Month: April 2025

Major Chen Buchris, Deputy Commander of the Maglan Unit, was a brave and stoic warrior and leader. He dedicated his entire being to the army, and in his rare free time, he would return to his parents’ home in Ashdod. There, he trained, played guitar, and studied Mesillat Yesharim (The Path of the Just—a Jewish text on mannerisms).

Chen fell on the cursed October 7th Sabbath, during a charge he led in the battle to clear Nahal Oz of the accursed terrorists who had taken control of it.

The opening words of the book he so loved to study are: “The foundation of piety and the root of pure service is for a person to clarify and affirm what his obligation is in his world.”

After Chen’s Shiva and hearing about his pure character from his brother (who was a commander in the army—a combat officer like all the brave sons and daughters of the Buchris family), I took it upon myself to study Mesillat Yesharim in Chen’s memory.

It seems to me that there are no more precise words to describe a person to whom we all owe our lives. Chen, you will forever be, to me, the one who fulfilled his obligation in this world.

Photo Credit: Times of Israel

Guy Illouz was murdered when he was 26 years old. He was born and raised in Raanana, a town in the center of Israel. Guy was a musician; he spent most of his free time with a guitar on his lap. Guy was at the Nova Music Festival with a big group of friends. He got to his car but was not able to drive far enough before terrorists started shooting towards his car. His friend, Alon Werber, was shot while sitting next to him in the car. Guy was shot in the arm and hid in a tree, calling his parents and the police for help and saying goodbye. Guy was taken hostage, according to other hostages who returned home, was neglected in the hospital and died from his wounds.

I met Guy in high school; we both were in the same grade and we both were fans of HaYehudim. We didn’t talk that much, but we were friendly.

A couple of years later, I got off a bus and I saw Guy. He told me it was his first day in a Medics Course. Not long after that, we found out that we would be together. It was an immediate bond. We became so close that people thought we were best friends from before. We created a small group of friends for ourselves. We spent sleepless nights of laughter and practicing medical procedures and we became so close we would even spend our weekends at home together.

After the course, our group kept thriving. My friendship with Guy mostly involved being in nature and talking about music. Guy believed that music builds connections and can increase the good we see in the world. He loved his dog, George. He was a musical engineer for some of the greatest artists in Israel including Shalom Hanoch, Mati Caspi, and HaYehudim.

Since I found out that Guy was a hostage and hasn’t yet returned, some things, very simple things are just not the same. For almost three months, I had hope. I believed that Guy would come back. I hoped that he was ok. When I found out that Guy was murdered, grief took over any feeling of hope I had.

When I think about Guy I think about the music we listened to and played together. I think about the songs he wrote that I will never get to hear. I remember that he always chose joy over sadness, being with friends and talking about hard things with a smile.

Idan Reichel, an artist Guy and I loved to listen to rephrased Jeremiah 11.

רק מנעי קולך מבכי ועינייך מדמעה
כי השער יפתח לו
יבוא בו בסערה כשישובו לגבולם

Restrain your voice from weeping,
Your eyes from shedding tears;
Because the gate will open for him
And he will come in a storm when they return to their country

I met Roei during our gap year in Israel at Mechinat Rabin. We were in the same group, which basically meant we were together 24/7.

From the very beginning, Roei stood out. He was a star—everyone loved him. He always had someone to talk to, something to do, someone to help. He was a true leader—constantly stepping up, volunteering, and taking on big responsibilities without hesitation.

Even though he was incredibly popular, he somehow managed to make time for everyone. Roei had this rare gift—no matter who you were, he made you feel like you were his best friend.

He made time for me, too. That meant the world to me. He made me feel like I could talk to him about anything. He always listened, always had the right words.

I miss the little moments the most—laughing in class, our silly fights, our deep conversations. He made my day, every day.

When Roei died in the war at just 22 years old, I knew I wasn’t the only one broken by the news. That day was horrible for hundreds, maybe thousands of people—people he had touched in his city, in the Scouts, in the army, in the Mechina. He had so many people that loved him unconditionally.

