Civil rights leader Eric K. Ward will bring a hard but hopeful message to Milwaukee on Wednesday, March 11, urging Jews and non-Jews alike to “stay at the table” even when conversations about antisemitism and race feel painful, fraught and exhausting.  Ward will speak at “What Multicultural & Interfaith Democracy Looks Like,” part of the 2026 Robert […]

In November 2025, I introduced the Interfaith Security Grants Bill (Senate Bill 789) to address the urgent need for state support of security measures needed by Wisconsin’s faith communities, including Wisconsin’s Jewish community. While Wisconsin provided security grants to religious organizations in years past, once that program ended, a funding gap has grown on pace […]

A bill to require state and local agencies to consider a common definition of antisemitism when determining discriminatory intent has been passed by the state Assembly and is headed for a March 17 vote in the state Senate.  The Assembly vote on Bill 446 – requiring consideration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition – passed 66-33 on Feb. 17, with 12 Democrats supporting it. The bill passed with strong support from Milwaukee Jewish Federation, its local Jewish […]

Thank you to our community, generous donors, dedicated partners, and volunteers for embracing Violins of Hope-Wisconsin and helping bring these powerful stories of resilience and remembrance to life.

Yeshiva Elementary School, an institution closely linked to the West Side Twerski community, is facing space issues, with a student population that has grown by about 25 percent since 1999.  Administrators are making plans for expansion. Construction could begin in the next couple years, to physically grow the Orthodox school at 5115 W. Keefe Ave.   In 1999, before a 2001 expansion, the school had […]

Seemingly half of the school is suddenly juggling.  OK, half may be hyperbole.  But Chana Laya Gilden observes more of her classmates than usual at Torah Academy of Milwaukee are honing skills commonly spotted under the big top as they prepare to put on their annual play.  “One teacher said, ‘I feel like I’m walking into a circus every […]