Month: December 2025

Last week, I wrote about how fed up I felt in the wake of the Bondi attack and how imperative it is that leaders take the threat of antisemitism seriously. My frustration holds as we continue to see leaders dismiss antisemitism as simply “free speech” or as reasonable debate. But today, I want to linger on a more life-affirming note.

I’ve been marveling at all the stories coming out recently about people who, without hesitation, have stood up to help others. The accounts are humbling, inspiring, and serve as testaments to the good inside us. There’s Ahmed el Ahmed who singlehandedly disarmed one of the Bondi shooters and in doing so saved lives, rebuked ISIS ideology, and offered the world a stunning example of heroism. There’s Boris and Sofia Gurman who also confronted one of the Bondi gunmen, giving their lives to save others just weeks before their 35th wedding anniversary. There’s Spencer Yang, a first-year student at Brown who was shot in the leg and still managed to take care of the guy next to him, keeping him conscious until help arrived. And so many more.

I am also, like many of you, thinking about Rob Reiner. My family and I love his movies. Watching The Princess Bride as a family is a core memory for me. Rob’s films always leave me feeling better about people. He had a knack for exploring and celebrating our common instincts and potential for love, including our tendency toward empathy, in ways both subtle and heartwarming. As one commenter wrote on Stephen King’s tribute to the filmmaker, “Rob Reiner’s humanness was turned up to 11.” (If you know, you know…).

This, to me, is the whole game, to find a way to crank up our humanness as high as it will go. In this age of isolation and online rage, there will be no greater power than our ability to tap into our uniquely messy, endearing, creative, loving human traits. There is no foe too great that cannot be bested with our humanity.

In these final days of 2025, I’m holding onto this thought and looking around at all the light piercing through the darkness. We can each of us make a difference in astounding ways (to this end, there’s still time to give to Federation’s Annual Campaign!). I may not have the courage of those heroes at Bondi or the artistic skill of a filmmaker, but I love my community and look forward to serving it alongside all of you in the year ahead. As Rob Reiner might say, storming the castle to build a better future is best done together.

Shabbat Shalom and wishes for a happy, safe, and healthy new year.

When Omer returned to his classroom after October 7, he couldn’t breathe.

Five of his students were gone, killed in the attacks. Just stepping into the room triggered waves of panic, grief, and memory. He felt like he couldn’t go on.

But through weekly sessions with a JDC counselor, Omer slowly rediscovered his footing. Today, he’s not just working—he’s leading. Omer now runs a therapeutic gym in a Gaza-border community, helping fellow survivors rebuild physically and emotionally. “I found a way to move forward,” he said. “And to help others do the same.”

This is what your dollars make possible.

In the wake of the Iron Swords War, thousands of Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes. Many lost not just their sense of safety, but their livelihoods. The trauma was deep, the economic toll was devastating, and the path to stability felt out of reach.

That’s why Federation responded swiftly, providing a $500,000 grant to JDC to launch “Getting Victims of War Back to Work”, Israel’s first trauma-informed employment recovery model. More than just getting back to work, it’s about dignity, healing, and long-term resilience—about helping people get back to life.

With your support, here’s what’s already happening:

• 890 Israelis have received hands-on vocational training, career guidance, and access to real employment opportunities
• 131 participants have already been hired, earning more than 6% above minimum wage
• 500 trauma survivors are in employment rehab, double the original 2025 goal
• 40% of previously unemployed participants have found jobs; 100% of at-risk employees stayed employed
• 18 locations now offer specialized career recovery support (up from 11)
• 48 employers have been trained to support hires navigating trauma
• And early evaluations show a 14% decrease in PTSD symptoms among participants

This model is now informing national efforts to scale trauma-informed employment support.

A Bold Investment in Israel’s Future Workforce

Through this initiative, we’re supporting Israelis not just in healing, but in retraining and returning to work with purpose.

Beyond immediate relief, it’s recovery with resilience built in.