Just before he went on his final mission to Gaza, he said, “If I die, please do something for youth at risk—but I’m not going to die, I’m coming back to do it myself.” I think it reflects exactly who he was.

It is a radical understatement to say that we live in interesting and challenging times. Increasing divisions and disagreements in the United States, in Israel, and around the world are creating even more significant divides. Within the Jewish community, the role and impact of diversity of thought in our community has taken on new urgency. How do we move forward knowing fellow community members have deeply held and emotionally challenging viewpoints, with which we significantly disagree and directly challenge our own values?

The wide array of opinions in this community is a source of strength. But I also know this is easy to say—it’s much harder to sit with, and even make room for, thoughts I vehemently oppose.

I flag this because when I look at how we frequently handle differences, I see us incorporating the logic of politics. In a world where there are winners and losers, we are compelled to draw sharp lines around what we believe and exclude or make offensive opposing perspectives. We focus on who is with us and who is against us, maintaining a zero-sum mentality in the pursuit of political success.

A Different Lens for Community Building

Living in Greater Washington, DC, and as part of a minority population, we recognize the importance of politics and its outcomes on our lives. But when it comes to community building, we’ve got to opt for a different lens entirely. If we are to achieve our goal of building a strong and vibrant Jewish future together, then we need to operate from a place of humility, connections, and a commitment to a collective future. Our shared history, the bonds that have held the Jewish people together for millennia, and our aspirations for the future must carry more weight than our ideological differences.

To be clear, building a community where people with diverse views can effectively engage isn’t about communal harmony. We have significant challenges and important work to do together, and the more we can bring together diverse views within a community-focused lens, the more productive we will be. Our collective Jewish future, depends on our ability to build a place where Jews of all backgrounds can come and find the wisdom and meaning of Jewish thought and tradition, the connections and relationships that ground a life and make it joyful, and the services and experiences that support and expand someone’s world.

All of this is underway, and our communal debates can serve these efforts. As President Isaac Herzog writes in Sapir, “Can diversity complicate shared living? Yes. But we cannot forget the complementary truth. Diversity, with all of the ways it complicates life, also supports it.”

We do have the right to define and maintain the boundaries of our community. But wherever we land on this complicated question, I hope it includes all those who see their personal fate tied to that of the global Jewish people. Our individual, specific viewpoints and forms of Jewish expression may change over the course of a lifetime, but it’s our connection to Jewish peoplehood and our stake in the Jewish future that can serve as the constant bond that holds us together as we build that future for ourselves and generations to come.

April 24 is Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. We are reaching a pivotal time in Holocaust storytelling. There is an unprecedented amount of Holocaust denial and antisemitism, all while there are fewer survivors still alive to tell their own stories. There has never been a better time for younger generations to share Holocaust stories, so I recently got trained through Teach the Shoah to be a third-generation storyteller.

My grandmother, Johanna Neumann (1930-2017), escaped Nazi Germany and went to Albania. She was protected by Muslims in Albania, who hid her from the Nazis. In Albania, they live by the moral code of Besa to save the Jews. Besa translates into “the promise,” and it means to protect your guests. The Albanian government treated Jews like guests and even gave them fake documentation to make it easier for them to hide.

After the war, many of the Jews hiding in Albania ended up in Displaced Persons (DP) camps. My grandma and her family went to one in Italy, where my grandma realized how lucky she was to have been in Albania during the war. The majority of the other people at the DP camp had been liberated from concentration camps and were actively looking to reconnect with family and friends who may have survived the Holocaust with minimal success. A few months later, my grandmother and the rest of her family got visas to move to the United States.

