News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Time is running out! Tomorrow, December 31, is the last day to make your 2016 pledge, payment or new donation to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation/UJA Campaign.

A number of students from University of Miami’s Hillel, one of seven Federation-supported Hillels throughout the state, recently participated in Birthright Israel.

We’re counting down to the end of the year, and there are only seven more days to take advantage of year-end giving! Your pledge, payment or new donation to the Annual Greater Miami Jewish Federation/UJA Campaign by December 31 lets you support Jewish needs in Miami, Israel and around the world.

Thanks to your support of the Annual Federation/UJA Campaign, children and families in need across South Florida have a life-saving safety net – Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options (JAFCO), a Jewish-based group home and social-service resource for children (newborns to age 22) awaiting adoption and foster care.

Federation partner agency, The Jewish Agency for Israel, gathered 100 new olim (immigrants) from 29 countries to light the “global chanukiah” (menorah) last week in their new homeland.

On behalf of the Officers, Board of Directors and Staff of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, we wish you a Happy Chanukah! May the lights of Chanukah shine brightly on you and your loved ones. Click here to watch our Chanukah video.

The Board of Directors and staff of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach have joined with 90 Holocaust remembrance organizations and 71 Holocaust scholars of the Association of Holocaust Organizations to strongly condemn the recent surge in racially charged rhetoric and blatantly bigoted behaviors that have been cropping up in communities across the United States.

Mark your calendar to join Women’s Philanthropy April 24 - 26 for a Social Action & Civil Rights Journey Through a Jewish Lens. Tour important historic sites in Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Alabama while learning about Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and the present-day implications.

Three Miami Beach brothers — Jared, Koby and Evan Resnick — recently raised $14,300 for the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach. Conceived by 14-year-old Jared as a Bar Mitzvah project for his brother Koby, the Quarterbacks for the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach event enlisted 50 young athletes and local event sponsors for a flag football tournament on December 4 at the Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center.

Double your impact of your contribution to the Annual Greater Miami Jewish Federation/UJA Campaign by donating on Monday, December 12! As 2016 comes to an end, Federation is counting on your contributions to support Jewish needs in Miami, in Israel and around the world.

Give the gift of meaning this holiday season and brighten someone’s day by participating in Federation's Jewish Volunteer Center's Eighth Annual Community Volunteer Days.

Last week, more than 350 young adult Jewish leaders from the former Soviet Union (FSU) celebrated their role in strengthening Jewish life at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) Active Jewish Teens (AJT) 4th annual conference in Kharkov, Ukraine.

In response to the fires that burned across Israel during five days in November, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and our overseas partners are helping Israelis recover from the widespread devastation.

Prior to and after the election, we have seen a significant uptick in divisive and hateful rhetoric. According to the anti-intolerance watchdog, the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 400 incidents of harassment, including racist, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic acts, have been reported.

Together with the Jewish Federations of North America, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation condemns the reprehensible acts of vandalism and the death threats against Reform Jewish leaders found at Kehilat Ra'anan - Beit Samueli, a Reform synagogue in Ra'anana, Israel.

Thank you, Miami! Because of your generous donations, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation topped the leaderboard with a total of $476,000 in donations on Give Miami Day.

Five Federation-funded Jewish day schools are adopting a cutting-edge approach to Jewish education known as “blended learning,” which combines traditional instruction with digital tools to provide highly personalized student experiences and introduce new models for lifelong learning. Called JBlendMiami, this technique enables students to learn at their own pace, aligned to their personal learning style.

Students at Florida International University (FIU) now have a dedicated Hillel to call their own, thanks to your ongoing support of the Annual Federation/UJA Campaign.