By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Congregation Kesser Israel’s facility has undergone significant changes in the last year – a new perimeter fence, a new gathering tent, and other upgrades. The latest is likely the most fun of all – a playground.
The Orthodox synagogue staged a grand opening...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Portland’s annual Pride Parade is taking place Sunday, July 21, and Jewish Pride Greater PDX is spearheading participation for Jewish groups in Portland. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show up in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ Community – with hundreds of fello...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Jewish Community Chaplaincy is back!
Rabbi Sarah Rensin has been named Portland’s next Jewish Community Chaplain, succeeding Rabbi Barry Cohen, who departed for Houston earlier this year. The role is now housed within Jewish Family & Child Service and will be pa...

By JESSICA ANDERSON
Local organizations who applied for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) this year still have a couple of months to wait before award selections are made. If you’re an organization who might benefit from applying, it’s not too early to start thinking about next year...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
A year ago, Eastside parents and staff at Congregation Shir Tikvah set off to build a new Jewish youth program on the east side of the Willamette River.
Today, Jewish Teens of Portland is as vibrant and energetic as their recent fundraiser, a drag performance at ...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
As temperatures warm and schools go on break, the focus of many Jewish families turns to camp.
At B’nai B’rith Camp on the Oregon Coast, the first busloads of overnight campers arrived Tuesday, June 25. But at BB Camp, there’s plenty of camp excitement to g...

Jewish Women's Round Table
The 29th Annual Song of Miriam Awards Brunch honoring women volunteers was held on Sunday, June 9th, at Mittleman Jewish Community Center. 
The event, put on by the Jewish Women’s Round Table, honored 18 women who volunteer for Jewish and community organizations. Mor...

By JESSICA ANDERSON
I’ve spent several of the last few articles talking about different aspects of incidents – reporting, collection, and sharing. This installment will share with you a message from the Portland Police Bureau and provide a link to a PPB flyer and its collection of bias crimes...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Board Chair Mindy Zeitzer opened her year-in-review remarks with what could be described as an understatement. 
The last year was “one that none of us expected,” she said.
Twelve months prior, the Federation and the commu...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah has been a place of spiritual meaning since its opening in 2017. ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists is looking to add to that experience with the first or a series of art-related programs at the mikvah.
Zac Banik, an arts educator, help...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Etti Segal hadn’t planned to work as a Hebrew teacher in Oregon. But now that she is, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I need to be here,” she said. “This is my place.”
Her commitment to that place, as Hebrew and Judaics Coordinator at Congregation...

By JESSICA ANDERSON
As I’ve settled into this role, one of the recurring questions I receive is about the incidents that happen around town and across the state. I share examples of what gets reported to me and provide an average number of incidents per month. Besides sharing all incidents with...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Marc Blattner remembers the day his path became clear. 
It was 1987. Blattner was the Grand Alpha Godol of the Grand Order of the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), the male arm of B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO). After a trip to New York City, where his sister ...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
“We can’t be silent anymore,” Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Director of Community Relations Bob Horenstein told a packed Stampfer Chapel at Congregation Neveh Shalom the evening of Monday, June 3. “That’s what you are here for.”
Ceasing to be s...

The Jewish Review staff
In Israel, even in the midst of war and terrorism, groundbreaking research to improve lives in the Jewish state and beyond continues. 
The Kasser Joint Institute for Global Food, Water and Energy Security is just one example of that work – work which will be on display ...

By JESSICA ANDERSON
In previous columns, I’ve written about Oregon’s DOJ Bias Response Hotline. Those articles were largely directed to individual community members to increase awareness about reporting incidents and what rises to the level of a reportable event. In this column, I’d like to...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
As the academic year comes to a close on college campuses around the Portland metro area, Jewish students and the professionals that support Jewish life on campuses are taking stock of all that’s happened. What was already a challenging environment post-Oct. 7 r...

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
In the months since the Oct. 7 terror attacks, as Israel has been gripped by war, few organizations have been positioned to support those suffering like Dror Israel.
You can hear all about that work at two upcoming presentations from Noam Schlanger, Dror Israel’...