And this is exactly the kind of long-term, people-centered impact we’re working toward through Federation’s Israel strategy: investing in long-term recovery and deepening connection between our communities.

Photo: JDC

This summer, more than 1,300 Jewish community members from across Greater Washington participated in Federation’s Impact Index Pulse Survey, giving us a clearer picture of how Jewish life is experienced across our region. Through a 20-minute text-based survey, respondents shared their attitudes and behaviors across eight pillars of communal wellbeing: engagement, education, belonging, safety, activism, health, caring, and connection to Israel and global Jewry.

Conducting research like this is core to our role in the community. We invest in data projects like this to inform our strategies and investments, and to equip synagogues, schools, human service agencies, and community-building organizations with insights they need to strengthen Jewish life in alignment with their own missions.

While we are not a synagogue, this insight matters deeply for synagogue leaders to know that among 29% of individuals who are not currently engaged but want to be, affordability is real barrier. 78% of those individuals say they would participate more in synagogue life if membership were more affordable.

This finding is especially important for our human service agencies: only 44% of individuals who identified as financially vulnerable reported knowing where to find help in the Jewish community during a time of need—in comparison to 55% of more well-off individuals.

We do not exist in a vacuum. Our community is telling us clearly where the opportunities lie: deepening engagement, expanding belonging, strengthening care, and ensure that every Jew regardless of geography, background, or perspective has access to a vibrant Jewish life. The survey shows that 72% of Jewish adults in Greater Washington consider themselves engaged with Jewish life to some degree, and at the same time, 54% say they would like to be more engaged, including 62% of respondents under the age 35 who live in the inner core of Northern Virginia and D.C. proper.

Federation will continue to fund and lead studies like this because understanding our community is essential to strengthening it, and to stewarding our collective resources responsibly.

“Verbal abuse becomes graffiti, becomes arson, becomes physical violence, becomes murder.” We know this continuum well. We have now watched every step play out with devastating consequences in Australia. How maddening that two thousand years after the first Chanukah, people are still seeking to murder us for being Jews.

When CNN called me for my thoughts on the attack, they could no doubt sense the aggravation in my voice. No one should have to wake up to stories about a mother and her 17-month-old diving for cover after checking out a Chanukah event full of music and bubbles. About the rabbi who lost his life two months after his son was born. About how Jews gathering to celebrate were gunned down. Again.

Across time. Across space. This has been our story to bear. It is time for a new one. Leaders on both sides of the aisle have spent the last several years dismissing antisemitism, explaining away antisemites, and letting hints of radicalization slide. But the hour for tolerating any kind of minimizing is over. 

It’s incumbent upon all political, civic, business, and religious leaders to challenge the hate directed at Jews and the Jewish people unequivocally, which includes condemning ardent and budding antisemites no matter their place in society or on the political spectrum.

Additionally, I’ve seen how it’s become normal, even chic, in certain circles to denigrate anything having to do with Israel. This too demands our pushback. Criticism is okay. Open debate is vital. But even as we strive for nuance, we must reject the vilification of Israel as a country, of Zionism as an idea, and, of the Jewish people as a whole.

As members of the Jewish community here in the nation’s capital, we have especially urgent roles to play in this effort. This is one of the most networked, most passionate communities around. It’s time to use our influence and find our voice so that we can be a collective thorn in antisemitism’s side.

We can all reach out to people we know in positions of power—federation, state, and local representatives, school board leaders, teachers, and so on. We can help raise the expectations for speech in the public square. Help emphasize that words have consequences. That a twisted comment becomes a belief system becomes a bullet.

It’s also important to remember that most people in our own social circles are well-meaning. Instead of jumping straight to condemnation in these cases, we can help by opposing problematic language and making generous offers of engagement and education.

I’m heartbroken. I’m devastated for the families of those killed and injured at Bondi, and, even now, we have a way forward.

