Jewish Buffalo at General Assembly

Jewish Buffalo at Chicago General Assembly

JCRC leader Deborah Goldman, JCC President Irwin Gelman, and Federation professionals, Mara Koven-Gelman and Rob Goldberg, joined over 1,200 Jewish communal leaders in Chicago last month at Jewish Federations’ three-day General Assembly, where they set the shared Jewish communal agenda for the year ahead and heard from a diverse array of voices on critical issues facing the North American Jewish community. (Read Deborah’s reflections on page 40). First held 90 years ago, The General Assembly is the most consequential gathering of the leadership of the North American Jewish community.

This year’s General Assembly focused on responses to the geopolitical challenges and global events impacting the Jewish community, and challenges and opportunities towards building flourishing Jewish communities. Topics that were discussed include the urgency of Jewish communal security,

JCC President Irwin Gelman, Mara Koven-Gelman, JCRC leader Deborah Goldman, and Rob Goldberg

Jewish Federations’ response to the Ukraine crisis and the uncertainties that lie ahead for Jews in Ukraine and Russia, and new initiatives and partnerships to combat the rise in antisemitism.

Global figures, activists, public officials and communal leaders addressed the audience. Noteworthy names include President of Israel Isaac Herzog, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog, journalist and news anchor Andrea Mitchell, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, philosopher and author and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Levy, among many others.