April

Jewish Communal Service Association of North America
JCSA
April 2011 Volume 9, Issue 8
Connecting & Enhancing Professional Leadership
A Tradition of Innovation
By: Brenda Gevertz, JCSA Executive Director
Inside this issue:
JCSA Annual
Program
2
Giving Purpose to 3
Our Work; Alan
Gross
I routinely open the weekly Job Postings that JewishJobs.com sends. It’s important
for me to understand what’s available -- who’s looking and what’s needed, any trends, the
Taking Back
4
general market. Ben Brown began this venture to meet his own job-seeking needs while in
Zionism
graduate school at Brandeis. He created a web page, put links to Jewish employment sites
Local Groups
5
on it so he could check between classes and before long, he realized it had a following. He
News & Events
could have closed down the site after graduation, but he kept it going as an important
service. Ten years later, Jewish Jobs has processed almost 60,000 applications -- and that’s
Mazal Tovs;
6
just for the positions that Jewish Jobs processes. Slightly more than half of the postings are
Employment
processed directly by employers. What an amazing and important service Ben provides! (If
Events &
7
you missed Ben’s article and access to his trend graphs in last month’s eNews, you can
Opportunities
reference them here http://jcsana.org/upimagesjcsa/2011-03.pdf ).
JCSA Benefit Plans 8
Lisa Colton had a somewhat similar experience. Frustrated by an inability to access
information about Jewish organizations online, she began working to help Jewish institutions create a web presence and established Darim Online. Today, Lisa’s Darim Online is a go-to resource for all
things related to Jewish social media and has provided technology boot camps for thousands of participants.
Ben’s and Lisa’s stories are demonstrative of the entrepreneurial trend that is pervasive in the Jewish
community. An individual sees a need, finds a solution, and expands the idea. These entrepreneurial spirits can
flourish in existing organizations as well, if the institution is open to change. Naomi Sage pushed JDC to connect
with younger Jews and created short-term service programs. Now, hundreds of young volunteers are connecting to
this venerable organization as well as providing valuable services.
These are just three examples of entrepreneurial ingenuity and you are likely to know several more. Jewish
history provided the opportunity and often the necessity for us to be creative as a religion and community. We have
a Tradition of Innovation. This tradition continues and is the focus of our next issue of the Journal of Jewish Communal
Service. You’ll want to explore the 200+ pages of this issue which not only reviews the historical foundation for our
innovative disposition, but also looks at the many trends and economic challenges facing the innovation ecosystem.
If you’re not already subscribing to the Journal, don’t miss your opportunity to read this important issue (https://
www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=645&id=353).
JCSA 2011 Annual Program
Change is a constant and as Jewish professional leaders, we must anticipate and
prepare to meet the ever evolving needs of our community. Key questions to consider are:
How will we acquire the needed data? What are the boundaries of a community? What
will be Israel’s role in North American Jewish identity? How can we anticipate communal
needs and provide the support necessary to obtain our collective vision of a vibrant Jewish
future? What is our vision for 2020 and how can we focus on our future?
These are just some of the issues that will be explored at JCSA’s Annual Program
being held on June 3rd at UJA-Federation of New York. David Harris, Executive
Director of the American Jewish Committee, will address the topic of 2020 Visioning and
responses will be given by Dr. John Ruskay, Executive Vice President and CEO of UJAFederation of New York and Sara Berman, Hebrew Charter School Pioneer.
Registration is open at www.jcsana.org.
www.JCSANA.org
JCSA 2011 ANNUAL PROGRAM
2020 VISIONING:
FOCUSING
ON
OUR
FUTURE
Keynoter:
DAVID HARRIS
American Jewish Committee
Responses by:
Dr. John Ruskay & Sara Berman
June 3, 2011
@ UJA-Federation of New York
9:00 - 2:30PM
Featuring afternoon workshop sessions with:
Maggie Bar Tura ♦ Jacob Berkman ♦ David Bryfman ♦ Alex Budnitsky ♦
William Daroff ♦ Jane Eisner ♦ Mike Kanarick ♦ Rabbi Elie Kaunfer ♦
Alana Newhouse ♦ Leonard Petlakh ♦ Gaby Schoenfeld ♦ Rabbi Julie Schonfeld ♦
Daniel Septimus ♦ Dan Sieradski ♦ Jos Thalheimer ♦ Samantha Wolthius ♦
Partial list only
www.JCSANA.org
Page 2
Giving Purpose to Our Work
By: Arthur Sandman, Executive Vice President, Jewish Agency International Development
It is Spring. In my part of the country, the geese are beginning to pair up, and the goslings are sure to follow soon.
