Press Releases

Continuing a tradition started before the fall of the Soviet Union thirty years ago, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and its network of volunteers will provide extra aid and traditional Rosh Hashanah treats — including apples and honey — to thousands of poor, elderly Jews across the former Soviet Union. The aid — provided by JDC through its partners the Claims Conference, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the Jewish Federations, and other generous donors – will be distributed in hundreds of locations throughout the region where JDC will also hold scores of holiday events to mark the Jewish New Year.

The Jewish community of India, together with American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is responding to the destructive floods in Kerala, providing food and clothing to hundreds of families hard-hit by the disaster. With a presence in India since 1950, JDC and its partners in the Jewish community will provide the aid through the All-India Disaster Mitigation Agency, its longstanding partner, and will continue to raise funds and monitor needs for future support given the extent of the flooding, which has killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. To support JDC’s response in India, visit: jdc.org/disasters

In a ceremony in Jerusalem yesterday, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Israel’s Ministry of the Economy formalized their partnership to leverage Israeli agricultural technology as part of JDC’s soon to be launched Tikkun Olam Ventures (TOV) program alleviating poverty among Africa’s smallholder farmers.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Israel’s National Insurance Fund today dedicated a new home for Hackaveret – Israel’s largest social innovation hub – in Lod, a city in central Israel.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is responding to the devastating and ongoing eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano, immediately supporting the aid efforts of the Guatemalan Jewish community as they distribute critically needed relief items to those in the hardest-hit areas and plan for the rebuilding of schools and clinics. JDC is in continuous touch with the Jewish community to monitor changing needs on the ground in preparation for recovery and rebuilding projects, including deploying its experts to develop recovery programs.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) announced its participation in Hazon’s Seal of Sustainability program, an initiative created to enhance renewable-related education, activity, and advocacy in the Jewish community and worldwide. JDC will work to reduce the carbon footprint of its NYC Headquarters office and hold educational training for employees about ways to protect the planet.

A new photographic exploration of Israel’s hidden and diverse communities will be on display in a groundbreaking new exhibition, Home: Lens on Israel, at Temple Emanu-El’s Bernard Museum, April 25 through November 21, 2018. Marking the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding, the exhibition features the work of seven photographers who journeyed through Israel in November of 2016 with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The results – portraits of stunning candor and emotional impact – reflect the lives touched by JDC’s social impact work in Israel. Home: Lens on Israel photographers include Gary O. Aidekman; Elaine Goldman; Elizabeth Ann Kahane; Ruth Oratz; Hollis Rafkin-Sax; Annie Sandler, Orna Stern, Eli Atias, Ilan Cohen, Amir Halevy, and Joel Katz.

This Passover, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will continue its century-plus tradition of delivering matzah to needy Jews and supporting scores of Passover activities—Seder meals, cooking workshops, volunteer opportunities, and cultural performances — in the former Soviet Union and throughout Europe. Ensuring the poorest Jews in the world can celebrate the Jewish festival of freedom, 20 tons of matzah will be distributed to tens of thousands of elderly Jews living in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Russia. This effort is possible through JDC’s partnerships with the Claims Conference, Jewish Federations, and the IFCJ Food and Medicine Lifeline, JDC’s operational partnership with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian aid group, named Donna W. Marino as a senior development officer responsible for the New York metro area. Marino, whose track record of successful leadership in the non-profit, healthcare, and consumer package goods industries, includes her most recent role as senior development officer with NYU Langone Medical Center. At the renowned heath care institution, she oversaw fundraising efforts for a number of areas, including the Department of Medicine, and worked with some of the Medical Center’s most important donors during her tenure

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomed more than 100 preeminent Jewish community leaders from North America and around the world – Board Members and guests of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) – to his residence to celebrate Israel’s 70thanniversary and JDC’s century-plus work in the land of Israel. At the special event kicking off JDC’s annual Board Meetings, President Rivlin was treated to a recently unearthed JDC archival document, a 1920 letter from his father’s cousin Rabbi Moshe Rivlin requesting JDC assistance for matzah and food for needy Jerusalem Jews at Passover. Since it was founded in 1914, JDC has invested more than $2 billion in social services and aid.

