News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Close to 1,400 friends of Israel gathered at Temple Beth Sholom on Monday for Miami Remembers October 7 to memorialize the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. Community cantors performed prayers and songs and Holocaust Survivors lit yahrzeit candles for the 17 communities decimated by Hamas massacres on October 7.

Committed to the power of tikkun olam (repairing the world), Saul Schottenstein, z"l, demonstrated his devotion to Jewish Miami by creating a lasting legacy that has helped thousands of individuals and families in the community facing food insufficiency.

As missiles continue to rain down on Israel from all directions, Federation recently approved additional Israel Emergency Fund (IEF) grants, with allocations now totaling nearly $2.7 million for programs supporting our key priorities following October 7.

As the war in northern Israel significantly escalates, the national Federation system has allocated $43 million in emergency grants to meet the critical needs of these communities. This increased funding is in addition to the more than $32 million that has already been distributed to support these at-risk populations in the months they have been under attack and evacuated from their homes.

Stand with your Jewish community on October 7 at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ horrific attacks on Israel.

Stand with your Jewish community on October 7 at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ horrific attacks on Israel.

Your donations to the Annual Campaign enable Federation to support Wings, a program that cares for IDF lone soldiers, an effort that has become even more critical as the war reaches its one-year mark and extends into northern Israel.

Be part of Jewish Miami's response to help victims of Hurricane Helene. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation has established an Emergency Relief Fund to assist individuals impacted by the catastrophic hurricane, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Perry, in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Jewish Miami is supporting a new emergency loan initiative for small businesses in northern Israel via the Jewish Federation's national Israel Emergency Fund. With Hezbollah’s incessant rocket attacks and the subsequent disruption of residents’ livelihoods, the nonprofit social venture SparkIL has launched an emergency loan fund of $2.7 million for the owners of impacted businesses, from café owners to beekeepers and beyond.

Join Jewish Miami for a communitywide commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the October 7. Miami Remembers October 7: From Mourning to Hope will honor the victims and their families of the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, pay tribute to the Israeli heroes and share our optimism for the future of Israel, its people and the Jewish Diaspora.

Answering the needs of Israel’s farmers and hungry families who have been hit particularly hard since October 7, Leket is now focusing on propping up the country’s agricultural industry and distributing more food to those in need.

Federation’s Mishkan Miami: The Jewish Connection for Spiritual Support is seeking compassionate individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of others. The Refuat Ha-Nefesh Spiritual Care Program is a unique group of volunteers who will be trained in the mitzvah of bikur cholim (visiting the sick) and learn the art of spiritual care.

Don’t miss the excellent networking opportunity at Federation’s 23rd Annual Sunset Over Miami on Wednesday, September 25, 7-9 p.m. at The Moore Miami. Presented by Federation’s Real Estate Division, the event invites architects, attorneys, brokers, builders, contractors, developers, lenders and professionals affiliated with these trades to a chic cocktail reception in the heart of Miami’s Design District.

Looking to welcome the Jewish New Year with your neighbors and family? Online registration is now open for a select number of free High Holiday seats at participating Miami-area synagogues. As a service to our community, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, along with many local synagogues, are making the High Holiday Welcome Program available to unaffiliated individuals in Miami-Dade County so everyone can experience the richness of these special days.

The Summer of Tkuma (Rebirth), an innovative summer camp, helped prepare nearly 11,000 displaced Israeli children to return home. Supported by Federation and our overseas partners and developed by Habaita (Homeward), the six-week program welcomed fourth- through 12th-grade students from the western Negev, enabling them to reconnect with their schoolmates and teachers, engage in both studies and recreation — and just be kids again!

Federation and Jewish Miami are sending blessings of refuah shlemah (get-well wishes) to Col. (res.) Golan Vach, who led rescue efforts in Surfside and was recently injured in Gaza. Following the tragic 2021 collapse of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South, Vach and his unit joined local first responders to help locate individuals who perished beneath the rubble. A father of seven, Vach has been on continuous reserve duty since October 7.

As the newly appointed Chair of The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), Mark Kravitz is eager to bring his passion for education front and center. In a post-10/7 world, Kravitz knows now is the time to reevaluate, reenergize and redefine Jewish education, and Miami is the place to do it.

Through unique and inclusive programming, Miami’s three Federation-supported JCCs are making sure that every camper has a chance for summer fun. A variety of special needs programming and inclusive day camp experiences are spread throughout Miami-Dade County, from Alper JCC Miami in south Miami and the Miami Beach JCC to the Michael-Ann Russell JCC in North Miami Beach.