It is the season of love. Of course, for the Jews, the beginning of spring is the beginning of the Passover season—Zman
Cheruteinu-the season of our freedom, but also the season of shopping, cleaning, cooking, or, in short, the
season in which we become slaves to the kitchen and to traditions we may love or hate. But biblically,
Passover is, in addition to being the Festival of Freedom, Chag Ha’Aviv-the spring agricultural festival. So it
should come as no surprise that there is a tradition on Passover—on the Shabbat of Passover—to read Shir
HaShirim-the Song of Songs, a book of love in a season of new romances.
For a People of the Book, our people—we—are remarkably unread in our own books, and I
suspect many of us find neither the time nor the inclination to read Shir HaShirim. Even those of us who
are likely to hear it chanted in synagogue are less likely to understand the verse or bother with the translation. For most of us, Shir HaShirim is, at best, to love what de Toqueville is to American democracy—the
source of some pithy quotes from a book we’d never read. For a more serious reader, it’s a rather complex Arthur Sandman
weave of narrative strands, decidedly erotic. For the rabbis, who thought a book of love poetry in our bible of history and law to be rather incongruous, Shir HaShirim is an allegory describing the love between God and the Jewish
People.
To me, Shir HaShirim is a love affair with the Land of Israel. In verse after verse, we encounter the flowers and
smells of Israel, the animals, the hills and valleys. The Land is not mere backdrop; it is the simile by which the intensity of
beauty, love, and desire is ardently proclaimed. It is a book written for an audience whose love for its Land was so intuitive
that this love-of-land could give texture and brilliance to the love of a man and woman. Most of us, on the other hand,
would be more likely to use metaphors of human love to represent our love for a land. So I think Shir HaShirim beckons us
to fall in love with the Land of Israel—to lose (or perhaps find) ourselves in a passionate romance with our treasured homeland.
It is Spring. It is a season of love. It is a time for us to recall—or to ensure—that we do what we do as Jewish community professionals because we are madly in love. And so it is a time for us to fall in love again—with our heritage, our
covenant, our people, and our Land of Israel.
Redeeming a Captive
By: Howard Feinberg, President & CEO, Jewish Federation of San Antonio
Family, Friends and Colleagues:
Our friend and colleague, Alan Gross is a mensch and he is a humanitarian. And he needs our help right now. Please
help redeem this Jewish captive. This will take ten minutes and cost you absolutely nothing but a little time. It’s the least we
can do.
In 1980, Alan was the first Jewish communal professional colleague to warmly greet me as I entered the field. Alan was
serving as the assistant director of BBYO’s region encompassing Washington, DC and Baltimore, and I had just begun my
tenure as assistant Florida Region Director. We were both in Israel that summer and Alan made his way to the location
where my group of 40 BBYO teens was staying to meet the new guy he’d heard about who also played the guitar. That
greeting began our over thirty year friendship. Alan is the colleague who showed me it was OK to leave our cherished roles
as youth workers to have a broader impact on the community through Jewish Federation. He moved over to the
Washington Federation and I to the Miami Federation. In time, Alan found bigger playing fields, using his enormous talents,
creative energies and relationship skills to help create humanitarian programs in many third-world nations around the world.
He never stopped trying to find ways to feed, clothe and educate the needy through creating and nurturing partnerships
between businesses and thriving and developing countries so that all people could live in
dignity with basic needs satisfied. And Alan was always looking for ways to reconnect with
Jewish communal service.
While working on a US AID contract on just such a humanitarian trip helping the Jews
of Cuba, Alan was arrested by Cuban authorities on December 3, 2009, as he was trying to
return home. He has been languishing in jail ever since, his health is slipping and he was
recently convicted for alleged “crimes against the State” in a Cuban courtroom and
sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
www.JCSANA.org
Page 3
Redeeming a Captive, continued...
