News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Rafting on the Jordan River, hiking in the Upper Galilee, visiting with the Ethiopian-Israeli community in Pardes Channa/Karkur… these are some of the highlights of Federation’s Young Leadership Division (YLD) Birthright Israel trip.

June 1 marked the start of hurricane season and Federation’s Jewish Volunteer Center (JVC) is here to help in case a storm threatens.

“I was lucky enough to be part of this operation, leading and coordinating all the processes for the integration of new immigrants living in the Dan Panorama Tel Aviv hotel,” said Vera Doroshenko of The Jewish Agency for Israel.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic collapse of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South condominium, three young volunteers from EZS Events — Efraim Stefansky, Zushie Litkowski and Svia Bension — were recognized last week by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman at a County Commission meeting for raising $1.5 million for victims and families of the tragedy.

On Friday, June 10, a great spiritual and community leader, Rabbi Solomon Schiff, z”l, was memorialized with a Miami Beach street named in his honor.

With your help, Federation and our overseas partner the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, The Jewish Agency for Israel, World ORT and others have been able to bring hundreds of thousands of people to safety in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

After 17 long years, Alemitu Belew finally reunited with her daughters in Israel, thanks to Operation Zur Israel, which resumed on Wednesday, June 1, bringing 180 Ethiopians to their new homeland.

Last night, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation elected Ariel Bentata as the Chair of the Board of Directors and Lily Serviansky as Board Vice Chair and General Campaign Chair during our 84th Annual Meeting.

Dr. Marc E. Agronin will discuss “Planning for Care in the New Normal: How to Address Estate Planning and Financial Decisions With an Aging Population” at the upcoming session for Certified Legacy Advisors (CLA) presented by Federation’s Professional Advisors Council (PAC) on Wednesday, June 1 via Zoom.

Apply to be a Diller Teen Fellow before it’s too late! Diller empowers teens from across the globe to become forces of change in their community and beyond.

Participate in our confidential and anonymous mental health survey to be entered in a raffle for a $50 gift card! Are you the parent of a teen or young adult or do you work with them in a professional setting?

With no end in sight to the Russian invasion of Ukraine — multiple cities remain under fire and millions of people are displaced — support for Ukraine’s Jewish community is urgently needed.

Five emerging leaders will be honored at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation 84th Annual Meeting, Thursday, June 2 at the Hilton Miami Downtown.

For many years, Scheck Hillel Community School — a Federation-funded Jewish day school — has taken its 9th-grade students on an annual trip to Israel, with a visit to Miami’s partnership city of Yerucham in the Negev.

You can DOUBLE THE IMPACT of your donation to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Ukraine Emergency Fund, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Federation is shining a light on this important issue. In response to the US Surgeon General’s warning of “a mental health crisis among our nation’s youth,” Federation launched a Youth Mental Health Task Force in January.

"It's hard, because, you know, it's very scary to start a new life at the age of 73. I feel pure terror," says Yelizaveta, a Ukrainian who was forced to hide in her bathroom when constant shellings threatened her safety.