We’ve known hate and we know how to overcome it. As the Maccabees would remind us, it starts with tapping into our agency and the strength of the Jewish people.  

Sunday’s attack in Australia may have happened halfway around the world, but for many of us, it hit much closer to home.

That’s the nature of Jewish vulnerability today. A violent act against a Jewish community “over there” immediately reverberates here. Our sense of safety shifts. Our plans are second-guessed. Fear creeps in.

And that’s exactly why Federation’s security work through JShield isn’t reactive. It doesn’t ebb and flow with the headlines. And it certainly doesn’t start the night before an event.

Because by the time something happens—whether it’s in Sydney or Silver Spring—it’s already too late to start building the relationships, training, and infrastructure that real security depends on.

What You Didn’t See Yesterday

As soon as we learned of the attack in Australia, our first calls were to local law enforcement partners and the FBI.

We didn’t have to introduce ourselves. We didn’t need to explain why something happening halfway around the world matters here. These are relationships we’ve built steadily over years. When we call, they respond. And they did.

That kind of response isn’t automatic. It’s built on trust. And it’s something we help every institution cultivate—hyper-local connections, district commanders who know your name, first responders who’ve walked your halls. Because when something happens, you don’t want to meet them for the first time. You want to greet them like an old friend.

From Panic to Planning

After the attack, our inboxes filled with last-minute security requests from organizations hosting Chanukah events that had been on the calendar for weeks.

It’s understandable. But it misses the point.

If you needed security last night, you needed it three weeks ago when the event was planned.

Security isn’t something you switch on out of fear. It’s something you build over time—through planning, training, and partnership. That’s what JShield is here to help our community do.

The Power of Community Reporting

Last year, more than 30 Jewish institutions in our region received threatening letters, most vaguely referencing Gaza, some outright menacing. On their own, each one might have been brushed aside.

But thanks to the reporting we encourage through JShield, we saw the bigger picture. We connected the dots across states. We got the FBI involved.

And we got results. The suspect, who lives just outside Silver Spring, recently pled guilty to federal hate crime charges. That outcome didn’t just happen. It was made possible by a community that’s engaged, prepared, and connected.

What Security Really Looks Like

Since JShield launched, we’ve helped bring in more than $5 million in federal security grants for local Jewish institutions. We’ve done hundreds of threat assessments. Helped write emergency protocols. Trained thousands of people on situational awareness and how to stay calm under pressure.

And we know those trainings stick. One teacher told us she starts every school day with a breathing exercise she learned from us. Not because she’s scared, but because it helps her and her students feel grounded.

That’s what we mean when we say training is like putting money in the bank. You don’t get to choose the emergency. But every bit of preparation makes you more ready for whatever comes.

This Moment Is Personal. And It’s Urgent.

If you’ve felt a little more anxious dropping your kids at school or wondered if your synagogue is doing enough to stay safe, you’re not alone. We’re hearing it across the community. And we feel it too.

But fear alone doesn’t keep us safe. Action does.

Right now, we have a critical opportunity. Thanks to a generous match, every dollar you give to support Federation’s security work through JShield will go even farther. That means more trainings, more assessments, and more direct support to institutions across Greater Washington.

Because cost should never be a barrier to security. That’s why every service JShield provides—from threat assessments to training—is offered free to the community, powered by Federation and donors like you.

Security doesn’t start with police. It starts with preparation, with connection, and with showing up for each other before something happens, not just after.

We can’t wait for the next headline to get ready. This is the moment to act.

Give now to protect Jewish life in Greater Washington. Let’s meet this moment—and this powerful matching opportunity—together.

When Jen Kulkin stood up to speak, she had just 45 seconds. No slides, no long bio—just one image and a powerful prompt: Describe a time you felt a part of a community.

Her answer? A deeply personal story, told through a single photo. It was part of a rapid-fire activity called Pecha Kucha (Japanese for “chit chat”) that marked the opening night of Federation’s second Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, held earlier this month at the Pozez JCC. One by one, each of the 17 new cohort members took their turn—revealing, in just under a minute, a glimpse into what “community” means to them.

Everyone’s story about community was different, yet the idea was the same: a place to belong, feel safe, and bond over shared experiences. That’s exactly what we’re aiming to create, and support, in Northern Virginia.

And that’s exactly the point.

Not Your Average Leadership Program

Over the next few months, these leaders—representing Pozez JCC, JSSA, Temple Rodef Shalom, Rodef 2100, George Mason Hillel, Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Federation’s Network NoVA Alliance, Gesher, Agudas Achim, Olam Tikvah, AIPAC, Congregation Beth Emeth, and Capital Camps—will gather for four sessions led by master facilitator Rae Ringel. They’ll explore the real drivers of leadership: how to listen, build trust, inspire action, and approach communal challenges with creativity and collaboration.

But before any of that, they’ll get to know each other. Not through titles or résumés, but through lived experience and through moments like PechaKucha, where vulnerability becomes the starting point for connection.

Championing Northern Virginia

Federation launched the Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort as part of our bold vision to ensure NoVA continues to grow as a vibrant hub of Jewish life—where leaders, donors, and community members feel connected, supported, and seen.

This cohort is a key investment in that future. By convening diverse leaders across institutions, we’re strengthening the web of relationships in Northern Virginia that makes Jewish community resilient and helping build the kind of trust and collaboration that can only be nurtured.

Because leadership isn’t just about strategy. It’s about showing up, listening deeply, and building something bigger together.

In the wake of the horrific terrorist attack in Australia, I want to speak directly to our community here at home.

Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the Jewish community in Australia as they mourn and begin to heal. Violence against Jews anywhere reverberates everywhere, and moments like this understandably heighten concern within our own community.

Here in Greater Washington, the safety and security of Jewish life remains our highest priority. Through JShield, Federation’s community-wide security initiative, we are in close coordination with local and federal partners and with Jewish ​institutions across our region, supporting schools, synagogues, and organizations with threat monitoring, training, assessments, and grant support at no cost. You can learn more about how JShield works to keep our community safe at shalomdc.org/security.

If you see or experience something concerning, we encourage you to report it to JShield. Reporting helps identify patterns and supports coordination with our security partners.

Jewish life will continue. We will gather, celebrate, learn, and mark our holidays together, thoughtfully, responsibly, and with care for one another.

At the same time, this moment calls on all of us to be attentive to the language and actions we tolerate in our public spaces. Antisemitism, in any form, must be named and challenged, and Jewish communities must never be left to carry that burden alone.

Earlier today, I shared these concerns in a brief conversation on CNN about antisemitism and the responsibility to challenge it before it escalates. You can watch it clip below.

Thank you for the many ways you show up for one another and for our community, especially in difficult moments. We are grateful for your partnership and your trust, and we remain committed to keeping Jewish life in Greater Washington strong, safe, and connected.

This is a moment for shared responsibility. Take action by supporting JShield and strengthening Jewish community security.

Cheryl Cook brings an unmistakable sense of joy into her work—and into any conversation about Avodah. As CEO, she meets young adults right as they’re deciding who they want to be in the world. “There’s a lot to do in our country,” she says. “There are a lot of challenges, always.” But for Cheryl, that reality isn’t discouraging. It’s motivating.

What excites her is watching young people step into purpose. “We reach people at the beginning of their career and help them find work with purpose.” Her energy makes it clear: this isn’t just a program. It’s a launchpad—for meaningful work, for Jewish community, and for the kind of leadership Federation aims to nurture across Greater Washington.

Finding Purpose Through Service

Cheryl’s take on Avodah’s impact echoes what we see across our partners: early, hands-on experiences shape the kind of Jewish leadership our community needs. “Avodah means work, or service, or holy work,” she says. “How you start your career often feeds what you do in your life.”

The outcomes are striking. 98.6% of participants stay involved in social justice work, a number Cheryl still delights in repeating. She shares the story of Aaron, who joined Avodah simply because he wanted to do something Jewish. His placement introduced him to immigration law; today he stands beside people facing detention and deportation. “I never would have done this work without Avodah,” he says.

What DC Brings to the Experience

For many Corps Members, Washington, DC isn’t just a placement site—it’s the place they’ve dreamed of living. Some come for politics, some for activism, some for the city’s energy. Cheryl sees how DC shapes them.

She recalls a participant on a homelessness street team who began carrying Narcan because of what she saw daily. Another said that protesting on the National Mall felt like stepping into history. Even when the federal government shut down this fall, the learning didn’t pause; the cohort explored parks, found hidden corners of the district, and quickly felt embraced. In Cheryl’s telling, DC is more than a backdrop. It’s a teacher.

Why Community Matters

If the service year is what placements do, the community is what helps them stay.

“Justice work is hard,” Cheryl says plainly. “It takes being in community, and getting the joy and sustenance of Jewish life—celebrating Shabbat, being together—to stay in this work.”

Avodah designs that community with intention: shared homes, shared meals, shared questions about who we are and who we want to become. Participants arrive for a year, but Cheryl knows the relationships will outlast the program.

Strengthening the Field

For Federation, partners like Avodah strengthen a broader ecosystem of agencies working toward dignity, justice, and inclusion. Avodah’s impact extends far beyond its Corps Members.

Cheryl describes Avodah’s antisemitism trainings for social‑service partners—sessions that illuminate how antisemitism connects to other forms of hate. After one training, immigration advocates shared they had never connected the chant “Jews will not replace us” with anti‑immigration rhetoric. “We were able to connect the dots,” Cheryl says. The room shifted.

For her, helping secular partners understand Jewish identity within the broader landscape of equity and inclusion is both timely and hopeful.

A Partnership That Feels Like Partnership

When Cheryl talks about The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, her gratitude is unmistakable. “DC is really exceptional at seeing us as a partner,” she says. “It makes us feel really valued and cared for by the Greater Washington Jewish community.”

She describes a partnership built on trust, storytelling, and shared purpose. Federation lifts Avodah’s work; Avodah lifts Federation’s impact. “How do we hold you up, how do you hold us up, how do we elevate our work together? It really works.”

Cheryl also names the joy of seeing Avodah alumni featured in Federation stories. “Thank you for holding up so many Avodahniks,” she says.

Rooted in Jewish Values and Human Dignity

At the core of Cheryl’s leadership is a set of values that feel both timeless and urgently needed. She names b’tzelem Elohim—the dignity of every human being—as a guiding force, especially for Corps Members meeting people experiencing homelessness or poverty.

She also emphasizes holding complexity. “You don’t all have to be the same,” she says. “You can hold an array of difference and also see each other as full humans.” Her favorite teaching, inspired by Pirkei Avot, captures it simply: “When nobody else is being human, be human.”

The Work Ahead

Cheryl sees Avodah as a place where young adults connect what lights them up with what the world needs—and where Jewish community helps sustain them for the long haul. “I feel very humble and lucky to be in this role,” she says.

Through its partnership with The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Avodah helps strengthen Jewish life, develop emerging leaders, and shape a more just future for our region and beyond.

My family and I purchased an electric menorah to use this Chanukah. We’ll be employing our beloved wax-adorned menorahs too, of course, but this way we can place the electric one in the window without setting the curtains on fire. I already feel good about it. Instead of worrying about what hazards might befall us, we can display our menorah with pride the way Chanukah tradition encourages us to do.

Even if you choose not to display your menorah publicly, the holiday offers a timely opportunity to reconnect with what it means to take up space in this world and use our agency for good. At a time when we are having to defend our place in society, Chanukah offers us the chance to stand proudly as Jews as we work to illuminate a brighter future for ourselves and all communities—skills we are going to need in the year ahead.

