By Stacey Dresner

Carin Savel, CEO of the Federation for Jewish Philanthropy in Fairfield County, Connecticut, has been to the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly (GA) several times over the years.

But the most recent GA,  held Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 in Chicago was different, she said. 

“It was very different because this was the first in-person GA that they had done since COVID,” Savel told the Ledger. “The last two GAs were on Zoom. This was the first time people had seen each other in a very long time, so right from the get go we created a different atmosphere.”

“I forgot  how much work you can get done in elevators and hallways,” laughed Pam Ehrenkranz, CEO of the UJA-JCC in Greenwich, Connecticut. “When you are at the GA you can stop someone and say, ‘Hey, I sent you an email, I need an answer on this,’ or “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.’ Or actually meeting people with whom you have been in conversation with for two years. Those are the moments that you can’t recreate unless you are in person.”

Antisemitism and security in the Jewish community were the main topics at the gathering of more than 1,200 communal Jewish leaders from around North America. 

“The GA is a reaction to what is going on in the Jewish community and the Federation world, so this GA wound up addressing issues that weren’t there four or five years ago. It’s not that the GA is different, it’s that the issues that we’re tackling are different, and the GA has to remain fluid enough to address those issues.

“Consequently, we did have lots of sessions on antisemitism. That was the number one thing, and five years ago it wasn’t like that at all. So antisemitism was right up front– Kanye West was right up front,” Savel said. 

“I would say it was hyper-focused on the very important issues of the day and overwhelmingly focused on antisemitism,” Ehrenkranz agreed. “Those are the things that I am most concerned about. Walking into this GA and seeing how focused they are on the issues that actually we are really grappling with really validates  you. If you stay up at night worrying about all of these things and then you go to a big gathering with colleagues and you see that [an issue]  is important enough for them to be highlighting it at almost every session, then you know you are up at night for a good reason.”

Which could be why one of the highlights of the three days in Chicago for Ehrenkranz took place off campus. 

Ehrenkranz –  along with her board co-chair Margie Black and Women’s Philanthropy Director Claudia Brenner – and several other Federation directors were invited to visit the Secure Community Network Headquarters in Chicago.

“We went and we were so overwhelmed by what we saw,” Ehrenkranz told the Ledger. “I always knew that they were impressive, but seeing something in action – understanding what actually goes into keeping people safe, how they follow people on the Internet, how they interact with the FBI and law enforcement and how, sometimes, the FBI and law enforcement depend on them, also made me feel pretty damn proud.”

Savel said that going to the GA her goal was “looking for solutions” when dealing with antisemitism. She was able to speak one-on-one with Jewish leaders like 

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL and Deborah Lipstadt, What she is taking back to her Federation’s board is information about LiveSecure, the JFNA’s initiative aiding Jewish institutions in applying for  and utilizing available federal grant funds and advocating for greater security funding for Jewish communal agencies.

“We’ve  had some incidents here in the community but we don’t put them out in the press, so we need this now more than ever,” said Savel. “I never thought we would be taking our name off the door. I mean, we’re gonna have the Federation logo, but there’s not going to be our name underneath. I have young people now that work for us who no longer feel secure in the workplace.”

Also high on everyone’s mind was diversity in the Jewish community.

In 2020, JFNA started the Jewish Equality, Diversity & Inclusion initiative (JEDI), in which a team of educators go out to Jewish communities to help promote a culture of belonging in the Jewish community for all Jews – not matter their race, ethnicity, age, disability, age or sexual orientation.

“There was a clear emphasis on diversity and inclusion as well as stronger representation from a broader spectrum of Jewish observance, both traditional and non-traditional than others in the past — more Jews of color, Orthodox Jewish representation,” said Nora Gorenstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, who attended the GA for the first time this year.

The Jewish Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion initiative was well-represented and hosted sessions. Many of the sessions themselves focused on reaching across the aisles,” Gorenstein said. “That is much more representative of  our community and what we are working on.”

This was also the first GA for Rabbi Josh Pernick, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). 

“When it comes to the inclusivity space, that is kind of new for Federations in the last two years and  you can see how rapidly it is growing,” Pernick said. 

He gave as an example a GA session “Reimagining Who is in the Tent: Jewish Federations’  JEDI Inititative for Jewish, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.”

“They had a small room for this 7 a.m. meeting and the room was completely packed. So it was really great seeing something that the Federation is taking more of a lead in, have its own space at the GA.”

The GA also featured sessions on the Israeli elections; the Jewish future of Ukraine and Russia; mental health in the Jewish community; the Post-Pandemic Changing Face of Synagogue Life and many more.

Speakers included Israel President Isaac Herzog; Rabbi Yitz Greenberg; Alana Newhouse, editor of Tablet Magazine; Ann Pava of West Hartford, president of Micah Philanthropies and many more.

“Someone commented on the lack of specific fundraising skill workshops. That wasn’t this GA,” Ehrenkranz said. “The truth is, if you can understand this moment in time from a security standpoint, from an antisemitism standpoint, from an Israel election standpoint, from a Jewish life in America standpoint – which are all of the things they spoke about – you realize that all of that threads through any fundraising that anybody is going to be do. ‘What is our story?’ – In the end that is the only question you have to answer when you fundraise.”

PHOTO: JFNA conference

MAIN PHOTO: Discussing the issues at the JFNA’s General Assembly are (l to r) Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Carin Savel, CEO of Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater  Fairfield County; and Meredith Dragon, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Rochester, NY and former executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Mass.