Some of you with the ability to be more objective might of geo-politics suggest the nuances - are such that any US
AID contractor knew the risks. That doesn’t make Alan’s and his family’s plight any less compelling nor the ability of Alan
and others to do humanitarian work without fear of becoming a pawn in long standing international relations issues any less
important.
The recent articles published after Alan’s trial highlight calls by his attorney and US officials for his release on
humanitarian grounds citing Alan’s failing health as well as those of his mother and daughter who are both suffering with
cancer. Several organizations and influentials are also quietly working to press for Alan’s release on humanitarian grounds.
This is important.
I believe we can all help by keeping Alan’s plight in the minds of our colleagues, Congressional Delegations and the
Obama Administration. Please consider writing your delegates, Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama -- thanking
them for their continued support and efforts to free Alan in whatever way they might be working, both public and private.
And, should they want to know more about Alan and his work as a community organizer and humanitarian, many of his
colleagues are more than happy to provide a true picture of this humble hero.
And as we approach Pesach, our holiday celebrating freedom from slavery, please remember Alan Gross and his family in
your prayers. Thanks and shalom.
Howard S. Feinberg
President & CEO, Jewish Federation of San Antonio
Taking Back Zionism
Shalom Colleagues,
The Birthright Israel Alumni Community is thrilled to be partnering with over 30 organizations to
‘Take Back Zionism’.
Contemporary discourse seeks to narrowly define Zionism, often attacking Israel and questioning
its legitimacy. Young Jews are programmed to accept and uphold a negative, and often false, definition of
Zionism while ignoring the beautiful values that are espoused within the Zionist ideal. We, the Birthright
Israel generation, refuse to accept others' definitions and misrepresentations. We seek to Take Back Zionism
and define it in our own terms, as a young generation who has been to Israel and knows the truth.
We encourage you to take advantage of the great educational resources on
www.takebackzionism.org. Think of www.takebackzionism.org as the Zionist yellow pages; our Take Back Natalie Solomon
Zionism team at the Birthright Israel Alumni Community as your operator ready to connect you to the
Zionist activities most relevant to your community.
Here are just a few ideas of how to use this website and bring the Take Back Zionism campaign to your community.
1. Encourage your community to Take Back Zionism by defining it for themselves online at
http://www.takebackzionism.org/node/add/contribute-view
2. Peruse our Partners Section to learn more about Zionism today. Find something that speaks to your
community? We are happy to connect you to the Take Back Zionist representative at any organization.
3. Visit our Video Gallery to find videos from incredible leaders and speakers sharing their views on Zionism,
from Ambassador Michael Oren to Birthright Israel Co-Founder Michael Steinhardt and share them with your
community.
4. Fan us on Facebook to share the campaign with your virtual community.
We look forward to hearing from you and in working together to Take Back Zionism.
B’shalom,
Natalie and the Take Back Zionism team
Don’t Forget: JCSA member organizations receive 10% off your listing on www.JewishJobs.com
www.JCSANA.org
Page 4
Local Groups News & Events
Join JCPSC for their upcoming event “HELP, I’m Leaving My Job! Planning for Transitions
During Your Career” on Tuesday, May 24th at 5:45PM at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills.
Don’t do it alone. Learn how to manage job changes for any reason - laid off, retired, fired, or
hired somewhere new. Expert panelists will discuss legal, financial, and vocational issues; the
decision making processes; and finding the resources to successfully navigate these critical life
transitions. Free for members, $18 for non-members. You must RSVP to [email protected]. Purchase dinner
by clicking here: http://www.jcpsocal.org/JCPSC_Payments_Page.html
&
TriState-JCPA recently teamed with Jews in All Hues for
a one-day professional development conference to
promote conscious inclusiveness to dual heritage Jews in
our communities and those seeking a Jewish communal
Life. This event was held on April 11, 2011. For more
information about TriState JCPA programs, visit
http://www.tristatejcpa.org/
NEW JPROSTL SLATE ANNOUNCED
President: Michelle Brooks (Director of School Services at CAJE) (pictured)
Vice President: Jean Cavender (Director of the Holocaust Museum Learning Center)
Vice President: Jennifer Bernstein (Coordinator of the Child Abuse Prevention Program at JB&FS)
Michelle
Brooks
Committee Chairs:
Ellen Alper (NCJW)
Florence Schacter (Crown Center for Senior Living)
Ronnie Brockman (Shaare Emeth)
Jennifer Bersdale (Central Reform Congreation)
Phil Ruben (JCC)
Jackie Newfield (NORC)
At Large Members:
Lynn Harris Gossen (Jewish Federation)
Lee’at Bachar (Jewish Federation)
Joan Denison (Covenant/Chai Apts.
