News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

This year’s High Holy Days are sure to be very different than any other in our recent experience. While we may not be able to gather together as in years past, there is still important value in maintaining your connection to your Jewish community — even if that may mean hearing the shofar virtually.

Greater Miami Jewish Federation helped 1,000 individuals secure free kosher food yesterday during its third Kosher Food Drive-Thru Distribution event yesterday at Federation headquarters.

It’s back-to-school for the 10 Federation-funded Jewish day schools. While some began welcoming students back to campus this week — also offering an online option for students — others remain 100 percent virtual.

Federation overseas partner, The Jewish Agency for Israel, continues to support aliyah efforts of Jews around the world, this time, with a first-of-its-kind charter flight from Mexico.

While this time of social distancing means we may not be able to gather in the usual ways we have always done for the High Holy Days, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation 40 Days & 40 Nights program is helping Jews find deep, powerful connections with one another.

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) continues to raise awareness about the prevalence of anti-Semitism and offer effective ways to combat bigotry.

The Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, a committee of Federation, is helping to educate Florida students about the horrors of the Shoah. Thanks to a new state law, the Florida Department of Education has introduced a Holocaust Education Resource Guide and curriculum standards for teaching the Holocaust in public school districts throughout the state.

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation in partnership with Mishkan Miami: The Jewish Connection for Spiritual Support and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami introduces 40 Days & 40 Nights.

The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) is bringing the silver screen to the home screen with its digital Virtual Screening Room, a collection of outstanding Jewish-content films.

Since the pandemic began, Federation has distributed $4 milion in emergency grants to individuals and institutions throughout our Jewish community. However, the organizations we rely on to sustain Jewish life depend on all of us to survive.

Applications are now open for Federation 2021 Jewish Incubator Grants, which will support nonprofits that develop unique programs to impact Jewish life in Miami.

In an uncertain world, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation is providing much certainty. The human impact of the COVID-19 crisis is tremendous.

August 13, 2020 - The Greater Miami Jewish Federation and its Jewish Community Relations Council celebrate the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This diplomatic breakthrough includes the establishment of reciprocal embassies and formalization of several bilateral agreements in mutually beneficial areas ranging in scope from security to technology and from healthcare to the environment. We hope and pray that this leads to similar normalization and peaceful diplomacy with neighboring Arab countries, with the fervent belief that it is only through such commitment that the region and the world will achieve a durable, just and lasting resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.

More than 1,000 members of Miami’s Jewish community received free kosher food last week at the second Kosher Food Distribution Drive-Thru organized by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and its Jewish Volunteer Center.

Base Miami, a program aimed at engaging young professionals and families in deep exploration of their Jewish identity in a home-based setting, is now a proud Federation program. Base Miami is centered around the home of Rabbi Adam and Jessie Gindea in Brickell.

This summer, Federation joined other organizations under the umbrella of the Jewish Service Alliance to create Serve the Moment. The four-week “summer of service” program engaged 18-29-year-olds with the intent of initiating 100,000 acts of meaningful, community hands-on volunteering projects.

Federation overseas partner The Jewish Agency for Israel is helping the most vulnerable older adults in Israel cope with the pandemic. Residents of Amigour, a housing community supported by The Jewish Agency, are receiving food, other necessities and emotional support. For Etya Papugayev, the help has been a lifeline.

With $165,000 in grants from Federation and in-kind donations from individual donors, local agencies Miami Jewish Health and Jewish Community Services of South Florida have been able to secure additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to enhance the safety and well-being of frontline healthcare workers and social workers while on the job.