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Federation Impact

Jan 8, 2021

Soviet Refusenik Gives Back to Her Washington Community

The Shalom Education Center in Rockville, MD, has been a center of Jewish life for Russian-speaking Jewish families since 2003. That’s when it was founded by Ella Kagan, a refusenik who wanted to provide her own community with something important that had been lacking: a joyful place…

Jan 7, 2021

Following Assault on Capitol, Federations Urge Country to Move Forward

Below is a statement from The Jewish Federations of North America made by Mark Wilf, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Eric Fingerhut, President & CEO.

Following yesterday’s horrifying assault on our nation's democracy, we were gratified that calm was restored quickly and Congress went…

Jan 6, 2021

In a Silicon Valley Community, a Jewish Hub for Russian Speakers

When Rabbi Ilana Baird arrived in Los Gatos, CA, the relatively large population of Russian-speaking Jews living in the area had no anchor to connect them with each other or with their Jewish identities. They were unlikely to join local synagogues, since their upbringing in the Soviet Union…

Dec 29, 2020

Creating Community for Russian-Speaking Jews in Minnesota

Ilana Voladarsky, founder and executive director of Russian American Jews in Minnesota (RAJMN), was lucky, she said. She grew up in Lviv, Ukraine, in a family that felt proud to be Jewish and didn’t hide their identity. “My grandmother raised me to embrace being Jewish,” she said.…

Dec 22, 2020

As Needs of Newly Poor Surge, Emergency Aid Effort Underway for Agencies

The struggles of the newly poor come in all shapes and sizes: Jewish families across Maryland and Virginia turning to Jewish social service agencies for help paying electricity and mortgage bills. Isolated Jewish seniors in Toronto living on fixed incomes who, for the first time in their…