Community.
It is very likely THE word that I think, speak, and/or write about most in all of my years as our Jewish Federation’s Executive Director. In essence, it is the very reason why the entire Jewish Federation movement was created. Jewish Federations are an amalgamation of several J…
As you may remember, I was nominated by LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger to be a commissioner on the LA County Commission on Human Relations. The commission's mission is to promote better human relations in LA County and help build vibrant, thriving communities by working to transform pre…
You would think that after all these years, I would get used to how busy my weeks sometimes get. Take last week for instance…
As you may have seen (or attended), we held a special Israel Town Hall Meeting last week with what we billed as a “leading Israel Expert.” That expert happened…
Last week was very busy at our Jewish Federation. Not only are we in the midst of our Jewish Book Festival and held a local authors event at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park, our newly formed Jewish Community Relations Council held its first meeting, but for the first time in several year…
This past week may go down as one of the most monumental and impactful for our community in recent years. Between the election, the buycott our Jewish Federation initiated and implemented in support of Trader Joe's carrying Israeli products, to what many are calling a pogrom in Amsterdam tha…
As you might've noticed, our Jewish Federation has increased our advocacy in and around our community over the last several years. Whether it was our fight against the renaming of a section of Crescenta Valley Park back in 2017, the development of a Comprehensive Community-wide Security Plan…
Anyone who has come to my office for a meeting or just to stop by and say hi might see me in my office chair. From where I sit (which is the title of my monthly JLife SGPV column), even though I sit inside my office with only an interior window, I get the opportunity to look out at and acros…
As the news broke last week of Yahya Sinwar being killed by the IDF, I experienced many emotions, as I'm sure many people did. Surprisingly, one of the thoughts that filtered into my brain was the idea of character. Thinking about one's character has been on my mind as I have come out of the…
What a whirlwind these last two weeks have been, from Rosh Hashanah and the start of 5785 to the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 and this weekend’s Yom Kippur services. As I’ve shared, the start of this Jewish year is unlike anything we’ve e…
Commit to doing one extra Jewish “thing” in 5785
With 5785 beginning in just a few days (as I am writing this month's column), I have that "special" feeling I always seem to have at this time of year. For as long as I can remember, the days leading up to the High Holidays have alway…
Use this time to improve the world around you
In just over four weeks, we will gather together at local synagogues and around dining room tables to start this year‘s High Holy Days. Not since the mid-1940s, following the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, has a High…
Celebrating How Our Jewish Community Has Come Together
I have been a Jewish professional for over twenty years. During this time, I have seen several ebbs and flows—not only in how organizations have operated and been received by community members but also in how the professionals and…
Looking back prepares us for our future
have always supported “stopping to smell the roses” and taking es” time to reflect. I think this exercise has real power because instead of just going, going, going, one can appreciate what they have accomplished or experienced by stop…
Strengthening a child’s mental health at Jewish Summer Camp
I recently attendrecently attended a Mental ed Health ConsorHealth Consortium meeting coordinated by Congresswoman Grace Napolitano. Senator Alex Padilla was in attendance and was discussing the current mental health cri…
The importance of keeping the survivors’ stories alive
During my senior year of high school, I was selected to be a Holocaust docent for a Holocaust organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. As part of this program, I was trained to give presentations and talks to middle and high sc…
