June 4, 2015 - 17 Sivan 5775

$3.4 Million Raised for Chesed in 24 Hours!
AJOP Rabbis Conference Attracts Shul Rabbis for 2 Day Uplifting Conference
Netzach Dovid: Life Insurance Initiative for Mekarvim
Audio from Convention 2015 Available

OUTREACH

Debunking the Myth of the Cultural Jew

PHILANTHROPY/FUNDRAISING

Who the Jewish Billionaires are Backing for 2016

New Retail Formats Target the Nation's Next Biggest Buying Group

NORTH AMERICA

Obama's Atlantic Interview Will Do Little to Reassure Jewish Readers

Jewish Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Holds First Campaign Rally

Obama Keeps Talking While Iran Puts Washington Post Reporter on Trial

Joe Lieberman Says Next President Will Be 'Closer' to Israel

Obama, Iran & Antisemitism

How to Build an American Shtetl-See: Bloomingburg, NY

President Obama vs. the LA Times on Antisemitism

ISRAEL

Amnesty Accuses Hamas of War Crimes in Gaza
Gaza Has Highest Unemployment Rate: World Bank Report
What Israel's Chief of Staff is Worried About-No, It's Not Iran
Will Israel End Child Subsidies for Anti-Vaxxers?
Dozens of Poisonous Vipers Discovered in Israel's Urban Centers

INTERNATIONAL

81% of Al Jazeera Arabic Poll Respondents Support Islamic State

Analysis: Why the Iranians Fight Better Than the Iraqis

Assad Regime Accused of 35 Chlorine Attacks Since Mid-March

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Camp: The New Internship

Reform Jewish Movement to Host Presidential Forum in November

Holocaust Survivors of Polish Origin Now Eligible for Payments

1,000 Songs From Holocaust Survivors Archived

Talking Instagram Tachlis

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

Cincinnati, OH

Rabbi Simcha Scholar

Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dovid Refson

Jerusalem, Israel

Mr Gary Torgow

Detroit, MI

Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD

Teaneck, NJ

*Deceased

$3.4 Million Raised for Chesed in 24 Hours!

Once again, AJOP helped organize a crowdfunding campaign for chesed organizations with a goal of raising $2.8 million for 16 organizations. The results were astounding with over $3.4 million raised in 24 hours. IYH, our goal is to have the Million for Outreach Campaign next year with a total goal of over $5 million. Stay tuned for further details!

AJOP Rabbis Conference Attracts Rabbis for 2 Day Uplifting Conference Once again, on May 12-13, the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals (AJOP) organized and coordinated the AJOP Rabbis Conference for Shul Rabbis in kiruv friendly shuls hosted by Beth Jacob Congregation. Continue Reading

Netzach Dovid: Life Insurance Initiative for Mikarvim in Memory of R' Dovid Winiarz z'l

AJOP, in partnership with Afikim, is initiating an effort to acquire affordable life insurance policies for mikarvim in memory of R' Dovid Winiarz z'l. As an association we have the ability to acquire policies insuring up to $250,00 for just a small fee annually. To that end, we are asking those interested in participating to fill out a brief survey for us to collect necessary information for the insurance company to create a group. The policies will be for $250,000 for $150 annually with no medical exam necessary. Please CLICK HERE to take the survey.

Debunking the Myth of the Cultural Jew

An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

From time immemorial, Jews have been concerned with the question of Jewish survival. Continue Reading

Who the Jewish Billionaires Are Backing for 2016

An Article from The Forward

quick look at the list of top political donors for 2014 reveals a striking fact: At least a third of the most generous 50 mega-givers were Jewish.

New Retail Formats Target the Nation's Next Biggest Buying Group
An Article from Forbes

Step aside, baby boomers. The Millennials are taking your place. Continue Reading

Obama's Atlantic Interview Will Do Little to Reassure Jewish Readers

An Article from The Times of Israel

A day before a major address to America's Jewish community, President Barack Obama's interview with the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg set the tone for the coming outreach effort meant to soften the impact of any Iranian nuclear deal among skeptics. Continue Reading

Jewish Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Holds First Campaign Rally
An Article from The New York Times

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont began drawing implicit contrasts with Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday in the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. as he played the liberal purist.Continue Reading

