Category: Programs & Partnerships

As antisemitism continues to rise around the world, the need for proactive, community-wide security is as important as ever. Our community is no stranger to this need; in March, 40 security incidents were reported across Greater Washington, targeting synagogues, Jewish schools, and other institutions. But by promoting broader community preparedness, we can build our resiliency and strength against any potential threat.

That’s why the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s security initiative, JShield, is launching the Shield Program, an expanded training platform marking a strategic evolution of its work to protect and empower the community.

The Shield Program builds on our extensive experience supporting Jewish institutions, delivering a more focused and accessible approach to training. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, it offers practical learning tailored to different roles and settings, from core safety foundations and crisis response to leadership planning, community awareness, and even self-defense.
At its center is a simple idea: security is not the responsibility of one person or one position—it’s something we all share.

“The core mission of JShield is built on the philosophy that community safety is about empowering every individual to play a role,” said Rusty Rosenthal, Federation’s Executive Director of Community Security. “This expanded platform builds on partnership with our community, delivering practical, real-world training that helps people recognize risks, respond effectively, and contribute to a culture where safety is shared. At a time of rising antisemitism, that collective preparedness is essential.”

Importantly, Shield trainings are provided entirely free of charge, removing financial barriers and ensuring that organizations of all sizes can access high-quality security support.

“I feel fortunate to have JShield as a security partner,” said Monica Saff, Executive Director of Ohr Kodesh Congregation. “They have facilitated several security trainings for my staff team and have also helped me with reporting two issues of concern and advised me about the right steps to take. It’s reassuring for our community to know that we work closely with JShield and have their guidance and support as we make ongoing decisions about security.” 

Through JShield, Federation goes beyond funding security—it helps build the habits, coordination, and awareness that make communities safer every day. The goal is not only to respond in moments of risk, but to embed security as a shared responsibility so Jewish life can be experienced fully, openly, and safely.

Find more information on security and trainings.

For those looking to discover new things or have meaningful conversations about Israel, Federation’s Hands-on Israel workshops is an exciting place to start.

Through this growing initiative, Federation partners with synagogues, schools, young adult groups, and community organizations to expand access to dynamic Israel programming that is creative, educational, and personal. Led by our community Shlichim (Israeli emissaries), these workshops complement existing community offerings, creating new opportunities for connection and learning.

Whether it’s preschoolers exploring Israeli culture through art, teens learning about women in Israeli cinema, or older adults discussing the uniqueness of Israeli leadership, each workshop is designed to bring Israel to life in a tangible and innovative way. From leadership and identity sessions to Israeli crafts and music, the goal is simple: to create authentic, accessible connections to Israel for all ages.

And it’s working! Demand for Hands-on Israel continues to grow, with strong participation across age groups and geographies. Some organizations have invited shlichim back multiple times to lead sessions with different age groups or on different topics, and as each cohort of shlichim brings their own passions, talents, and perspectives, the workshops continue to evolve—keeping the experience fresh, relevant, and impactful.

Through Hands-on Israel, Federation is not only expanding access to Israel engagement, but strengthening connections, building community, and creating meaningful experiences that resonate long after the workshop ends.

Because sometimes, the most powerful way to connect is not just to learn about something, but to experience it together.

Interested in a Hands-on Israel workshop for your own community or organization? Learn how to request a workshop here.

There are approximately 85,000 Jewish young adults in the DC region, many of whom have moved from other places. Which means that we have a tremendous responsibility to make Jewish life as accessible as possible. Plus, young people want in.

We’ve heard unequivocally from young Jews that they want to be more involved and are eager for low-barrier Jewish experiences. Indeed, our 2025 Pulse Survey found that young adults are both the least connected to and the most interested in Jewish life. (Results show 62% of Jews under 35 in D.C. and NOVA want to be more engaged with Jewish life and community.)

It’s with this in mind that we are taking steps to widen the path toward greater Jewish engagement. Recently, our board approved funding for a joint effort across six organizations (The Den Collective, the Edlavitch DCJCC, GatherDC, Hadar, OneTable, and Sixth & I). These organizations are already part of a collaborative that has been working to strengthen Jewish life for those in their 20s and 30s in our region and they are eager to keep experimenting and growing together.

The focus of their next venture will be to grow the number of young adults participating in Shabbat dinners. We know from data and experience that Shabbat is one of the most effective levers of Jewish engagement. It is meaningful, accessible, and recurring. It is transformative in its own right and serves as a gateway to deeper connection. It is a ready-made touch point capable of meeting the post-October 7th interest among young Jews in stepping further into Jewish life.

We also know young people aren’t the only ones interested. Parents of young children, empty nesters, newcomers, and more are hungering for the comfort, structure, community, and spirituality of Shabbat. The group therefore plans to start with young adults as a target audience and expand from there.

I’m excited about this work because I am passionate about the outcome and moved to see a bedrock of our tradition become a key point of welcome and discovery. I also think it depicts what Federation is meant to do: leverage our strategic vantage point, establish forward-thinking partnerships, and bring our community closer while moving it forward.

The Shabbat dinner effort is just getting started. The goal in this first year is to increase participation among young adults by 10% as we learn how best to bring in more people. And core to this is that the partners have each other. They will enact a shared strategy and learn and iterate together, faster and with more precision than they could alone. They will set ever more significant and challenging goals as we collectively seek to transform the community. To me, this is what innovation and partnership—and Federation—are all about.

With more to come.

Through JShield, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s community security initiative, we work closely with law enforcement and Jewish institutions across our region to strengthen security, share real-time information, and coordinate response efforts across institutions that might otherwise operate independently. This work helps ensure that Jewish organizations across Greater Washington are not operating in isolation, but are prepared, connected, and supported in maintaining a safe and secure community.

Why coordination matters now

At a time when antisemitism continues to rise around the world, and in the wake of recent incidents targeting Jewish communities in Michigan, Amsterdam, and beyond, this kind of coordination is more important than ever. The JShield Security Summit is one way we put that coordination into action, bringing together community leaders, security experts, and law enforcement to share knowledge, strengthen relationships, and align on how we respond to emerging threats.

Over the course of the day, more than 100 participants gained insights from JShield and partner experts, including regional law enforcement and federal officials who shared resources to help Jewish organizations strengthen their security. Sessions focused on practical guidance, from navigating the application process for federal nonprofit security grants to developing clear plans of action in response to potential threats.

Throughout the Summit, the depth of our partnerships was clear. Law enforcement leaders and security professionals from across the region showed up not just as participants, but as committed partners in this work. Many are not members of the Jewish community, yet they are deeply invested in helping protect it—a reflection of the trust and relationships built through JShield, and of the allies those relationships have created beyond the community itself.

Strengthening a shared security system

The Summit reflects Federation’s unique role in building a culture of security in Greater Washington. Through JShield, Federation connects Jewish institutions with the expertise, information, and resources they need to strengthen not only their security, but the security of the entire Jewish community. By bringing together partners who might not otherwise share the same space—from synagogue leaders to federal agencies—Federation is working to ensure Jewish institutions, as well as the people they serve, are safer, more prepared, and better equipped to respond when it matters most.

Learn more about JShield and how Federation is working to strengthen community security.

One way that I have been thinking about antisemitism is as a kind of twisted and inexcusable stress response. In times of social or economic strain, people tend to go looking for explanations as to why things don’t work the way they want or why life feels harder. And far too often, they reach for the oldest hatred in the book as their answer. Comforted by conspiratorial thinking, they conclude it must be the Jews who are to blame.

This cycle can then be hastened by popular figures who step in and exploit people’s anxieties for their own goals. As Deborah Lipstadt explains, “[Bad actors] cannot create a fire where none exists, but they can add fuel to preexisting fires.” The more disconcerted people feel, the more they may turn to hating Jews, and the more wayward leaders will encourage those inclinations. Antisemitism and chaos are intertwined. Sadly, and to great harm, this has been the pattern for millennia.

What this means for us is that there is space to tackle the challenge from two sides: by pushing back against antisemitism explicitly and tending to the health of our democracy generally, both of which we are focused on at Federation.

Five years ago, we adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address antisemitism in our region. This includes providing funds to address antisemitism in public and private schools, developing teen leaders who can directly confront antisemitism, supporting local Hillels in their campus efforts, as well as providing critical resources to local agencies including the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).

We are also working to strengthen the relationships that underpin a healthy democracy and break down conflict by facilitating conversation among community members of diverse perspectives; deepening Black–Jewish relations; and partnering with local agencies and institutions on civic engagement efforts; all of which contribute to a more connected, stable, and resilient community.

Ultimately, fighting against antisemitism is a form of fighting for our democracy just as fighting for democracy and strengthening civil institutions is a form of fighting antisemitism. As antisemitism metastasizes, everyone loses. When we replace mistrust with credibility and community, everyone wins. It’s our civic duty to call out antisemitism and disrupt its chaotic breeding ground.

At a time when so many people are losing faith in institutions, Federation can be a steady fixture. A shared space where our community can come practice listening to those who think differently, caring for the vulnerable, welcoming the stranger, and working together toward a shared vision for the future. If antisemitism is what seeps in when our social foundation starts to crack, we can help ensure its integrity.

It takes a village to raise a child. For Jewish families, that village often takes shape through a vibrant Jewish community with places to celebrate holidays, meet other parents, and help children grow up surrounded by Jewish life.

For many parents, a sense of community begins to take shape in the early years—through the families they meet, the events they schlep their kids to, and the people who share those early milestones.

As part of its commitment to strengthening Jewish life across the region, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington works with partners throughout the DMV to help make these connections possible.

Where Jewish Community Takes Shape

“Some of the first ways families connect to Jewish community happen during the early years,” said Dinah Zeltser, Associate Director of Community Impact, who leads the Families with Young Children work at Federation. “Sometimes it starts with something as simple as a PJ Library book arriving in the mail, a parent bringing their little one to Tot Shabbat for the first time, or a holiday gathering where parents suddenly realize they’re not the only ones trying to figure it all out.”

One way Federation supports these connections is by investing in programs and partnerships that help families engage with Jewish life from the earliest years.

Expanding Opportunities for Young Families

Through a new funding opportunity, Federation is inviting local organizations to create more programs for children ages 0–8 and their parents, strengthening early connections to Jewish life and community.

Programs may include family-centered holiday celebrations, parent gatherings, community programs that bring families together, or other experiences that help parents connect with one another and feel part of a Jewish community.

Federation welcomes both proven programs ready to grow, and new ideas that explore creative ways to engage families during these formative years.

“Early connections matter,” Zeltser said. “When families feel welcomed and supported early on, it can shape how they experience Jewish life for years to come.”

By investing in programs that reach families early, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington aims to expand opportunities for parents and children across Greater Washington to connect with Jewish community and with one another.

Organizations interested in applying can review the full Request for Proposals below. Applications are due April 15, 2026, with funded programs beginning in August 2026. 

On Monday, March 9, 2026, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Israel & Overseas Committee approved $125,000 in emergency allocations to partners in Israel to support urgent medical, humanitarian, and community needs following recent attacks.

In moments of crisis, Federation mobilizes the resources and relationships of our community to ensure help reaches those who need it most.

The allocations approved this week reflect urgent areas of need identified by Federation’s partners across Israel.

Emergency Allocations Supporting Communities Across Israel ($125,000)

Strengthening trauma capacity in northern Israel ($50,000): Federation funding will help expand emergency surgery capacity at Tzafon Medical Center (formerly known as Poriyah), which serves more than 300,000 residents in Israel’s north, where attacks have sharply increased demand for emergency care. The grant will fund the purchase of an additional anesthesia workstation for the hospital’s Trauma Unit.

Supporting vulnerable residents in the Kinneret Valley Cluster ($35,000): Communities in the Kinneret Valley Cluster—one of Federation’s partner regions in Israel, comprising 15 municipalities—remain under threat, with many residents without private shelters in a region where there is often only one minute to reach protection. Federation support will help the Cluster provide transportation to safe spaces during alerts, expand trauma response services, and deliver essential supplies during prolonged emergency conditions.

Standing with victims of terror ($25,000): After an attack, Israelis may be faced with the need to evacuate their homes, receive medical or psychological care, or confront a new reality of grief. Through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for Victims of Terror, families affected by these attacks receive immediate assistance, including emergency financial support, trauma care, and guidance in the difficult days following injury, displacement, or loss. Federation support helps ensure this rapid-response system is available when families need it most.

Providing community support in Beit Shemesh ($15,000): Following an Iranian missile strike that killed nine civilians and forced evacuations in Beit Shemesh, the Zinman Community Center became a gathering point for affected residents. Federation support is helping the center coordinate emergency programming and provide emotional support for evacuees and survivors.

Federation maintains long-standing relationships with these partners through decades of work with The Jewish Agency for Israel, our response following October 7, and our prior partnership with the city of Beit Shemesh. These connections allow our community to respond quickly and meaningfully when it matters most. They also reflect Federation’s broader Israel strategy: strengthening ties between Greater Washington and communities across Israel.

On any given weeknight in DC, a group of residents gathers around tables and notebooks at a Federation partner agency. They talk about credit scores, spending plans, debt that’s been sitting heavy for years, and long-term investing goals.

And then something shifts.

“After eight weeks, most participants made positive and tangible changes in their lives,” says Sophie Adler, Financial Empowerment Program Coordinator at Tzedek DC. “One participant increased their credit score by 100 points, and another paid down thousands of dollars of debt. But almost everyone, 98%, made a financial behavior change as a direct result of our program.”

Ninety-eight percent.

That kind of change doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people are given practical tools, steady support, and a space to build confidence.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is proud to help make that support possible by investing in partners like Tzedek DC.

From Portland to Purpose

Sophie grew up in Portland, Oregon, and came to DC through Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps, part of a Federation partner agency. She was looking for a way to pair Jewish community with hands-on social justice work—and found both at Tzedek DC, which works to alleviate debt and address economic injustice in DC. Its name inspired by the Jewish teaching Tzedek tzedek tirdof—“Justice, justice shall you pursue”.

What stood out for Sophie, though, wasn’t just the mission. It was the model.

“We don’t just offer direct services,” she explains. “We also work on policy and community education. You need all of it—reactive support for people in crisis and proactive, systemic change.”

Following her Avodah year, Sophie was hired to join the staff. Today, she serves as Financial Empowerment Program Coordinator, leading the eight-week program she helped launch during her Avodah service year.

That integrated approach reflects Federation’s belief that strengthening Jewish life and advancing economic justice go hand in hand. When Federation invests in partners like Tzedek DC, we help sustain both immediate support and long-term solutions.

Eight Weeks That Change Everything

When Sophie arrived, Tzedek DC was launching a pilot Financial Empowerment Program, an intensive, eight-week series offered free to DC residents.

Each week, participants dive into spending plans, short- and long-term financial goals, and building credit. They move beyond theory, through interactive workshops driven by the participants’ questions.

Alongside the workshops, participants can meet one-on-one with Tzedek DC’s financial counselors, pulling credit reports, identifying priorities, and setting repayment strategies. The workshops build knowledge. The counseling builds momentum.

The impact is tangible. One participant got her first credit card, and another opened a CD account. One participant worked hard at her long-term goal of becoming a homeowner and purchased her first home 15 months after graduating from the program.

But for Sophie, the most powerful shift isn’t numeric.

“It’s seeing participants’ confidence grow,” she says. “They’ll message me months later to celebrate a milestone. That pride, that sense of ‘I did this,’ that’s what stays with me.”

This is the kind of work Federation is proud to support: programs that help people build stability and long-term confidence.

Stronger Together

No organization can do this work alone.

“We constantly have people calling us with different needs that we might not always be able to provide,” Sophie shares. “Being able to rely on our community partners is so important.”

By investing across Greater Washington, we help create the connective tissue that allows agencies to share resources, refer clients, and respond more effectively when needs arise.

Beyond the Workshop

Outside the classroom, Sophie brings the same energy to community life. She’s been playing basketball since she was four, most recently in DC’s Volo leagues, and now organizes Tzedek DC’s annual March Madness bracket challenge.

She also helped launch the organization’s Racial Equity Book Club and co-organizes a book club with fellow Avodah alumni.

It’s not separate from her work. It’s an extension of it.

“I want a career rooted in community,” she says. “Grounded in lived experience. People-centered.”

That instinct, toward connection and shared responsibility, is at the heart of Federation’s work across Greater Washington.

Where Confidence Becomes Stability

Eight weeks may not seem like a long time.

But in that time, participants begin putting the lessons into action—creating spending plans, building credit, and setting long-term goals.

That’s why Federation invests in partners who pair practical tools with lasting solutions.

Because when one person gains stability, the ripple effect reaches far beyond a single balance sheet—strengthening families and the broader community.

Across our community, leaders are navigating real tensions: belonging and boundaries, safety and responsibility, clarity and pluralism. These aren’t abstract debates. They shape what Jewish life feels like in our synagogues, agencies, schools, and communal spaces every single day.

How leaders hold that complexity determines whether our community feels safe or splintered, principled or reactive, connected or alone.

That’s why The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington continues to partner with the Shalom Hartman Institute as part of a sustained investment in Jewish leadership. Together, we equip leaders across our region with the shared language and frameworks needed to navigate complex communal challenges. Earlier this month, that partnership convened senior and emerging leaders for a candid conversation about what this moment requires of a vibrant Jewish community.

More than 60 leaders participated across the full spectrum of Jewish Greater Washington: congregational rabbis, synagogue presidents, agency executives, foundation trustees, long-time board members, and rising lay leaders. They represented institutions across denominations, missions, and generations—many of whom do not typically sit at the same tables.

Bringing this breadth of leadership into one room reflects Federation’s unique role and its investment in the relationships and common language leaders need to respond to difference with intention instead of reaction.

Shared Language in a Strained Moment

Our community includes many organizations, identities, ideologies, and expressions of Jewish belonging. Honoring that breadth and creating space where it can exist in conversation rather than collision is central to our mission as a community builder.

The goal was not uniformity, but shared understanding.

To anchor the conversation, we drew on the “Our Fragile Tents” framework developed and presented by Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute. The framework offered language to help leaders name the fractures, fears, and ideological divides shaping Jewish life today, allowing the conversation to go deeper, faster.

Leaders began at tables, speaking openly about the tensions inside their own institutions. Several distinctions proved especially clarifying: the difference between communities of kinship and communities of consent; the ways participation, interest, and national identity shape expectations; and the recognition that not every community can or should operate by the same norms.

Leaders spoke candidly about what they are holding:

“Understanding the boundaries necessary in my community that may not be necessary in the larger Jewish community was eye-opening.”

“The varying definitions of community and the norms that guide them will directly shape how I lead.”

As leaders explored one another’s reflections, it became clear that no single institution is holding this moment alone.

No one left with every tension resolved. Agreement was never the objective. The goal was building the relationships and shared understanding that allow our community to move through strain without fracturing.

Strengthening the Ecosystem

The conversation underscored how much this moment requires coordination and clarity across our community. No single synagogue, agency, or leadership body can bring this breadth of voices together across ideologies and generations.

By convening leaders in serious dialogue, Federation strengthens the relationships that help our community stay steady under pressure. Without shared language and cross-institutional relationships, leaders are left to navigate strain in isolation. Bringing institutions together ensures those tensions are held collectively rather than alone.

When leaders share common language and trust one another, institutions are better positioned to respond with clarity rather than escalation, with steadiness rather than isolation. The experience of Jewish life across our region—how safe it feels, how welcoming it feels, how principled it feels—is shaped by those choices.

A vibrant Jewish community depends on leaders who can hold complexity with clarity, speak honestly across difference, and remain committed to the whole, especially when it’s hard.

Strengthening that leadership capacity is central to Federation’s mission and essential to the long-term resilience of Jewish life in Greater Washington.

This convening was one step. Federation is now reviewing and synthesizing the reflections shared that evening to guide our next steps, so leaders across our community are better equipped for what this moment demands.

About the Partnership

For eight years, Federation’s partnership with the Shalom Hartman Institute has been rooted in a shared commitment to strengthening Jewish leadership and deepening relationships across our diverse community. Together, we have built a space for learning, reflection, and growth—a place where leaders wrestle with big questions, develop the clarity and courage needed to navigate complex times, and explore how to hold our community’s multitude of perspectives when the stakes feel high while communicating across differences in service of a stronger, more connected Greater Washington Jewish community.

Federation’s leadership programs help emerging and seasoned leaders alike grow their skills, deepen Jewish learning, and lead with purpose.

Inclusion is a journey shaped by curiosity, reflection, and a commitment to creating spaces where everyone belongs. On September 12, 2025, the Federation’s Disability Inclusion Advisory Group visited the Capital Jewish Museum as part of our ongoing work to strengthen access and belonging across Jewish institutions in Greater Washington. We left inspired by the museum’s openness, intentionality, and genuine desire to learn and grow.

The Capital Jewish Museum explores the Jewish experience in Washington from 1790 through today, tracing stories of community, civic engagement, and cultural life across generations. As a museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting Jewish history in the nation’s capital, its commitment to accessibility ensures that these stories are available to all who wish to engage with them.

The advisory group includes professional and lay leaders with expertise in disability advocacy, education, and policy, alongside individuals with lived experience as people with disabilities or as family members of individuals with disabilities. This diversity of perspective strengthens our work and informed a meaningful conversation with the museum’s leadership.

A Shared Commitment to Inclusion

From the start, it was clear that inclusion is a priority for the museum. The invitation to engage in a thoughtful, respectful dialogue was a powerful signal. It showed that the museum is not only thinking about accessibility but is also eager to listen, ask questions, and plan for the future in partnership with the community.

We were encouraged by the many ways the museum is already working to make its space more welcoming. From physical access features to warm and responsive staff, the museum has already built a strong foundation for accessibility. What stood out most, though, was the museum’s willingness to explore what more could be done, not out of obligation, but out of a sincere commitment to inclusion as a core value.

Practical Steps Toward Greater Accessibility

Our group shared observations and ideas not as critiques, but as contributions to a shared vision. For example, we discussed how staff training can be a powerful tool in fostering inclusion. When staff are equipped to ask thoughtful questions and offer support—whether helping someone navigate the space, understand an exhibit, or find a place to rest—the visitor experience shifts from good to exceptional.

We also talked about communication and how small adjustments can make a big impact. Adding a clearly labeled accessibility section to the museum’s website, for instance, would make it easier for visitors to plan ahead and request accommodations. We are grateful that the museum has already taken this recommendation to heart by launching an accessibility page and is committed to continuing to build it out over time. Clear, consistent signage throughout the building can also help visitors navigate the space with confidence.

For Deaf and hard of hearing visitors, the museum is already thinking creatively about how to improve access. We explored ideas like increasing caption visibility on videos, offering digital check-in options, and even partnering with services that provide on-demand ASL interpretation. These are exciting possibilities that reflect the museum’s forward-thinking approach.

Mobility access was another area where thoughtful enhancements could build on existing strengths. From seating options to restroom access, the museum is clearly considering the needs of a wide range of visitors. We appreciated the attention to detail and shared ideas for how to continue building on that strong foundation.

For visitors who are blind or have low vision, the museum’s highly visual nature presents both a challenge and an opportunity. We discussed the potential for docent-led tours with verbal descriptions, audio guides, and tactile elements that could expand access and bring exhibits to life in new ways.

Inclusion Is Ongoing Work

Disability inclusion is not something that happens overnight. It’s a process of learning, evolving, and building relationships. The Capital Jewish Museum is walking that path with intention and heart, and Federation is proud to partner in strengthening inclusion across our community.

We look forward to continuing this partnership and supporting the museum as it explores new ways to ensure that every visitor feels seen, heard, and valued. And we invite other organizations who are on their own inclusion journeys to connect with the Federation’s Disability Inclusion Advisory Group. We welcome opportunities to collaborate and strengthen inclusion across our community.

Discover how Federation is strengthening access and belonging across Jewish life in Greater Washington.