Rabbi Levi Landa (Chabad)
Simone Picker (Nishmah)
Amy Stone (United Hebrew)
Deadline for news you would like to share in the May, 2011 issue of the
JCSA Newsletter is Thursday, April 28th. Contact [email protected].
www.JCSANA.org
Page 5
Mazal Tovs
Mazal Tov to Marcia Newfeld on her appointment as President of NAASE.
Mazal Tov to Mike Witkes on his appointment as interim Executive Director of the JCC of Mid Westchester in
Scarsdale, NY.
Mazal Tov to Andres Spokoiny on his appointment as President and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network.
Mazal Tov to Joan Denison on her recent appointment as Director of the Covenant-Chai Apartments in St.
Louis.
Mazal Tov to Jill Jacobs on her appointment as Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights - North America
DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards
Mazal Tov to American Jewish World Service (AJWS) for winning a DoGooder Nonprofit Video Award and
Mazal Tov to Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) for being a finalist. Click here to view the AJWS
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQTtMXZs2LA, and click here to view the JFNA video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B32c5NqKEIE
The DoGooder Nonprofit Video Award is an annual contest run by See3 Communications in partnership with
YouTube. Over 800 agencies submitted almost 1400 videos which exemplify how nonprofits can (and must)
connect with the world and tell their stories using sight, sound and motion. The winning videos were featured on
the YouTube homepage on March 19th where they received almost 1 million views!
Mi Sheberach
We wish a full and speedy recovery to our colleague Marla Gilson (Malcha bat Zipporah ve Ben Tzion) who is
battling Lukemia.
Employment
The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago is seeking a Director of their Young Leadership Division who will provide professional leadership and strategic direction to the fundraising, educational, outreach, leadership development and volunteer activities of the Young Leadership Division YLD. To apply for this position,
please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected]. To view the full listing click here:
http://www.juf.org/hr/job_listing.aspx?id=72940
See below for four job opportunities at The Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI) located in New York City:
Communications Associate: For more information, click here: https://www.jewishjobs.com/cgibin/index.cgi?action=uvj&job_id=15488.
Director of Program: For more information, click here: https://www.jewishjobs.com/cgibin/index.cgi?action=uvj&job_id=15840
Grant Writer: For more information, click here: https://www.jewishjobs.com/cgibin/index.cgi?action=uvj&job_id=15774
Director of Development: For more information, click here: https://www.jewishjobs.com/cgibin/index.cgi?action=uvj&job_id=15773
Page 6
Events & Opportunities
The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (JBFCS) has announced it’s April workshops. For your
convenience, the titles of the courses are listed below. For details and to register go to: www.jcprograms.org/connect-tocare. All workshops are free of charge.
♦ Improve Your Computer Competence and Learn New Skills ♦ Job Search for the Mature Worker ♦ Develop a Strong
Resume ♦ Spring Into the New Season with New Perspectives on Keeping Postive ♦ Embracing Change - Breaking
Down New Challenges into Manageable Steps ♦ Successful Interviewing ♦ Navigating Successful Career Change ♦
Introduction to Successful Online Social Networking ♦ From Oppression to Freedom: Drawing on Passover Themes to
Support Our Journey Toward Re-employment ♦ I-PREP ♦ Thinking of Starting a Business? ♦ How to Have Fun on a
Budget and Free Things to Do In NYC ♦ Cover Letters and Thank You Notes ♦ Keys to Effective Networking ♦ How
To Search for a Job in Today’s Market ♦ Credit Report: How to Get, Read and Improve your Credit Report ♦
Birthright Israel Month is a time to celebrate the remarkable achievements of this life changing experience. In the past
eleven years Birthright Israel has seen the impact of the program on over 300,000 participants from 53 countries. The
Birthright Israel Foundation has planned a month of celebration and looks forward to engaging as many partners as
possible. They have built a calendar- filled month of events, around North America. Click the link below to find an event
near you! http://www.birthrightisrael.com/site/PageServer?pagename=brimonth_main
Natan is now accepting Letters of Inquiry for its 2012 Grants in the areas of: Advancing Inclusiveness in the North
American Jewish Community; Economic Development in Israel; Emerging Models of Jewish Connection in North
America; and Jewish Peoplehood. Letters of Inquiry are due at 3:00pm ET on Friday, April 15, 2011. The Request
for Proposals (RFP) in each grant area is available at http://natan.org/html/grants.html, along with eligibility criteria.
