News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

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.

In recognition of their leadership, commitment, dedication, passion and concern for the welfare of the Jewish people, Jeffrey Scheck and Isaac K. “Ike” Fisher will be recognized by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation at our 84th Annual Meeting, Thursday, June 2 at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Miami Downtown, 1601 Biscayne Boulevard.

On Thursday, June 2, Miami’s Jewish community will come together to elect the 2022-2023 leadership at Federation’s 84th Annual Meeting, taking place at the Hilton Miami Downtown. These extraordinary individuals comprise Federation’s Officers, Board of Directors and Leadership Council, and also the various entities that make up the Council of Jewish Organizations.

“It was a call from within — simply help people,” shares Evgenia Kasap, a call center coordinator for Federation’s overseas partner the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

“Creating Meaning in Times of Uncertainty” is the timely topic that will be explored at the 26th Annual Ministering to the Elderly Conference on Wednesday, June 8 at Miami Jewish Health.

Jewish day school students across Miami recently celebrated Federation Week, exploring the Jewish values of tzedakah (charity), gemilut chasadim (kindness) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), pillars around which Federation’s work is based.

“I'm sitting here in the office, but really I'm there. I'm in the war,” recounts Olga Lomkin, an operator at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) call center in Israel where they are focused on one thing: saving lives in Ukraine.

Meet Cecilia (Ceci) Edelberg, a Diller Teen Miami alum whose experience as a Diller Teen Fellow impacted her long after the culmination of the program.

Visitors to the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach and the surrounding area will be reminded of the many contributions of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel, z”l, now that a Miami Beach street has been renamed for him.

The Miami-Yerucham Partnership's Kulna Israeli Sephardic Music Fest regaled Miami audiences with concerts for Yom Ha’Atzmaut in locations across Miami-Dade County.

Direct from Yerucham, Israel’s Kulna School for Traditional and Creative Arts and Music will present a week-long festival of Mizrahi music, May 1-5, celebrating Sephardic Jewry.

Join members of our community, Holocaust Survivors and special guest speakers this Sunday, May 1 for an in-person Yom HaShoah observance at the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach.