Last Friday, a small group of Jewish community leaders met with Cong. Maxine Dexter. It was a heartfelt, sincere, and candid conversation. As reported in the Jewish Review, Cong. Dexter issued an apology for sounding as if she was equating the Holocaust with the evolving events in Gaza while speaking on the House floor. She wrote, “I should not have discussed these two things during the same speech. Doing so gave many the impression I was comparing them — and I am clear that the experience of the Holocaust is without comparison.” You can read her full statement here. 

On another important political note, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland strongly condemns President Trump’s offensive remarks dehumanizing Minnesota’s Somali community, and in essence all Somalis in America, by calling them “garbage” and saying "they contribute nothing." Language of this type should never be put into our civic mainstream. (Almost 58% of the Somalis in Minnesota were born in the U.S. and of the foreign-born Somalis there, 87% are naturalized U.S. citizens.)

As Jews, we carry the memory of what happens when people are spoken about as less than human. Our history is scarred by moments when Jews were depicted as filth, vermin, or disease. Our Sages teach that to degrade a single human being is to diminish what is sacred in us all.

As we approach the end of the calendar year, we recognize that you will be asked to contribute to many important causes. We encourage you to be as generous as possible. I do hope the Jewish Federation will be on your list.

When making charitable decisions, trust in an organization matters! I am proud to share that Candid (formerly Guidestar), the world’s largest source of information on non-profit organizations, has given the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland “Platinum Status” – the highest level of recognition a nonprofit can receive. Earning this seal means an organization has provided extensive, detailed information about its mission, goals, strategies, financial health, and impact metrics, demonstrating a high level of transparency and accountability to donors and the public. We are one of only 128 non-profits (out of 30,000) in the State of Oregon to receive this distinction. As CEO, I take this very seriously. I am also proud of our 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.

To date, the Jewish Federation has raised two-thirds of its goal for the Campaign for Community Needs with donors averaging a 11% increase in their contributions. They recognize that to do more for our community requires additional dollars – or, as the saying goes – “You cannot do tomorrow’s work with yesterday’s dollars.” If you have yet to do so, now is the perfect time to make your increased gift to our annual campaign. 

The Robison Foundation for Jewish Elders, which was founded 14 months ago with funds from the sale of Cedar Sinai Park, has now granted $360,000 to local nonprofits to support Jewish elder care. What a blessing for older adults in our community! You can read more about their latest grantees here. 

The Robison Foundation is working hard to better understand the needs of Jewish older adults and their caregivers. To that end, they are seeking Jewish adults 65+ and adult children, partners, and caregivers of people 65+ to participate in a brief survey. Everything shared is strictly confidential and used only for community research purposes. Your lived experience and voice will help the foundation maximize their impact. Please take the survey here. 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland announced this week a Mission to Poland scheduled for May 24-31, 2026. Visiting Poland and experiencing the concentration camps is something we should all witness to better understand the horrors of the Holocaust.

Before the outbreak of World War II, more than 3.3 million Jews lived in Poland, the largest Jewish population of Europe and second largest Jewish community in the world. Barely 11% of Poland’s Jews – 369,000 people – survived the war. Half of all Jews who perished in the Holocaust were from Poland. Most American and European Jews can trace their roots to the region. 

Join the Jewish Federation and explore Poland’s complicated post-war history. To learn more, click here. And for more information, click here.

Chanukah begins Sunday night, December 14. The Jewish Federation has assembled our annual Chanukah Happenings page. This includes links to resources for how to celebrate the holiday and a calendar spotlighting Chanukah events across the Portland Jewish community. 

In addition, Yosef Rosen, our Director of Jewish Life and Learning, is hosting a webinar on the history, themes, and rituals of Chanukah. It will be held on Wednesday, December 10 at 8:00 p.m. Join us as we rekindle the deeper meanings of the Jewish festival of lights by registering here.

We are relieved that the body of Thai hostage, Sudthisak Rinthalak, was returned to Israel. Rinthalak was an agricultural worker on Kibbutz Be’eri who was murdered on October 7 and his body taken into Gaza -- but it took until May 2024 for his family to find out his fate. He had worked in Israel since 2017 so he could send money to his parents in Thailand.

The body of Ran Gvili is the last of 251 captives taken on October 7 remaining in Gaza. May Ran be brought home soon for burial in the State of Israel.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the passing of Bert Rogoway (z”l). Simply put, Bert was a happy, jovial man. He was married for 61 years to longtime Jewish Federation professional, Laurie Rogoway. And for years he was a devoted Jewish Federation volunteer who loved to make calls for the annual campaign.

I remember when I first met Bert. Immediately, we realized we shared two things in common: both of us were fans of the Atlanta Braves baseball team (I was born in Atlanta and Bert from all the years watching on TBS), and we both agreed Portland native and Braves great Dale Murphy should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

My thoughts go out to the Rogoway family. May Bert’s memory be for a blessing.

Shabbat shalom.