feature the Israeli sun in its spring marketing campaign: The popular brand, which has outlets around the world, chose Israel as the destination for a week-long photo shoot. Continue Reading

Uruguay Recognizes Palestinian Statehood An Article from The Washington Post d their Uruguay has joined a string of South American nations in recognizing an independent Palestinian state. Continue Reading

Pensioner Spends 30 Years Building Amazing Model of Herod's Temple
An Article from The Daily Mail

Brick by brick, tiny figure by tiny figure, Alec Garrard has painstakingly worked for 30 years on an astonishing recreation of Herod's Temple.

Are Synagogues Still Relevant?
An Article from The Jewish Week

The recent release of a draft strategic plan for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is simply the latest indicator of the challenge facing non-Orthodox Judaism in the United States. Continue Reading

Rabbinical Seminary Launches Unique Social Networking Site
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

Judaism isn't a game, but a new Internet game called "MostJewish" is helping to begin a vibrant conversation about what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. Continue Reading

An Insider Speaks on Reform Judaism Today
An Article from The Forward

These days, everyone seems to have something to say about what they think is wrong with Reform Judaism. We have heard that the Reform movement is, at best, in stasis and, at worst, facing a significant decline in its membership rolls. Continue Reading

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Unveils Reinvention Strategy
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

In an effort to redesign the Conservative Synagogue movement in North America, the USCJ - in coordination with Hayom - have come together with a consensus plan for the future. Continue Reading

Please note: The views expressed in the articles featured in this newsletter reflect the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the thinking of the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals. AJOP serves to disseminate pertinent news to its subscribers.

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