A Toolkit for Men's Clubs, Brotherhoods, and Individual Members
During this Most Challenging Time in Israel

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Stay Informed: Here are articles/videos that will help understand the conflict.

1. The 10/7 Project -  a new communications hub advocating for accurate, unbiased coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The 10/7 Project is led by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

2. New survey of 51 colleges assesses Jewish students’ experiences of antisemitism:  Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania and three University of California campuses were among the survey’s worst offenders. The list of schools with the least hostile environments included Tulane in New Orleans, Washington University in St. Louis and five schools in Florida. The study, conducted between November 10 and December 11, was timed to measure the impact of Hamas’ attacks and Israel’s war on Gaza. Read the full story ➤

3. Worth A Read! Article: Times of Israel Yossi Klein Halevi on the importance of proclaiming our truth as a Jewish people.

Take Action: 

1. A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation last week seeking to establish an independent commission to probe the increase in antisemitism in the United States, seeking to identify its causes and protect the Jewish community. Make yourselves heard if your representative is involved. Please see the story and lawmakers involved in this effort by clicking here. 

2.  Netflix: Remove the Antisemitic Blood Libel Film "Farha". Netflix is going to release an antisemitism film depicting the IDF as monsters this month. The production claims to be "inspired by true events", however this is a lie. We need more signatures. Please sign and share. 

Resource:

(eJewishPhilanthropy) Tea Leoni, Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl, Hannah Bronfman and Elon Gold are seen discussing antisemitism in a new video, "Breaking Bread", created by Shine A Light. This new video, an effort by Shine A Light, partners with dozens of organizations and companies each year to raise awareness of antisemitism, work that has taken on fresh urgency since October 7. By literally breaking bread together, the initiative’s leadership says, people can learn more about each other and build bridges across differences.

Watch the Video: BreakBread to #ShineALight On Antisemitism 
Read the article: Shine A Light back for a third year of ‘necessary, urgent’ discussions about antisemitism 

Israel On My Mind: Each week, you will see a new personal reflection from one of our members.

Bruce Tomar, Ventnor, NJ, Congregation Beth El, Voorhees,NJ

"My first trip, and so far the only one was almost 20 years ago. My wife and I were 2 of 75 on a whirlwind tour with our Rabbi and Hazzan. We covered an amazing amount of ground in one week - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, sfat, the Golan, Masada, Galilee, Yad Vashem just to name a few stops.

But to this day the part I reminisce about the most is the Old City. Walking through thousands of years of history still fills me with awe. The Kotel itself was a very unique experience."

Rabbi Noam Raucher, FJMC Executive Director

"I was 13 years old when I went to Israel for the first time. At that time, I attended Ezra Academy, a Solomon Schechter Day School. It was just my class of 12 students, our teacher, a tour guide, and a security guard for ten days in Israel. I was smitten the moment we landed at Ben Gurion. As soon as the song "Shalom Aleichem" began playing over the plane intercom, I knew I was home. We got our bags, found our tour bus, and headed to the Goldstein Youth Village. We went from chatty and immature on the bus, telling each other about the fun we had on the flight over, to awe-struck and speechless as we road the highways through the hills to Jerusalem.

We drank bags and bags of chocolate choco b'sakit (chocolate milk in a sack), and ate our full of falafel and shawarma. We prayed by the Western Wall, visited Yad Vashem, covered ourselves in mud, and floated in the Dead Sea. The best part for me was that we woke up when it was still dark, hit the snake path, and got to the top of Masada to watch the sunrise. 

I'll always remember that experience and my teacher, Joan Davenny. I'll never forget them because about two years after that trip, Joan was murdered in a terrorist bus bombing in Jerusalem. Our community was devastated. There were shivas and more shivas, memorial concerts, and community gatherings. But nothing comforted that loss, like returning to Israel a few years later with the Ramah Seminar. I returned and visited all the places I had first seen with Joan. I remembered the wisdom she conveyed to me and the personal love for Israel she held so dearly. 

And I especially remember Joan's lesson that Israel is our homeland, and nothing will scare us away."

Stay safe!  Am Yisrael Chai!

In Brotherhood,  

FJMC Crisis Management Team                                          

FJMC provides opportunities to learn and exercise life/leadership skills which you may not have the opportunity to either learn or use in your work. (Such skills relate to working constructively with a group to accomplish something more than one person alone could not accomplish.)

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