My grandmother spent the rest of her life traveling the world to tell her story. I now tell her story too, wherever I can, to continue with the goals and lessons that she thought were the most important: the destruction hate can cause, to honor Albania for saving Jews, the importance of the Muslim Jewish and all interfaith relationships, to look out for each other, and never forgetting the Holocaust. These lessons are encapsulated in the way that my grandmother ended all of her speeches:

“Our Talmud says that he who saves a life, it is as if he saved an entire world. Hitler tried to kill me, and now I have 4 kids, 14 grandkids, and 33 great-grandkids. This is all due to the righteous people in Albania who saved my life.”

I feel this responsibility to make sure her story is not forgotten, and I continue to work on ways to carry on her legacy and the rest of the Holocaust survivors. They did not endure and survive against all odds for their stories to be forgotten.

This is my first Yom Hashoah as a trained storyteller, and I am fortunate to have so many excellent opportunities to tell my story. On Monday, I spoke at a public library with two other excellent speakers on each of our family stories. This experience was especially incredible because we have very different stories to share with the group. On Wednesday, I spoke to healthcare system employees as part of their discussion series on race and discrimination. This opportunity is unique since it will be targeted toward non-Jews and will encompass Holocaust education with the lessons of my grandmother’s story. On Thursday morning, I am speaking to a class of 6th graders. They asked me to come speak because they are currently learning about refugees, and my grandmother’s story is about the Jewish experience of being a refugee in Albania. Finally, Thursday night, I am speaking virtually – open to the public – for Teach the Shoah. This talk will be a lesson about rescuers during the Holocaust infused with storytelling.

While I am telling my own family story, I also try to find ways to encourage and empower others to share their family stories. Together, we can ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

Below are resources to share your family stories and connect with other Holocaust survivor community members:

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a fantastic resource to build on the details of your family story that may be missing. They have three outlets to do that research:

• Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database
• Collections Search
• Connect with a Researcher (to find documentation that is not yet online)

Living Links is a national organization that offers free training for 3rd generation Holocaust survivors and has groups in many cities around the country to connect those survivors.

• 3G DC Community
• Apply for Storyteller Training

Teach the Shoah is another training program in which any generation can be trained to tell stories.

• Become a Storyteller

Jamie Neumann is also a Marketing & Communications Associate for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington

As someone who is not Catholic, I nevertheless have found myself deeply moved and inspired by the leadership of Pope Francis. While I disagreed with many specific issues, his commitment to making religion more relevant and responsive to the pressing challenges of our time is something I’ve long admired. Whether addressing climate change, advocating for the poor and marginalized, or speaking out on issues of justice and human dignity, Pope Francis has consistently demonstrated the need for a moral voice that transcends religious boundaries.

His leadership has served as a powerful reminder that faith, in all its forms, can and must play a role in healing a fractured world. I have appreciated his ability to speak to the spiritual core of global issues while remaining grounded in humility and humanity. In doing so, he has helped reframe what religious leadership can look like in the 21st century—not as a force apart from the world, but as one deeply engaged in its betterment.

The papacy carries tremendous influence on the global stage, and Pope Francis has wielded that influence with courage and empathy. As the world anticipates potential transitions in the Vatican and beyond, it’s worth noting just how profound an impact his voice and vision have had—not just within the Catholic Church, but across religious and cultural divides. We are, I believe, entering a moment of change shaped in part by his legacy—a legacy of inclusion, justice, and hope.

May his memory be a blessing.

Gil

“The worst part is that nobody believes us,” a survivor of the October 7th massacre told Meredith Jacobs during her trip to Israel following the attack. This one small sentence would go on to spark a global movement. As the CEO of Jewish Women International, Meredith’s job had been to advocate for the end of gender-based violence, and during her tenure at the organization, the projects were mostly based in the United States. But in that moment, Meredith realized there was something more. The deluge of social media posts and news articles were coming out denying or justifying the sexual violence that was a well-documented component of the attack was staggering.  “How can you see [the documentation], and hear their testimonies, and not believe, and not feel empathy?” Meredith wondered.  

