Articles

For significant parts of the last several centuries, the great Jewish families of Europe, Asia, and North America were central players in international business and commerce but also created the infrastructure and framed the norms for modern Jewish philanthropy.

Words are simply not adequate to define or contain the emotions following the assault on January 6 on the U.S. Capitol and American democracy.

We Jews have a profound stake in this nation. We were here from the very beginnings of this experiment in democracy. Washington’s extraordinary letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1790 affirms this unique connection:

One of the most underreported components of the Jewish response to this pandemic has been the extraordinary contributions of the nearly 50 agencies that comprise today the International Association of Jewish Free Loans. Situated here in North America and across the Jewish world, these historic agencies, large and small, have made an essential difference in the lives of the thousands of families and individuals whom they have assisted over this past year.

A new year provides us with the appropriate occasion to offer resolutions, make predictions and even offer aspirations for what might be next!
Indeed, as so many have expressed, we will be happy to see the end of 2020. We should remind ourselves that we entered this year with the promise of a robust economy and the start of a new and exciting decade, these earlier expectations now seem so remote, to some extent unreal.

Community relations is an art form. And when it comes to the public affairs agenda of the Jewish community, communications management requires a mastery of intrigue and information. Nowhere was that mastery more evident than the Los Angeles Community Relations Committee (CRC) from 1934–2007, where I served as director from 1985-1995.

With the news of a COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out as soon as this week, many are rightfully dreaming of the day when we can finally exit our quarantines.

The “coming out” process no doubt will be slow, somewhat disjointed and likely to include a number of unexpected challenges. Longer term, lifestyle behaviors and choices may have changed permanently during the pandemic, just as they have transformed during prior moments in American history.

In my last piece, I explained why the Jewish community is in the midst of a “Pandemic Revolution.” Twenty-first-century economic and social changes have suggested that our community will be courting a new generation of Jews with different modes of engagement, operating with fewer resources, and managing amid a destabilized political and social environment.

Managing a Broken Society: As we experience this Thanksgiving moment, we realize the health challenges and economic struggles of so many in our country, even within our own community. Just as individuals and families face hardships, so do many of our most valued institutions. Our government, in consort with the nonprofit and business sectors, must develop a joint commitment to healing our nation.

As we experience an unprecedented global pandemic, more Jews than at any other time in history are being exposed to Jewish platforms of culture, religious practice and education. According to several reports, COVID-19’s forced digital emphasis has generated a rebirth in Jewish spirituality, learning and religious engagement.

In a joint statement issued on November 6, the leadership of Wilshire Boulevard Temple (WBT) and University Synagogue announced the latest merger within the American Jewish communal world.
Rabbi Joseph Newmark founded Congregation B’nai B’rith (WBT) in 1862. As Los Angeles’ first synagogue, WBT would emerge under the leadership of Rabbi Edgar Magnin (1915-1984) as one of the city’s most influential Jewish institutions. Over WBT’s 158 year history, its transformative clergy and high profile lay leadership have positioned the synagogue to be a pioneering engine of change.