News from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

On a bitter cold day December 6, exactly 25 years ago, about 800 members of Miami’s Jewish community joined 250,000 people from throughout the United States and Canada in Washington, D.C. to march and advocate for Soviet Jews. The day was called Freedom Sunday and it led to the eventual freedom of more than 1.5 million Jews who would finally be able to practice their Judaism and make new lives in Israel and in the United States.

The Attorneys’ Division of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation will honor and present achievement awards to three dedicated members of the local legal community at its 29th Annual Judicial Reception to be held on January 23, 2013, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Jungle Island. The popular event, which includes a cocktail reception, is attended by hundreds of legal professionals from across Miami-Dade County.

According to a December 11 article in The Wall Street Journal, there has been a significant increase in the number of donors who are creating donor-advised funds or adding to their existing fund as a way to get the best bang for their charitable buck.

On December 25, the Jewish community of Miami will once again come together to help the vulnerable and to enhance the area on the 5th Annual Jewish Community Volunteer Day, presented by the Jewish Volunteer Center of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

More than a thousand South Floridians joined the Greater Miami Jewish Federation at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach Sunday night at the Israel Solidarity Rally, raising their voices together in support of the people of Israel, echoing their dream of living in peace and security.

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation and its Jewish Community Relations Council, together with the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, the Consulate General of Israel to Florida & Puerto Rico and Miami’s Synagogues, Day Schools and Jewish Community Organizations invite you to Stand together with Israel.

Hundreds of deadly rockets continue to hit Israel, launched by Hamas and other terrorist groups from Gaza. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation Israel Crisis Response Effort is bringing direct and immediate aid to the people of Israel.

After days of an escalated, deadly barrage of rocket attacks on southern Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, forcing more than one million Israeli civilians into bomb shelters, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense.

As residents of New Jersey, New York and other parts of the northeastern U.S. try to deal with the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which has wreaked havoc on their communities, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation is joining a national effort to provide immediate, nonsectarian aid where it is needed most.

Tzedakah (social justice) and tikkun olam (repair of the world) are only concepts until educators and parents help bring these Jewish values to life. That’s the thinking behind the new “Federation Youth Ambassadors” program, which connects students from five Miami-area Jewish day schools with the work of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and its partner agencies.

Join hundreds of volunteers on Monday, November 19 and Tuesday, November 20 to lend a hand in preparing more than 1,500 servings of food for the hungry in South Florida. The Fourth Annual “Everything but the Turkey” program will provide side dishes, appetizers and all the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Selam, a multi-generational Ethiopian-Israeli dance troupe from Pardes Channa-Karkur, recently performed at the home of Israeli President Shimon Peres as part of the Open Sukkah event held each year at the President’s home in Jerusalem.

After many years of anticipation, the new Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center on the Simkins Family Campus (MBJCC) will throw open its doors wide on Sunday, October 21 to welcome members of the community to a free Community Day at its all-new location at 4221 Pine Tree Drive.

In celebration of the enduring spirit that kept so many alive during the Holocaust and in tribute to the millions who perished, the New World Symphony and the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation will present Inside the Music: Songs of the Holocaust on Tuesday, November 13.

Immediately following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy on communities in New Jersey, New York and other Northeastern states, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation joined a national effort to raise funds to provide immediate, nonsectarian aid to those impacted by this tragedy.

Discover a fun, meaningful way to spark the imaginations of Miami pre-schoolers. The Jewish Volunteer Center (JVC) of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation is recruiting volunteers for the United Way of Miami-Dade’s popular ReadingPals literacy program.

With elections on the minds of so many these days, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation will present Party Politics: An Interactive Discussion for ALL Inquiring Minds, Monday, October 22 at The Green Diamond, 4775 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

When you are president of Israel and are about to reach the milestone of 89 years old, there are many ways you can celebrate your birthday. Shimon Peres chose to spend his special day – Thursday, August 16, 2012 – in Yerucham, a city in Israel’s Negev Desert region that is partner to Miami’s Jewish community.