DISINFORMATION AND DENIAL 

In partnership with the Seed the Dream Foundation, Jewish Women International decided to take action and seek to explain what was happening both on land and online. They created the I Believe Israeli Women Global Movement and began a massive research project led by retired US Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Meryl Frank. The result was an astounding report examining how digital platforms are being used around the globe to deny the use of conflict-related sexual violence, manipulate public perceptions, retraumatize survivors and prevent accountability.  

The Fund for Women and Girls at the Jewish Community Foundation engages community members in the Greater Washington area in collective learning, amplifying the voices of the most vulnerable, and giving to accelerate better conditions and outcomes for women and girls in Israel, and here in our region. After two rounds of grantmaking to Israeli organizations supporting women and girls after October 7th, the Fund learned from grantees that many of the organizations did not have the capacity to combat the disinformation campaigns online, and were having to allocate crucial resources to building a body of evidence, rather than providing crisis response services to their stakeholders.  The report caught the attention of the fund as a way to amplify and spread awareness about the realities Israeli women were facing. 

BOTS, TROLL FARMS & ALGORITHMS 

The report debuted on April 3rd, 2025, in Washington, DC to an audience of diplomats, congressional staff and community leaders – including members of the Fund for Women and Girls at the Jewish Community Foundation who co-sponsored the event. “There are 21 reported ongoing cases of conflict related sexual violence,” Ambassador Frank shared with attendees, “but what was unique to Israel was the speed and scale of disinformation. Thirty to forty percent of the posts were traced to bots and troll farms from Russia and Iran.”  

In looking deeper at conflicts in Myanmar, Ukraine, Sudan, Iraq and Israel a disturbing pattern emerged.

In each country social media was used to simultaneously glorify the violence, and to paint the survivors as liars, often manipulating evidence and using deliberate disinformation in the process. “In a climate of uncertainty, bad actors can take advantage. This both prevents other survivors from coming forward and works to deny what traditional reports have found,” explained veteran journalist, Laura Adkins at the event.  

“No matter what, no matter how difficult, you keep telling the truth,” Efrat Hochstetler, Counselor for Public Diplomacy who oversees media at the Embassy of Israel. Efrat’s team has taken on the daunting task of navigating how to share the truth while protecting survivors and families of victims and upholding the privacy and dignity of those affected, often working around the clock during the first months of the crisis.  

BELIEVING ISRAELI WOMEN – 5 ACTIONS TO TAKE TODAY 

“After October 7th, everyone wanted to do something, but no one knew what to do,” Ambassador Frank shared, a sentiment that has been felt across our broader Jewish Federation of Greater Washington community. When opening any of the multitude of social media apps we use daily, it is easy to feel helpless as an individual, but the panel emphasized the power in taking collective action as a community.  They provided a toolkit of tangible actions we can use to address the disinformation and denial online: 

1. Report posts promptly on social media platforms you use when you see harmful content, doxxing, or misinformation.  
2. Promote and share credible and verifiable testimony from survivors and witnesses.  
3. Expand media literacy programs in schools and workplaces 
4. Encourage peers to correct misinformation in their own networks 
5. Support organizations and funds that partner with trusted community voices and survivor-led initiatives.  

The report details a full list of recommendations including actions for governments, technology platforms, organizations, and individuals including supporting data transparency, and global adoption of the Berkeley Protocol to standardize the collection, verification and usage of data connected to conflict-related sexual violence.  

As for Meredith, Ambassador Frank, and the team at Jewish Women International, they are busy planning congressional hearings and advocacy at upcoming United Nations convenings. For them, this is only the beginning. “We will never have justice, but we may have historic justice,” Nava Ben Or, a member of The Dinah Project told Meredith when she brought the Believe Israeli Women delegation to the Knesset. “This is the first time I’ve felt hope.” 

HOW TO GIVE 

You can support the I Believe Israeli Women Global Movement with a gift to Jewish Women International through your donor advised fund by putting I Believe Israeli Women in the notes or directly at jwi.org 

You can contribute to The Fund for Women and Girls to support our continued grantmaking in support of Israeli women and girls through your DAF or by credit card.  

