Earlier this week, more than 2,500 caring, concerned, and committed individuals, gathered in Washington D.C. to hear inspiring and encouraging words. This is an annual conference run by Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) for professionals and lay leaders throughout the 146 communities it supports.
Together, we listened to stories about survival, teachings of Torah from a resident scholar, views of the world from independent journalists, but mostly we spoke to each other. And in those conversations, we talked about the past year, how and when we cried, how we supported our people in Israel and Ukraine, and how we dealt with a level of antisemitism not seen in most of our lifetimes.
The tone of the General Assembly was hopeful. Even when we heard from survivors of the horrific October 7 massacres, we also heard about the individual heroism that saved so many lives. Even as we heard about the hardships of living in Ukraine under constant barrage from Russian missiles, we also heard about dedicated individuals who returned to serve the Jewish population that could not leave.
There is something beautiful and reassuring about getting together with so many people that share your values, your support for Israel, and, most of all, your humanity. Together, we have accomplished amazing things in the past year, but our work is far from done. The Jewish Federation system is positioned to continue its lifesaving and life reaffirming work, but we will need all of our community to support us.
As the new Interim CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey, I am learning more and more about the specific programs we enable, the programs we provide, and the programs we support through our agencies and community partners. I couldn’t be prouder to be in this position, and I look forward to helping our organization do more good for the Jewish people and so many others in need. I hope you will join me in this incredibly rewarding effort.