In July, more than 100 Jewish Federation leaders from 32 North American communities visited Odessa and Israel to experience first-hand the work that Jewish federations do to help the global Jewish community.
As part of the Jewish Federations of North America’s Campaign Chairs and Directors Mission, Mitch Moser, Milwaukee Jewish Federation 2013 Community Campaign Chair and Caren Goldberg, executive director of MJF’s Jewish Community Foundation, explored the programs, organizations and cultures supported by funds raised by Jewish federations.
The Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Community Campaign raises funds to support and care for Jews in need at home, in Israel, and in more than 70 countries around the world, through its partnerships with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish Federations of North America.
Visiting the historically Jewish city of Odessa offered a window into the JDC’s work in the region. In addition to providing critical humanitarian services to thousands of destitute elderly Jews and impoverished children, JDC is helping to revive and empower communities across the Former Soviet Union.
In Odessa, a region that is home to 51,000 Jews, Moser and Goldberg visited the Beit Grand Jewish Cultural Center, where they met Holocaust survivors, elderly adults, and young children who now call Beit Grand home.
“It was amazing to see how the work of the JDC translates into vibrant Jewish lives for the Jews of Odessa,” said Goldberg.
JAFI in Odessa focuses on Jewish youth, with the aim of creating a renaissance of Jewish life that will sustain their generation and grow into future generations.
“Our visit to a Jewish Agency summer camp was deeply moving. As we sang ‘Hatikvah’ with the campers, we felt hope for the future of the community there,” said Goldberg.
For some of Odessa’s youth, a JAFI summer camp is their only organized Jewish educational activity for the entire year. Others go on to participate in Birthright Israel and MASA programs.
This was Moser’s second CCD Mission, after attending last year’s mission to Moscow and Israel. (See article in September, 2011 Chronicle.) In both cases, he attended youth camps, and both experiences left a profound impression on him.
“I have seen Jewish summer camps in Wisconsin build Jewish identities in their campers, but to see Jewish summer camps both create and solidify Jewish identities among Moscow and Odessa youth raised my already-high admiration to an even higher level,” said Moser.
In Israel, the campaign chairs and directors heard from Israeli leaders, including President Shimon Peres, who offered three pieces of advice for the group and the greater global Jewish community: first, to be moral is to be wise. Second, the strength of the Jewish People is our dissatisfaction with the way things are. And third, always be soldiers for peace.
The mission joined a group of 3,000 Taglit-Birthright participants in Israel at an event at the Haifa Naval Base, and learned from them that visiting landmarks like the Western Wall and the Old City, and traveling with soldiers across the country not only inspired them, but helped them to connect with their own history.
There was excitement on the faces of young children at the Ethiopian absorption center, where children showed off their coloring skills and made ice cream. Moser, joined the children in a circle on the ground to make music with sticks while their team leader played a game with them on his didgeridoo, an ancient Australian wind instrument. (See photo in Chai Lights section of this paper.)
For both Moser and Goldberg, meeting committed and passionate leaders from across the country and experiencing Odessa and Israel with them was inspiring.
“The opportunity to visit places and people supported by a gift to the Federation made the concept that no gift touches more lives a reality,” said Goldberg.
“Seeing the impact of a single gift that reaches Jewish people in Odessa, in Israel, and supports our vibrant Jewish life here in Milwaukee, was greatly energizing and inspires my work in leading the 2013 Community Campaign,” said Moser.
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