This Chanukah, thousands of Jews in the former Soviet Union will celebrate the annual Festival of Lights by partaking in holiday celebrations and menorah lightings, concerts, holiday meals, and Jewish cultural workshops at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) network of Hesed social welfare centers and Jewish community centers. Scores of JDC-trained volunteers of all ages are leading these Chanukah activities, a growing trend in the former Soviet Union.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) will celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a week of educational, training, and volunteer activities in eight countries worldwide. Leveraging the expertise of Israel Unlimited – JDC’s partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation and Israeli Government to advance inclusivity and independent living for Israelis with disabilities – Jewish community leaders and professionals, JDC staff experts, and hundreds of people with and without disabilities with gather to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in their local communities and wider society. Nearly 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, have a disability.

More than 350 Jewish teens and young adult leaders from the former Soviet Union will celebrate their role in strengthening Jewish life at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Active Jewish Teens (AJT) Conference in Kharkov, Ukraine from November 16-19. The gathering, created and run with the AJT teens, will include participants from JDC and BBYO networks in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, and Israel. And for the first time, American teens active in BBYO, the Jewish teen movement, will also join as part of JDC and BBYO’s global partnership focused on building a worldwide movement of Jewish young people.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is responding to the devastating 7.1 earthquake in Central Mexico, immediately supporting the search, rescue, and emergency aid efforts of CADENA, its Mexican Jewish humanitarian partner, in hard-hit Mexico City. This work, as well as the tracking of Hurricane Maria’s impending impact in the Caribbean, is an expansion of JDC’s ongoing response to Hurricane Irma in the region. To support JDC’s relief efforts in Mexico, visit: jdc.org/mexicorelief

This Rosh Hashanah, thousands of poor, elderly Jews across the former Soviet Union (FSU) will receive extra food and traditional holiday fare, including apples and honey, to celebrate the Jewish New Year. The special Rosh Hashanah aid – provided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and its partners, the Claims Conference, and the IFCJ Lifeline, an operational partnership with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) – will be distributed throughout the region.

While American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) summer activities have long combined Jewish culture and learning with camping activities, volunteer efforts to help those in need, contribute to community life, and design camping experiences are increasing throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union. This is reflective of trends here in the U.S. where the American Camp Association reports that half of American-based summer camps now offer community service activities, while also making a positive impact on the community.

Professor Yossi Tamir, the Director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Israel operation and a noted expert on the elderly, addressed a special gathering sponsored by the Israeli Mission to the UN on July 5, 2017 as part of the UN’s Open-end Working Group on Ageing conference. In addition, a photo exhibition – A New Look at Aging – featured original, bold, and witty photos from photographer Oren Biran taking an inventive look at the vibrant lives of Israeli seniors. Asher Kleingold, 87, who was featured in the photos,also shared his experiences as an active senior.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) announced the launch of the Kaplan Leadership Initiative, a new Jewish community professional training program focusing on overseas Jewish communities. The new initiative— created through a founding gift from Carol Kaplan, a JDC board member and President of the Kaplan Foundation, together with her husband Ed—will provide the crucial tools and support needed to cultivate leadership among Jewish community professionals in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Latin America.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is responding to catastrophic flooding and mudslides in Sri Lanka, the result of the worst storms to hit the island nation since 2003. JDC, together with its local partner Sarvodaya, a Buddhist-inspired humanitarian organization, deployed its first responder unit to provide food, water, and other emergency aid in Sri Lanka’s five hardest hit districts, including the Galle and Kalutara districts on the coast where JDC worked extensively after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The first responders are reaching beleaguered Sri Lankans by via road and boat where necessary. As a result of the unprecedented rains, more than 500,000 people have been displaced and more than 150 killed in the last 48 hours. Donations can be made at: www.jdc.org/srilankarelief

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) announced today that Forgotten Jewels, A Haven in Havana, directed by Judy Kreith and Robin Truesdale, was awarded its inaugural JDC Archives Documentary Film Grant. The film recounts the story of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe for a safe haven in Cuba and ultimately, creating a diamond polishing industry in Havana that enabled thousands of Cubans and refugees to survive during World War II. The two finalist films selected were GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II, directed by Lisa Ades, and Who Will Write Our History, directed by Roberta Grossman and based on a book by historian Samuel Kassow of Trinity College.