COMMUNITY
A BRIDGE TO OVERSEAS
By Faye Hedrick, Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida
On Thursday, January 9, the current BRIDGES cohort met for their fourth session, “A Bridge to Overseas.” The goal of the session was for participants to leave with a better understanding and to explore how our reach, as the single largest Jewish philanthropic organization in Northeast Florida, extends to Israel and over 70 countries around the world. Before taking that journey, participants first needed to understand the history and relevance of Federation & Foundation and our umbrella organization, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).
The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida’s CEO, Mariam Feist, gave participants an overview of how the federated system first began in Boston in 1895. Eighteen years later, in 1913, the first Community Chest was founded in Cleveland. The Community Chest was the precursor to United Way. Mariam likes to say she used to describe Jewish Federations as the Jewish United Way; she now likes to say United Way is the secular Jewish Federations. However, Jewish Federations are much more than a fundraising and allocation organization. Mariam went on to describe our local Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida and JFNA’s relevance today.
With this understanding of Federation's work overseas, immediate past Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida President, Iris Kraemer, spoke to the cohort about the work of our overseas partners: the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), and World Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT). One of the many examples noted was Operation Solomon, a JDC rescue operation that brought 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel within a 36 hour span. This resulted in one of the fastest and most successful rescue missions in modern history. Not only are we proud to 14
support efforts such as this, but also we are proud to support JDC’s assistance in relocating Jews displaced by war and conflict. Without this aid, many Jewish families would not be here today. Iris continued to explain that JAFI programs include help in providing quality, subsidized homes for Israel’s most vulnerable populations. Additionally, they provide opportunities for high school graduates to participate in the Masa Israel journey. Masa programs connect Jewish youth to Israel a through work, study, or volunteer opportunities. These opportunities help todays youth gain a deeper connection to Israel and its people. Iris emphasized that the critical work of both JDC and JAFI would not be possible without the support of the Federation & Foundation’s annual campaign. Several participants were surprised to learn our dollars also support Birthright Israel, the organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel, a trip in which many of the BRIDGES members had already participated in. When the group was posed with the question, “What do we, as Jews, all have in common,” the answer was simple to class participant, Marissa Kaeser. She quickly replied, “All Jews are responsible for one another. The Jewish tradition of giving is strong, especially