Obama Keeps Talking While Iran Puts Washington Post Reporter on Trial

An Article from Reuters

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian went on trial on espionage charges behind closed doors in Tehran on Tuesday, 10 months after he was arrested at his home and imprisoned, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Continue Reading

Joe Lieberman Says Next President Will be 'Closer' to Israel
An Article from The Forward

Former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, in an interview with JTA, surmised that the next U.S. administration would be friendlier with Israel than the current one. Continue Reading

Obama, Antisemitism & Iran
An Article from The American Interest

In a long and searching interview with President Obama that appeared in the Atlantic over the weekend, Jeffrey Goldberg asked President Obama whether the virulent and frequently expressed Jew hatred that senior Iranian officials spew had him concerned. Continue Reading

How to Build an American Shtetl-See: Bloomingburg, NY
An Article from JTA

This is how you launch a Hasidic shtetl in 21st-century America.

Step 1. Find a place within reasonable distance of Brooklyn where the land is cheap and underdeveloped. Continue Reading

President Obama vs. the LA Times on Antisemitism
An Article from The Jewish Journal

The Obama White House and the opinion page of the Los Angeles Times are usually in sync-but not always. Continue Reading

Amnesty Accuses Hamas of War Crimes in Gaza

An Article from The Times of Israel

he Islamist group Hamas used its 2014 Gaza war with Israel to "settle scores" with rival Palestinians, executing at least 23 in possible war crimes, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Continue Reading

Gaza Has Highest Unemployment Rate: World Bank Report
An Article from NBC News

What does the highest unemployment rate in the world look like? It resembles 26-year-old Khalil Abu Rezeq, who is among the two-fifths of Palestinians in Gaza who are jobless, and running out of hope.

What Israel's Chief of Staff is Worried About-No, It's Not Iran
An Article from The Forward

Two members of Congress from New York, a Democrat and a Republican, are calling on President Obama to provide Israel with massive, 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, capable of penetrating Iran's fortified underground nuclear facilities. Continue Reading

Will Israel End Child Subsidies for Anti-Vaxxers?
An Article from JTA

Each month, the Israeli government sends a check to every Israeli family with at least one child. The more children you have, the more money you get. Continue Reading

Dozens of Poisonous Vipers Discovered in Israel's Urban Centers
An Article from Matzav

Dozens of venomous snakes have been discovered in Israel over the past few months, even in some of the small country's most populated urban centers, an exterminator told Israeli NRG news portal on Wednesday.
Continue Reading

81% of Al Jazeera Arabic Poll Respondents Support Islamic State
An Article from Breitbart

In a recent survey conducted by AlJazeera.net, the website for the Al Jazeera Arabic television channel, respondents overwhelmingly support the Islamic State terrorist group, with 81% voting "YES" on whether they approved of ISIS's conquests in the region. Continue Reading

Analysis: Why the Iranians Fight Better Than the Iraqis

An Article from The New York Times

Iraqi officials said Tuesday that a combined force of Iraqi soldiers and allied Shiite militias had started moving to retake the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, from Islamic State fighters. Continue Reading

Assad Regime Accused of 35 Chlorine Attacks Since Mid-March

An Article from The Guardian

On a spring afternoon in mid-March, a barrel bomb believed to have been laced with chlorine fell on a village in northern Syria. Continue Reading

Camp: The New Internship

An Article from The Jewish Week

When Barbara Rose Welford was looking to enroll her teenage daughter in summer camp, color war and cookouts weren't enough to catch her eye. Continue Reading

Reform Jewish Movement to Host Presidential Forum in November

An Article from JP Updates

The marathon run on the road to the White House will not only drive by Israel and Vegas. Continue Reading

Holocaust Survivors of Polish Origin Now Eligible for Payments
An Article from eJewish Philanthropy

Thousands of Holocaust survivors originally from Poland will benefit from a payment program from the Polish government, this according to a recently released statement from the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the World Jewish Restitution Organization. Continue Reading

1,000 Songs From Holocaust Survivors Archived

An Article from WPSU

In the summer of 1948, an amateur folklorist named Ben Stonehill recorded more than 1,000 songs from Holocaust survivors in the lobby of New York City's Hotel Marseilles. Continue Reading

Talking Instagram Tachlis
An Article from Ner Le'Elef

Now it's time to bring it all together by talking tachlis. Since most (read all) of us in the kiruv world are busy, adding another social media platform is probably the last thing on our mind. 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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