Federation News
Keep up with the latest news from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor.
Reflections on a Week of Learning in Israel
Thanks to the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, I spent the month of July in Israel on a mini sabbatical from my role as the organization’s CEO. The first part of my month was spent participating in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s...
Parents of Jewish Children in Washtenaw County Schools group relaunches with energy
By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Director of Community Relations On Thursday, July 11, I was thrilled to meet over 30 parents of Jewish students in Washtenaw County schools at our relaunch of the "Parents Group." While this group had met a few times over the past year, this...
JCRC’s Candidate Forum Brings Together Diverse Perspectives
By Decky Alexander, Wendy Lawrence, (co-chairs, Jewish Community Relations Committee) and Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Director of Jewish Community Relations, Jewish Federation The initial vision was important: gathering the local Jewish community to meet and hear from local...
A Sabbatical Message from CEO Eileen Freed
As we head into summer, a time when the Federation team takes a little time to breathe and begins planning for the coming programming year, I extend deep gratitude to the 645 donors to the 2024 Annual Community Campaign. Thanks to you, we have raised $1,565,000 to...
A Message on Jerusalem Day Violence and IDF Strike in Israel and Gaza
This week was Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Reunification Day - which recognizes that Jerusalem is now a united city, open for all religions to worship in their holy spaces. This includes hundreds of thousands of Muslims who gather on the Temple Mount every...
Celebrating and commemorating Israel’s national days with special guests
By Amichay Findling, Israel and Overseas Program Manager The third week of May was a very meaningful week for Israelis, and Jews in general, here in Ann Arbor. The week commemorated Israel’s Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron) and Independence Day (Yom HaAtzmaut), which...
Why Go to a Uyghur Conference to Week before Passover?
By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Community Relations Director On April 17, I attended a New York conference called “Disrupting Uyghur Genocide” to end Uyghur erasure in China in East Turkistan. The conference was sponsored, among others, by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for...
Tough, Real Arguments with Respect and Civility
By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Director of Community Relations Early in April, I met with my friend Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi to discuss (and argue about) the Israel-Hamas war on Roop Raj’s Let it Rip (Fox 2, April 4). This was just a week after I was invited to attend Dr....
Reflection: Moral Commitment vs. “Real Politics”
By Amichay Findling, Israel & Overseas Program Manager This piece was originally written as a reflection that appeared in the May 2024 Washtenaw Jewish News. It was written following the Spring 2024 Ann Arbor Solidarity Mission to Israel. You can read other...
2024-2025 Board Bios
2024-2025 Federation Board of Directors Slate Approved at Federation's Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 7pm EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Marla Linderman Richelew, President Debra Chopp, Co-Vice President Julie Grand, Co-Vice President Annie Wolock,...