After two years of social distancing, JCC Association of North America convened in Houston, March 27-30, the highly anticipated Mifgash (encounter).
More than 100 JCC Executive Directors from all over North America were eager to rejuvenate, reignite and reconnect, including a 7 member JCC Global delegation from JCCs in Israel, Chile and UK. The rich program also included a time to reflect on the situation in Ukraine and neighbouring countries and mobilize support for peer JCCs in the region.
In the photo - JCC Global delegation to JCCA Mifgash (from left to right): Liat Ellert, Director of Joint Ventures, IACC; Golan Rosenberg, Executive Director, Matte Asher Community Center, Northern Region, Israel; Michael Peleg Uziyahu, Executive Director, Eshkol Community Center, Southern Region, Israel; Smadar Bar-Akiva, Executive Director, JCC Global; Yoav Rothschild, Executive Director, East Talpiot Community Center, Jerusalem, Israel; Jessica Kanonitsch, Executive Director, Estadio Israelita Macabi Santiago, Chile; Daniel Carmel Brown, CEO, Jewish Care, London, UK
Update #5 on JCCs in Ukraine focuses on JCCs around the world that are rallying around JCCs in Ukraine and Europe
All the way from Buenos Aires, Argentina, our friends at Lamroth Hakol Synagogue/JCC collected $10,000 to help Ukrainian refugees and embarked on a 24 hour visit to Poland to distribute the money and their good will. In the photo: Rabbi Fabian Skornik, Executive Director, Marcos Juejati, President together with Jonathan Ornstein, Executive Director, JCC Krakow. To see a TV coverage in Spanish, click here.
We are grateful to JCC Global affiliate organization in Germany, ZWST, that continues to help Holocaust survivors evacuate and find safe refuge in Germany. They were able to join hands with several organizations (Claims Conference, Caritas Deutschland, the @TAG, the AWO Bndesverband and Der Paritatische Wohelfahrsverband Gesamtverband) in order to provide full accommodation in their premises. Photo credit ©Sven Stolzenwald
In France, the EUJF together with FSJU- Fond Social Juif Unife- launched a 3 day trip to Warsaw and Rava Ruska, a Ukrainian border town near Lviv that EUJF partnered with 3 years ago. They were moved by the personal stories of each and every refugee that they met and were able to assess needs so that they are able to assemble addiitonal support upon their return.
Once again, JCC Global is a proud partner of CDI Mexico for the 48th Aviv Dance Festival that brought together several thousand people (!) in person (!) In addition to the wonderful Mexico City based dance troupes, 14 international dance troupes from Jewish communities in Argentina, Canada, Israel, Panama, Turkey and the USA participated in the festival and also dancers from Hesed Michael in Melitopol and Migdal JCC in Odessa- both from Ukraine! You are invited to watch this special event here.
In time for Passover, Kol Isha female Haggadah was finally published by JCC Krakow! As part of the JCC Global Amitim Fellows program, the Krakow female activists who were part of Kol Isha program - a women’s voice- in partnership with the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto and Migvanim Community Centers in Ramat Hasharon, Israel- published their Haggadah. Texts were relearned, rewritten and even invented, depicting the point of view of female activities in Krakow. To read the JCC Krakow Kol Isha Haggadah version of the 10 Plagues and add it to your Seder table, click here.
It is hard to believe, but even during these times of peril, JCCs in Ukraine are getting ready to celebrate Passover. “It warms our hearts and gives us strength to know that our friends around the world are with us this Passover”, said Inessa Nosenko the Director of the Mazal Tov JCC in Zaporizhzhia, as she conducted an online Matza baking session with close to 100 participants, earlier this week.
As we will sit around the Seder table, please add this special reading prepared by JDC and consider a donation to help and sustain the Jewish communities in Ukraine and the region.
We join in prayers for peace and healing and wish all of you Happy Passover! JCC Staff Team