Michael Horowitz, JFGA President/CEO

And we came together. When events in Paris required the world to come together to stand up for civility and oppose radical Islam’s insane, perverted and grotesque interpretation of their religion, an unprecedented group of world leaders and people of all backgrounds came together to finally say that the silent majority can no longer be silent.

When those same events in France focused their attention on fellow Jews, just because they were Jewish, again, we came together. Our Federation and our partners at the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Government of Israel, and Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) responded immediately to see how we could meet the needs of the Jews in France who not only see the assassination of four Jews and 13 others as a human tragedy, but understand that those pulling the trigger represent a madness that specifically is targeting each of them, as Jews, and their continued existence as Jews in their mother country.

Jews stood in solidarity with France. Others expressed their solidarity to the Jewish people. The global Jewish people, though our partners and well established international systems and resources, stood to tell French Jewry that they were not alone. We told them that they could count on us for moral support, political support and financial support to meet the rapidly growing needs of additional security for over 600 Jewish institutions, trauma support for so many who fear for their future, or Aliyah to Israel if they desired.

And we came together. This past week almost 100 lay and professional leaders gathered in Atlanta from 18 different communities to participate in one of four regional, day long conferences sponsored by The Jewish Federations of North America and hosted by our Federation. While the speakers and sessions focused on how to educate, engage and appreciate our donors and supporters, the power of the conference was the realization that so many Jews, from communities large and small, warm weather climates and cold, all care about the Jewish future and their fellow Jews. Coming together, we shared stories and experiences and acknowledged challenges and concerns, so powerfully supported our belief in “The strength of a People” and “The Power of a Community”.

When we come together to help those in need, and when we come together to meet the challenges we must address to assure a strong Jewish future, we continue the incredible story of how a small but mighty Jewish people continues to defy all odds and not only survive, but thrive as a light unto others. Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh. All Jews are responsible for one another. When we come together to practice what we preach, we can do so much and add so much value to who we are individually, as a family and as a people.

Shabbat Shalom

Michael Horowitz

President/CEO