“Security starts with us in the community.”

This was the message delivered by Captain Ian Clark of the Montgomery County Police Department to more than 50 attendees from across the DMV at an all-day summit on April 8. Formed in 2023, JShield is the community security service organized by and housed within the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. The theme that prevention of threats to Jewish institutions and members of the community is not a duty that can be solely delegated to “the professionals” or hiring of security guards for events but requires, among other things, situational awareness, preparation and planning, communication and development of strong relationships with local and federal law enforcement and experts in the security space.

In his keynote address, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff shared insights that resonated with participants, outlining several high-level factors contributing to the increase in threats to the Jewish Community. He began by explaining the buildup of stress within the U.S. over the last few decades. He identified the stress as developing from the 2008 recession, the COVID lockdown, foreign policy issues, tariffs, declining confidence in where the U.S. stands in the global landscape, and domestic terrorist attacks. Concurrently, with the increase in stress comes a heightened sense of threat and uncertainty and, subsequently, a reduction in personal inhibitions. He closed by emphasizing the importance of developing a culture of security in communities and that security is a team sport.

Rusty Rosenthal, the Executive Director of JShield, began his remarks by echoing this sentiment–emphasizing that JShield does not and was never intended to work in isolation. He described the partnerships that JShield, as a new agency, has forged with similar organizations focused on the Jewish community, such as Secure Community Network, ADL, JCRC, and other Federations’ security departments, federal and local law enforcement agencies.

The presentations by Rosenthal and his team focused on the extensive expertise that each brings to the improvement of the security posture in the Jewish community.

Laura Katzif, Northern Virginia Security Advisor and Security Director at Pozez JCC highlighted her background in emergency preparedness—and the importance of understanding that threats to well-being go beyond active shooter to extreme weather, domestic feuds within families that are sometimes acted out in schools, and other dangers. Her perspective involves identifying risks in an organization and how to mitigate them. She identified the emergency preparedness process and the types of plans that might be needed. She characterized much of the approach of the JShield team as “teaching adaptability” because real-life conflict doesn’t follow a script.

Shay HaLevi, Deputy Director of Community Security, described the human reaction to threats and how he brings his training to individuals within an organization on a human level. That training ranges from breathing techniques for remaining calm to how a greeter may best approach an unknown person in an organizational setting.

Adam Bronstone, Grants Specialist, highlighted the assistance JShield provides in assisting organizations effectively apply for security grants. He also provided insight into the confusion about the current commitment to funding such grants in the future.

Ty Mooney, JShield Intelligence Analyst, explained the importance of reporting each incident on JShield’s Incident Reporting Form. That form allows JShield and its partners to receive information simultaneously. Additionally, JShield is working to refine the reporting forms to distill more actionable data for our region.

A summit highlight was a panel led by representatives from the Fairfax County, Montgomery County, and D.C. Metropolitan Police Departments. The consistent message they conveyed was to report any and all incidents, both big and small. They also took some time to explain the distinction between a hate bias incident versus a possible hate crime and took questions from attendees.

The summit also included a discussion of the relevance and possible continued threat posed to the United States by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. One panelist emphasized that the one common element among both foreign and domestic terrorists and extremists on both the right and the left is antisemitism.

Participants and panelists applauded the summit not just as an informative session but as a convening of all those in the community who either study, work to prevent, or want to forestall terrorism and other threats to the Jewish community.

JShield plans to hold the summit annually as it continues to increase its impact on the community and its awareness and participation in its own collective security.

This week, I had the privilege of witnessing something truly special—as I joined a group of Pre-K students from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School on a field trip.

But this wasn’t just any field trip. Today, the group of four- and five-year-olds were reuniting with their older buddies from the Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA) Kensington Club, a program for adults with early-stage memory loss. Thanks to the Students Help and Reach Elders (SHARE) program, these friendships have bloomed since the fall, and the children could hardly wait to see their friends again.

