JFED CONNECTS AN UPDATE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT JEWISH FEDERATION
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014
INSIDE From Jane Roodman Weiss............................ 2 Israel Emergency Fund...... 2 Author Cissy Lacks ............ 2 Presidents’ Circle .............. 2 NORC Celebrating 10 Years........................ 3 YPD Thirsty Thursday........ 3 Millstone Boot Camp ........ 3 “Open Your Heart” ........... 3 Film Commemorating Tisha B’av..................... 3 JFed Annual Meeting ....... 4 Hannah Arendt Screening ..................... 4 Millstone Coaching Academy...................... 4 2014 Annual Campaign .... 4
JFedSTL.org
From our Chair, Patricia Croughan As this issue of JFED Connects goes to press, there is still no cease fire between Israel and Gaza. As of today, more than 1,400 rockets have been fired into Israel, reaching as far north as Hadera and Zichron, and threatening the security of Tel Aviv. Most of these rockets have landed in the towns nearest the border with Gaza in Israel’s south, towns that many of us have visited over the years as we have tried to convey our support for those living under the constant barrage of hostilities from Hamas militants. The psychological impact for the residents living there is enormous: literally thousands of adults and children are traumatized by daily sirens and explosions, spending much of their summer vacation days in shelters or in safe rooms in their homes. I doubt that any of us living here can even begin to imagine what these families have been through, but thank goodness we CAN help facilitate their recovery. It is often said that Israelis are very resilient, and while that is true, they also suffer from the inevitable effects from these bombardments. And that’s where we come in. Jewish Federation has begun a special fundraising effort with some
very specific humanitarian goals: • To transport children in the south to camps in the north of Israel where they will be safe, and have respite from the bombing; • To provide psychological services to the traumatized, especially in the south; • To provide needed services to the homebound and elderly; • And to provide immediate financial aid to those who have suffered material losses. Our fundraising effort is part of a national effort to raise these much needed additional funds. I am especially pleased that our own Heschel Raskas, a past president of St. Louis Federation, will serve as national co-chair of the committee allocating the funds raised. Heschel has extensive knowledge of and experience with our partner agencies in Israel: the Jewish Agency, the JDC, the Israel Trauma Coalition, and the Fund for Victims of Terror. We are grateful to him for taking on this enormous responsibility. Thank you in advance for helping with this critical effort. Every gift — and I mean every gift, large and small — will make a difference in the lives of those we serve. For more information or to contribute to the Israel Emergency fund, visit JFedSTL.org/IsraelEmergency.
From our CEO, Andrew Rehfeld In Tel Aviv, you can see the missiles being shot down. The Iron Dome stands as an amazing testimony to the close alliance and commitment of the US government to protect Israel’s citizens from harm. And the technology is amazing. But the Iron Dome is not “Star Wars” where enemies like Darth Vader are vaporized. When a rocket is struck down by the Iron Dome, its heavy fragments still fall to the ground creating a new kind of terror from which to flee. A group of senior staff and lay leadership were in Israel during the first week of the most recent 2014 crisis and saw this first hand. Staying in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, we had to flee for protection each day as rockets reached deep into the country. We also had to flee during a meeting with Mayor Simon Alfassi of our partnership city, Yokne’am, when their first siren of the current missile crisis sounded. Sharing a cramped bomb shelter in the city’s municipal building brought a new meaning to our long standing partnership. Thanks to the efforts of the Israeli government, civil preparedness in Israel has saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. But the fact that civil preparedness has minimized the material threat of the rockets in no way minimizes the sheer alarm and terror that can accompany an incoming missile. If you are a child or someone
with limited mobility, the trauma of the sirens announcing an attack can be intense and constitutes its own material harm. At the same time that Israel’s citizens are facing this terror, there is no doubt that the suffering in Gaza itself is intensifying, including the loss of hundreds of lives. Earlier in the month, I reflected on why we as a community memorialized the deaths of the three kidnapped Israelis, even in the face of so much other suffering. In our tradition, I said, we say shiva for those with whom we have a connection. The fact that we don't say shiva for our neighbors should never be seen as a diminishment of their own loss. The same is true here. We as a Jewish community have a responsibility as Jews to come to our mutual aid even as we recognize the very real and significant tragedy experienced in Gaza or elsewhere in the world. I continue to be hopeful that there will be international efforts to relieve the suffering in Gaza that Hamas’ leadership has brought upon them. And I continue to be inspired by our own community’s coming together to support our people wherever they may face a need. Thanks to each of you for all you do to keep our community strong.