News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Federation’s Hebrew Free Loan Association (HFLA) is launching a new initiative to help Jewish individuals and families burdened by high-interest debt. Through interest-free loans of up to $18,000, the new Phoenix Debt Relief Fund offers a compassionate and practical path to financial stability for Jewish Miami-Dade County residents.

Be part of Jewish Miami’s response to help victims of Hurricane Melissa. As the most powerful hurricane ever to strike Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa barreled into the small island country on Tuesday, October 28 as a devastating Category 5 storm, causing widespread damage and destruction.

Join Miami’s Jewish community Sunday, November 9 at Temple Beth Sholom to commemorate Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. Beginning at 6 p.m., the program will be led by the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, a Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, in partnership with other nonprofit and civic organizations.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but Federation works year-round to promote awareness of breast cancer risks in our Jewish community. Federation-supported nonprofits Sharsheret and Yodeah provide lifesaving education and access to breast cancer screening for Jewish women.

While we welcome the ceasefire and pray it holds, Federation continues to assist IDF reservists and their families through the Reservists’ Wives Forum. Founded in 2023 by partners of reservists, the nonprofit represents 100,000 reservist families facing employment and mental health challenges.

Through the new initiative Shikma, Federation is helping bereaved families of Israel’s fallen transform grief into good works that honor their loved ones and provide innovative solutions to Israel’s social challenges.

As we watch the released living hostages take their first delicate steps back into the loving arms of their families and Israeli society, the work of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and our partners remains critical, as does our resolve to support them.

Raised in Argentina, Adriana Halac has always been deeply connected to Jewish life, a passion that grew even more after she moved to Miami. Now through Federation, she’s providing for the next generation.

Do you know an extraordinary Jewish teen who is a true changemaker? Each year, the Helen Diller Family Foundation awards 15 Jewish teens with $36,000 in recognition of their exceptional leadership and engagement in service projects that embody the value of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

Demonstrating the power of connection, Federation’s longtime partner city Yerucham recently hosted leaders from Kibbutz Or HaNer, a community on the Gaza border that was devastated by Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7.

Did you know that your child can receive a free book every month in the mail through PJ Library? With a no-cost subscription, children from birth to eight years old receive storybooks and activities that spark conversations around the diversity of the Jewish experience and inspire the whole family to celebrate what they love about their Judaism.

Jewish Federations rejoice as 20 living hostages return home to Israel.

Greater Miami Jewish Federation, its JCRC and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami welcome the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas

Federation and our Jewish Community Relations Council are proud to partner with AJC to mark the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the historic declaration of the Second Vatican Council that transformed Catholic-Jewish relations worldwide.

With tremendous joy and relief, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, our Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami (RAGM) welcome the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza that, if goes as planned, will result in the release of all remaining hostages in the coming days.

Give back this Thanksgiving holiday by participating in the 17th Annual Everything but the Turkey, hosted by Federation’s Jewish Volunteer Center in Miami Beach on Sunday, November 16 at 2 p.m. and in South Dade on Thursday, November 20 at 6 p.m.

As rising numbers of Israelis are facing food insecurity, Federation has allocated funding for vulnerable individuals and families. Grants are helping distribute food and hygiene packages to evacuated families who have recently returned home; provide a hearty breakfast to at-risk students before class begins at the Mofet School in Jerusalem, deliver food parcels twice a month to elderly residents in Jaffa, Tel Aviv and Bat Yam (along with complementary social and emotional support through volunteer and social worker visits) and support nonprofits specializing in food rescue and redistribution.

Is the cost of a psychoeducational evaluation for your child preventing you from accessing the services they need to succeed in the classroom? A grant from Federation’s Miami Jewish Abilities Alliance (MJAA) can help!