News From the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

At 109 years old, Malka “Mollie” Horwitz is Miami-Dade County’s oldest known living Holocaust Survivor, and for the past 11 years has been able to live in dignity, thanks to the Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program, a Federation-supported initiative operated by our partner Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS).

With the help of Federation funding, Kibbutz Or HaNer recently launched three new surf therapy groups supporting women from families of reservists, men ages 35-55 and adults 55 and over.

Scheck Hillel Community School, one of 12 Federation-funded Jewish day schools, hosted the Eighth Annual CAJE Jewish Day School Robotics Festival this May. A celebration of innovation and Jewish unity, the event showcased the design, engineering and problem-solving skills of more than 230 students in third through seventh grade from a dozen schools across South Florida.

As we come to the end of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), you can be #JewishMiamiProud to know that the annual celebration has been visibly present across Miami-Dade County.

“The Kallah Project is more than a bridal gemach (traditional Jewish lending initiative),” noted co-founder Debbie Mendal. “It’s a community of kindness.” With Federation serving as its fiscal sponsor and the help of co-founders Helen Gay Benenson and Helen Milhem, the project offers a curated selection of wedding gowns, veils, accessories and bridal essentials that brides can “borrow.”

Nearly 150 students from UM Hillel, Hillel at FIU and Hillel at FSU recently participated in Birthright Israel and explored Yerucham, Federation's partner city. The cohorts, who traveled separately, visited MindCet, an innovative education technology center, where they met with the wife of an IDF reservist who served 350 days.

Are you the grandchild of a Holocaust Survivor? Learn to present your grandparents’ testimony with 3GMiami during this summer’s speaker training series. A program of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, 3GMiami trains participants to educate students about the dangers of intolerance and combat antisemitism by recounting their family histories. Sessions begin in June via Zoom and take place on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation, its Jewish Community Relations Council and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami are shocked and devastated by the antisemitic murders of two Israeli Embassy employees.

Join Jewish Miami on Sunday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Climbing Mount Sinai: A Morning of Spiritual Preparation for Shavuot Eve. The event, taking place at Federation, includes a kosher brunch and is sponsored by Federation’s Mishkan Miami and its Refuat HaNefesh Alumni Fellows.

It’s natural to assume that creating an endowment for the Jewish community is an act of generosity only accessible to older, more established individuals. But at 33 years old, Pearleen Lederman is demonstrating the alternative with her commitment to The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

During a recent Israel Study Trip, Federation leaders learned how the needs of Israeli women have increased dramatically since October 7 and how Federation-funded programs are continually working to support and empower them.

Through your generosity, Federation is caring for 20,000 Israeli youth suffering from the invisible wounds of trauma from the October 7 attacks. Enosh, one of Israel’s leading mental health organizations, is establishing a network of six Trauma and Crisis Intervention Centers for young adults to make quality emotional therapy accessible to anyone who needs it.

May is both Jewish American Heritage Month and Haitian American Heritage Month, and members of both communities came together for an interactive program organized by Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Sant La and Ayiti Community Trust.

Attention, college and graduate students! There’s still time to apply for a Sylvia Tuman Scholarship to help fund your higher education. A limited number of scholarships are available from The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation to Jewish undergraduate and graduate students in need of financial assistance.

With the recent increase of IDF troops called to active duty, Federation funding continues to provide critical support to reservists and their families. Jewish Federations of North America, together with individual federations including Miami, have allocated more than $47 million to support 54 organizations addressing reservists’ escalating needs.

Mazal tov to Kloda Whitebook Kesher Academy on 30 years of excellence in special education! Led by Head of School Rabbi Ezra Levy, Kesher’s history and reputation for teaching children in 1st to 12th grade with learning disabilities is so impressive that families relocate all the way from Israel to enroll their children.

Loneliness and social isolation can have a profound effect on our health and wellbeing, particularly as we age. This topic will be explored at the 29th Annual Ministering to the Elderly Conference on Thursday, June 4 at Miami Jewish Health.

For years, Federation has provided rescued fresh produce and meals for Israelis in need through Leket Israel, and the demand for the nonprofit’s services has nearly doubled since October 7 due to food scarcity and high prices.