JFED CONNECTS AN UPDATE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT JEWISH FEDERATION OF ST. LOUIS
JULY/AUGUST 2015
INSIDE Jewish Federation Accelerating Community Entrepreneurs ................ 2 Seeking Nominees for Annual Awards ........ 2 CHAI’ St. Louis.............. 2 Presidents’ Circle .......... 2 Get in the Olive Groove ................ 3 Gefilte Fish Tank Results .................. 3 Women’s Auxiliary Grant Recipients ........... 4 YPD Labor Day 5k......... 4 JProStl 2015-16 Board .... 4
JFedSTL.org
From our Chair, Patricia Croughan I recently attended the annual "What's Right with the Region" awards ceremony, a celebration of the fine work done by non-profits throughout the St. Louis area. This year, our own Holocaust Museum and Learning Center was recognized for its outstanding program, "Change Begins with Me: Confronting Hate, Discrimination, and Ethnic Conflict" in a post-Holocaust world. Thousands of area wide school children of all faiths and races have visited the Holocaust Museum, making it a gem within our entire community.
become experts is through immersion experiences, Ron and Pam created and funded The Rubin Israel Experience, a free trip to Israel for those 27-45 who have never visited there, a mission designed to give participants a deeper understanding of modern Israel. This year already marks the 8th year of the trip, with now 80 "Rubinites" in all. The two year Wexner Program, also funded by the Rubins, will give 20 young adults an opportunity to study and learn with some of the best teachers in the Jewish world. This is philanthropy that keeps on giving, from generation to generation, ensuring a depth of knowledge of Israel and of Judaism. Our warmest thanks to the Rubins for providing these wonderful experiences.
Creative programming such as this and creative leadership are what make this community of ours so very special, and leadership for the future is one of Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ top priorities. The Millstone Institute, JProStl, The Rubin Israel Experience, and now the Wexner Program are designed to nurture and develop both professional and lay leaders.
Each of us also has a role to play in creating and sustaining programs like these and others in our Jewish community here and overseas. Jewish Federation of St. Louis funds a wide variety of programs and learning opportunities (log on to JFedSTL.org for more detailed information), and we are excited about new planning opportunities emerging from the recently completed Community Study. This coming year, we will allocate over $8 million to local and overseas agencies, and with your help we will be able to do even more. Please join with us: together we can continue to do great things!
Last week, for example, I had the privilege of meeting with this year's Rubinites and the newly chosen Wexner fellows-neither of these programs would be possible without the vision and philanthropy of Ron and Pam Rubin. Believing that the best way to learn and grow and
From our CEO, Andrew Rehfeld This week’s Supreme Court’s decision to extend marriage equality to all people was a landmark decision. It came in the same week that public opinion turned decisively against the display of the Confederate flag. After the horrific shootings in Charleston, SC earlier in June, the flag became a recognized symbol of slavery, oppression and racism that even its strongest defenders could not ignore. These two events, coming within days of each other, seem to signal a dramatic shift in public opinion in favor of institutional equality and justice for all. After a year of disheartening news focused on discrimination and racial inequity, both achievements were broadly welcomed. Based on public pronouncements by major Jewish organizations that represent the vast majority of American Jews, our community was enthusiastic about both of these changes. Indeed, many
people noted with pride that all three Jewish Supreme Court justices voted to approve the decision–Breyer, Ginsburg and Kagan–and many of the advocates who contributed to the marriage equality movement over the last 20 years were Jews as well. Sadly, the Jewish identity of some leaders of the marriage equality movement and the three Supreme Court justices has caused some to “blame” Jews for what they see as the desecration of the traditional institution of marriage. And yet our community is diverse with some still opposing the extension of marriage equality to gays. The orthodox community, for example, in its commitment to Torah Judaism and tradition, stands by and large in opposition to homosexuality and in particular gay marriage. In statements by at least two major Orthodox organizations, the decision was viewed as a further assault on traditional values and western civilization. These were not fringe groups, but rather groups that embrace what they see as the unchanging ethical demands of our tradition. (continued on page 2)