In recognition of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s 100th anniversary, the federation sent a reporter to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center to ask randomly selected individuals “What Does the Milwaukee Jewish Federation Do?”
Following is the first of their responses. Additional responses will run in next week’s issue.
Neil Wallace
I think the Milwaukee Jewish Federation gives money to Israel and helps the people in Israel who are in need. It also gives money to Jews who are in need of help, as well as playing a role to advocate Jewish causes in the Milwaukee area.
Andrea Waxman
It serves as a central coordinating body that collects and disburses money throughout the community so that different organizations aren’t competing with each other. It takes care of all the different members of the Jewish community up through older people. [They do] long-term planning for the community — looking into what is going to be happening 10 or 20 years down the road and trying to foresee how to deal with problems so that we are not reacting on a short-term basis. The federation also helps the community stay connected with Israel through the Israel Resource Center and the shaliach [emissary] program.
I see the federation as a very positive force in the community. I think lots of different people can get involved in lots of different ways. And I don’t think that you have to be wealthy to be contributing to the federation.
Naomi Waxman (Andrea’s daughter)
It supports lots of educational functions, such as the Milwaukee Jewish Day School and Hillel Academy, as well as just collecting and disbursing money. It organizes lots of community holiday celebrations. It does a lot more than people generally think it does.
Note: the Milwaukee Jewish Federation provides support for all Milwaukee area Jewish day schools.
Laurence Harris
My understanding is that the federation most importantly is a kind of central organization for all the different programs and activities that the Jewish community does here in Milwaukee. It’s kind of a major steam engine that keeps all the organizations together, like the JCC, the Milwaukee Jewish Day School, the Lubavitch program, all the wonderful summer day camp programs, Jewish Family Services, just to name a few.
Programs and services of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation are: Coalition for Jewish Learning, Israel Resource Center, Jewish Chaplaincy Program, Jewish Community Foundation, Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society, Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle and Wisconsin Jewish Conference.
Local constituent agencies are: B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, Children’s Lubavitch Living & Learning Center, Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Hillel Academy, Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Home and Care Center and Chai Point, Hillel Foundation-Madison, Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, Milwaukee Jewish Day School and Yeshiva Elementary School. The federation’s major national partner is United Jewish Communities; its major overseas partners are the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Jewish Agency for Israel.
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