Yesterday, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation placed a full-page message in The Miami Herald addressing Pink Floyd co-founder and vocalist Roger Waters, who performed in Miami last night. It marks a continued effort of Federation’s JCRC to educate and engage the community to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) tactics used to delegitimize Israel. Waters is an outspoken supporter of the BDS movement against Israel and uses his performances, as well as media outlets and frequent public statements, to espouse virulent anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Read more.

A group of 41 young adults ages 22-26 recently returned to Miami from a whirlwind Taglit-Birthright Israel trip. The 10-day journey, a gift from the Birthright Israel Foundation and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, included tours of historic and culturally significant sights, in addition to a number of Federation-funded local programs and agencies. Participant Leah Messing said, “I took my Jewish identity for granted until this trip, and I didn’t realize how important it is that Jewish people raise Jewish families and participate in synagogue life.” Read more.

This week and next, more than 70 campers at Miami’s three Jewish community centers (JCCs) are experiencing a hands-on robotics summer camp, led by the award-winning Israeli Yerucham Science Center. Through the support of Federation’s Miami-Yerucham Partnership, the Michael-Ann Russell JCC and the Miami Beach JCC hosted camps this week, and the Alper JCC will host one next week. By the end of the first day, the enthusiastic campers — a mix of boys and girls — had already completed their robots and began to program them. Read more.

Thanks to a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library in Miami will soon launch a “Community Connector” program. This initiative will help local families raising young children build social connections with each other and engage in Jewish life, programming and learning. To implement the grant, PJ Library is searching for three part-time employees. Click here for more details. Applications are due by Tuesday, August 1 to [email protected]. PJ Library is a gift from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation made possible by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Blank Family Foundation.

Hurricane season is here, and Federation’s Jewish Volunteer Center (JVC) is seeking compassionate, helpful people to join the 2017 Jewish Volunteer Emergency Response Team (JVERT) and assist our community in case of a disaster. Whether you own a truck, are handy with a saw, are good at organizing others, or have other important skills or resources, all volunteers with a “can-do” attitude are welcome! Click here to register for JVERT. For more information, call 786.866.8680.