A Shared Experience, A Lasting Bond

The purpose of the visit was to celebrate Passover – a Jewish holiday known for bringing multiple generations together.

The room buzzed with energy as everyone sang, colored, and shared stories about the holiday. Passover Bingo was a hit, and the Seder plate brought everyone together to try the traditional Passover foods. But what stood out most was the connection—the effortless ease with which the children and their older friends communicated, shared laughs, and celebrated.

More than Just a Visit

Although still young, just four or five years old, these kids truly care about their older friends.

Many of the children arrived with handmade cards, and they were eager to check in on their buddies.

The thoughtfulness and warmth in the room were palpable.

Jewish Joy in Action

Watching these interactions reminded me of what makes the Jewish community so powerful. It’s not just about the holidays—it’s about the connections we build along the way. In a room filled with laughter, stories, and shared moments, there was no hesitation, no walls, just Jewish joy in its simplest and most beautiful form.

The Jewish Federation is a proud partner with Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School and the Jewish Council for the Aging.

That’s the question we posed to our esteemed panel at our first-ever Northern Virginia-focused Federation Network event for Jewish business professionals on Friday, March 28. Set against the backdrop of Northern Virginia’s rapidly growing landscape, nearly 50 local professionals gathered to explore what it truly means to build spaces where community can address the challenges we face today.

The following panelists joined us to frame the conversation and provided valuable insights into the intersection of business growth, community engagement, and the challenges we face:

• Katie Cristol, CEO of Tysons Community Alliance
• Stacy Bell, AVP for Business Development & Real Estate at Inova Health Systems & Professor at George Mason University
• Dahlia Palchik, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Solving for Loneliness

Katie Cristol, CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance, shared her unique perspective on community development, describing it as a “third leg of the stool” when it comes to land use and economic development. Cristol emphasized that community development isn’t just about solving the housing crisis or tackling the climate crisis—it’s also a vital solution to the growing loneliness epidemic that many are experiencing. “What does community development help us have to say about our cities as solutions?” Cristol posed. “Not just for the housing crisis and the climate crisis, but also the loneliness epidemic that we’re experiencing?”

Her words sparked a deep reflection on how our cities and neighborhoods can serve as not only economic centers but also as hubs for connection, support, and belonging.

Touch Points That Build Community

Stacy Bell, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, brought a personal and practical perspective to the discussion. Bell spoke about how community development revolves around the connection points between people.

“It can be sports, it can be hobbies, it can be a book club,” she explained. “For me, community development is about the touch points, how to create them.”

Bell stressed that how we connect with others often depends on life stages—whether it’s through work, children’s activities, or hobbies—and that fostering those connection points is key to strong community development.

The idea of connection resonated with many in the room, as Bell underscored that community isn’t just about physical spaces, but the emotional and social ties we form with others.

Beyond the Building: Where Community Comes to Life

A particularly thought-provoking moment came from a reflection by Dahlia Palchik, who serves on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She highlighted the importance of built spaces like synagogues, schools, and community centers.

“A lot of it is the people, the food, the culture. But then as we think about those built spaces, whether it’s a formal space like the J(CC) or a shul, or whether it’s a school, how do we raise our families and build?”

As both a civic leader and anthropologist, Supervisor Palchik, reminded the audience of the role physical spaces play in bringing our values to life. These conversations left a lasting impression, reinforcing that community development is not just about creating infrastructure or economic growth; it’s about creating spaces—both physical and social—where people can thrive together.

Thank You to our Hosts and Leaders

Federation is grateful to David Schneider and Joel Regignano, who co-chaired this event, and to Holland & Knight and Lerner for their hospitality in hosting this wonderful networking event.

Want to Get Involved?

If you’re a Jewish business professional in Northern Virginia and want to participate in these meaningful conversations, we invite you to join our Federation Network. Visit our website or contact Sarah Green, Director of Donor Engagement, for more details.