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The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund’s annual Day of Philanthropy is set for Oct. 14 with U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres as its featured speaker.

The event will honor Bay Area philanthropist John Pritzker, who will receive the Robert Sinton Award for Distinguished Leadership.

According to the San Francisco-based Federation, the Day of Philanthropy “brings together changemakers, civic and corporate leaders, and philanthropists to celebrate our collective impact.”

Torres, a New York Democrat who represents the Bronx, has become one of the most prominent Zionist voices in Congress and a fierce defender of Israel, especially since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre that began the ongoing war. That day, terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages into Gaza. Nearly a year later, 101 people remain in captivity.

Politico has described Torres as “Israel’s loudest House supporter.” When he visited Israel earlier this year to tour areas devastated on Oct. 7, including Kibbutz Nir Oz, Torres told the Jewish News Syndicate, “I came here with a simple message that Israel is not alone.”

In September, Torres and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) introduced the “No Foreign Gifts Act” to prevent U.S. universities from accepting gifts from foreign nations that fund terrorist groups.

Ritchie, who grew up in poverty, was elected to the New York City Council in 2013 at age 25. He became the city’s youngest elected official and the first openly LGBTQ elected official in the Bronx. He served on the city council for seven years before winning a seat in Congress in 2020.
Pritzker is founding partner and director of Geolo Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity and investment firm. He is part of the Pritzker family that founded Hyatt Hotels Corp. and was a longtime executive in the hospitality industry.

He is chairman of the John Pritzker Family Fund. According to the fund’s website, its grantmaking “supports mental health and healthcare, democracy and civic health, Jewish life and the arts.”

A past president of the Federation, Pritzker serves on the executive council of UCSF Health and on the board of trustees of the New York-based Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he leads a committee on modern and contemporary art. He is also a board member of the S.F.-based Bernard Osher Foundation and a member of the emeritus board of Tipping Point Community, a nonprofit that combats poverty in the Bay Area.

The day’s events at the Four Season Hotel in San Francisco start with a 10 a.m. discussion with leaders of six groups working locally with young Jewish adults: GatherBay, Repair the World, Honeymoon Israel, OneTable, JIMENA and the Young Jewish Fund.

The day’s events also include a reception, lunch, keynote speech and “storytelling” with Pritzker. The event has sold out. To get on a waiting list, email [email protected]. n