Our hypothesis at Federation is this: the more we can help individuals connect with their Jewish identities, be part of strengthening their communities, and come together to address crucial needs, the better off those individuals, the Jewish people, and the world will be. In growing Jewish life, we sustain ourselves and the world around us.

We therefore strive to take the messy, ambiguous work of community building and infuse it with strategy, resources, and meaningful connections. You could think of us as a communal windowpane, helping to refract light inward, outward, and onward.

With all this in mind, I want to invite you to make the most of this Chanukah and give to Federation. We have just a few weeks left in our Annual Campaign, and we need as much metaphorical light and literal funds as we can get. It’s clear 2026 will be a consequential year for the American Jewish community and we want to be ready.

For all the challenges, I feel incredibly privileged to help shape and shepherd Jewish life through this chapter. I know many of you feel the same. I remain eternally grateful for your partnership and wish you joy, warmth, and an abundance of inspiration this Chanukah season.

Families tell us stories of a sunrise tefillah (prayer) that sparks growth, new friendships that feel like home, and a sense of belonging that can’t be taught. And for many, financial support like our One Happy Camper grant is what makes that magic possible.

“One word: HUGE.”

For this two-parent working household, balancing synagogue dues, religious school fees, and the rising costs of Jewish life made camp feel daunting. The help they received made a real difference.

It also made an impression: when their ninth grader recorded a school video about an inspirational moment, they chose sunrise tefillah (prayer) at camp.

“I can teach them all the Torah I want,” the parent said. “But it is camp that inspires my kids.” “If we hadn’t received support, I don’t know if he could have gone.”

“If we hadn’t received support, I don’t know if he could have gone.”

That’s what one parent told us after being unexpectedly fired from their job without severance—a shock that left them searching for employment for months.

In that moment, camp felt completely out of reach.

But with support from Federation, camp, and their synagogue, their son spent a month at Ramah Poconos—a month they described as “pivotal.” He came home more connected to his Jewish identity, more grounded, and surrounded by deep friendships that carried him through a hard year.

The parent is still unemployed and already worried about next summer. But their gratitude is unmistakable: “I am so grateful for the generosity of the Jewish community, and will likely have to count on more support next year.”

“Financial aid is truly transformative.”

For another family, camp would have remained just a dream without support.

For their daughter, a summer at Capital Camps meant:

• her first taste of independence outside of home
• lifelong friendships
• belonging in a Jewish community
• emotional and spiritual growth
• discovering her strengths

As her parent put it: “Financial aid isn’t just a subsidy. It’s an investment in children, families, and the future of the Jewish community.”

“Camp would have been the first thing we had to cut.”

Another family shared that when the husband lost his job due to federal cuts, camp became the first thing they thought they’d have to remove from the budget.

But because of the grant they received, their children still experienced everything camp offers—confidence, leadership skills, connection, and identity-building.

“The support made it possible for our children to find a home within the Jewish community where they feel strongly connected and wish to give back.”

Making Jewish Camp Possible for Every Family

Jewish summer camp gives kids joy, independence, community, and identity.

It’s where friendships form in bunk beds, where confidence grows by the lake, and where Judaism becomes something kids feel proud of, not just something they learn.

And for so many families in our region, financial support is what makes that possible.

Make the magic of Jewish camp possible—whether for your family or another.

Apply for a One Happy Camper grant for up to $1,500 through December 31.

And if you’re in a position to give, your support can help another family send their child to camp. Donate today

One Happy Camper (OHC) is a need-blind first-time incentive grant sponsored by a partnership between Federation and Foundation for Jewish Camp. Federation supports over 220 first time campers attending 30+ camps across the country each year through OHC. Federation has distributed first-time incentive grants through One Happy Camper for over 15 years.

Since 2020, Federation also significantly allocates funds annually to 20+ camps for need-based financial aid scholarships for campers from Greater Washington.

Photo: Capital Camps & Retreat Center