Jews from across North America and around the world gathered in Baltimore Nov. 11-13 for The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) 2012 General Assembly, the premier North American gathering of the Jewish communal world. The event showcased the latest thinking and best practices from experts on philanthropy, business, religion and culture, and participants discussed how to confront the most pressing issues facing the Jewish community at home and abroad.

Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel headlined a roster of incredible speakers and major global figures  including: Michael Oren, ambassador of Israel to the United States; David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN; Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism; Rabbi Heather Borshof, chaplain with the U.S. Army; and Edon, the 14-year-old "America's Got Talent" semifinalist. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed attendees in a video prepared especially for the GA.    

Our Delaware delegation consisted of twenty-four Delawareans including eight Hillel students from the University of Delaware. The GA provided the perfect platform to reaffirm our passion and belief that helping people in need  and nurturing the Jewish community is both our privilege and responsibility. Together, we do extraordinary things.


Shabbat Shalom.
Seth J. Katzen

The Israel office of The Jewish Federations of North America is closely following the continued severe violence in the South of Israel, which has escalated after the targeted killing of Hamas terrorist and kidnapper, Ahmed Jabri, on Wednesday, November 14.  

Jewish Federations of North America strongly condemns the terrorist activity against Israel and offers its support throughout this crisis. "These latest unprovoked attacks follow years of unrelenting terror that has forced so many Israelis to live in a constant state of fear -- conditions which no country would tolerate," added Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA. "

We proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and state of Israel during this difficult time and pray that such attacks will soon end. As always, we stand in solidarity with all Israelis. And above all, we extend our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost loved ones and send our prayers for peace in this time of crisis.

Federation is working hard to close all remaining open gifts and fulfill our allocation commitments to our local beneficiary agencies and overseas partners.

We are currently at 82.6% of our fundraising goal, and need to raise $267,000 by the end of the year to meet local and overseas needs.

If you've already donated, thank you, we appreciate your generosity.

And if you've been meaning to make a contribution, NOW IS THE TIME!

 
Guest speaker, David Nesenoff, is coming to the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Wilmington on November 16th for dinner at 6:00 and November 17th for lunch at 12:30.

Nesenoff captivated the public eye by exposing the legendary reporter, Helen Thomas' blatant antisemitism as she shockingly told the Jews to "get the hell out of Palestine" and "Go home... to Poland and Germany." Hear the story directly from the source!

Go to www.ChabadDE.com/register  to register or go to  www.ChabadDE.com/ScholarShabbat for more information.

Open to the entire community.

The Siegel JCC is hosting "A Night to Remember". Grab a pair of your best blue jeans and get ready to dance the night away!

Tickets are available online at SiegelJCC.org.

Questions? Contact Donna Schwartz at 302/ 478-5660 or donnaschwartz@siegeljcc.org.

Join the Jewish Federation of Delaware for a screening of the film, Dolphin Boy, on Sunday, November 18th at 7:30pm at Temple Beth El in Newark, DE.

Appetizers by Eric Aber of Home Grown at 6:30pm.

 

This will be our fifth screening as part of the Israel Film Series, a program made possible through Federation's Israel & Overseas Committee.

 

For more information, please contact Federation Shaliach, Onn Halfon, at onn@udel.edu.

Evelyn Hockstein, an award winning photojournalist will speak at Congregation Beth Emeth.The program is on Sunday, December 2 at 9 a.m. for breakfast and speaker.

Ms. Hockstein is based in Washington,DC and has worked in more than 60 countries as she covered humanitarian issues, conflict and the human condition. She has won many awards and her work has been published in The New York Times, TIME, The New Yorker, The London Times and many other publications. Her talk will include photos of her work and stories of the people and places she saw.

The cost for breakfast is $5 and reservations may be made by calling the Beth Emeth office at 302-764-2393.

Eight Delawareans recently attended the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Arad, our partnership community in Israel. It was an unforgettable and inspiring journey.

You can read a daily account of activity via our Arad@50 blog - Click Here