Please note as well: The most recent round of the Birthright Israel NEXT/Natan Grants for Social Entrepreneurs is
also open, with proposals due May 6. For more information and application materials click below:
http://www.birthrightisrael.com/site/PageServer?pagename=next_grant. Also, in April 2011, Natan will open the
application process for their newest grant program, New Media.
If you have any questions about Natan’s grant areas or application process, please be in touch with Jackie Fishman,
program officer at [email protected].
AJWS is pleased to announce that they are accepting applications for the Dvar Tzedek Lisa Goldberg Memorial Writers'
Fellowship for 5772 / 2011-2012. AJWS Dvar Tzedek Fellows write several insightful and articulate commentaries on the
weekly Torah portion designed to inspire readers to engage in the pursuit of global justice. Fellows receive a generous
stipend and attend a one-day orientation. Dvar Tzedek currently reaches over 6,000 subscribers a week over e-mail.
Click below to download the application:
http://ajws.org/what_we_do/education/publications/dvar_tzedek/dvar_tzedek_writers_fellowship_5772.pdf
Visit www.ajws.org/dvartzedek to see examples of Dvar Tzedek commentaries. Applications are due on May 2, 2011.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Page 7
www.JCSANA.org
The Wiener Educational Center of UJA-Federation of New York invites you to join one of their many Spring
professional development programs. For your convenience, the titles of the courses are listed below. For details
and to register go to: http://www.ujafedny.org/workshops. Please direct questions about registering to Fern
Maraminsky at (212) 836-1624. For questions about content, call June Fortess at (212) 836-1603.
♦ Understanding Personality Styles in the Workplace ♦ Power, Influence and Persuasion ♦ Putting an End to
Unproductive Meetings ♦ Strategic Storytelling to Recruit and Inspire Donors and Volunteers ♦ Green Teams:
Making the Most Impact at Every Stage in the Greening Process ♦ Good to Great Websites ♦
News from JCSA Insurance Committee
David, age 34 and from Pittsburgh, never gave much thought to becoming disabled at his young age. His
was focused on building a retirement account that he could use in an emergency at any time if needed.
David simply called our Administrator Brian to change his address. Brian suggested that David protect his
retirement plan deposits and assure himself that if anything did happen to him at any time, a company would
continue to fund his account while he was out of work. After all, David was told the Disability insurance will
replace income but not continue his plans to be able to have the retirement account he wanted and planned for.
Thankfully, David heeded Brian's advice and protected his account deposits for less money annually than what
David was spending in a week for food. At age 39, David became suddenly ill, disabled and out of work for
almost three years. He was very pleased to see that for this period, deposits to his account continued for him!
You should be protecting the continuation of your retirement account, regardless of where and with whom
it is held. If you do not have this coverage please consider adding it to your insurance program. Our
Administrators, Brian and Irv Silberberg, will be happy to assist you and your family with any insurance and
retirement planning needs. Please contact them at 800 597 9245 or [email protected]
Jewish Communal Service Association of North America
JCSA
Connecting & Enhancing Professional Leadership
April 2011 Volume 9, Issue 8
Mission
The Jewish Communal Service Association of
North America supports the enhancement of
professional Jewish communal leadership,
uniting a broad spectrum of individuals, entities
and disciplines sharing a commitment to
advancing their communities guided by Jewish
values.
25 Broadway | Suite 1700 | New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212.532.0167 | Fax: 212.284.6566 | [email protected]
Newsletter Staff — Rachel Perten, Editor
Visit our website: www.jcsana.org
Jacob Solomon, President Brenda Gevertz, Executive Director
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www.JCSANA.org