Twenty-six local organizations have received a total of $670,000 in grants from the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund to help respond to the spike in antisemitism worldwide since last year’s Hamas massacre in Israel.
Another 14 grants worth $60,000 were awarded to support the “physical, mental and emotional wellbeing” of staff members “particularly after 10/7.”
The grantees include both grassroots groups that have formed since Oct. 7, 2023, and long-established organizations, such as day schools, congregations and JCCs.
“Jewish organizations and professionals are navigating a challenging moment, and the work they do has never been more vital,” Amanda Cohen, Federation director of community partnerships and grantmaking, said in a Wednesday press release announcing the grants. “We’re proud to invest in this group of grantee partners as they fight antisemitism and care for the talented professionals who make our community thrive.”
The “Combating Antisemitism” grants focus on programs that “promote allyship, advocacy and education among Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, power grassroots community groups in schools and civic spaces, and equip educators to support their students.”
The grantees include the Bay Area Jewish Coalition, a grassroots group that formed shortly after Oct. 7, 2023, and has been working to address antisemitism in K-12 schools across the region, including supporting a Jewish family suing a San Jose charter school for alleged failure to address antisemitic bullying, harassment and public humiliation.
Malka Productions, which organizes events focused on young Jewish adults, also received a grant.
“It really helps us to continue to bring the high-profile speakers that we need who are helping to not only combat the propaganda that we’re seeing digitally but give our communities the tools to have these really important dialogues,” said Malka co-founder Danielle Chetrit.
Chetrit said the grant is directly supporting Malka’s next event bringing comedian, content creator and producer Zach Sage Fox to San Francisco on Nov. 7.
San Francisco Hillel, which serves college students at SFSU, USF, UCSF, UC Law and SF Community College, will use its grant for a six-week learning group called “Kol Yisrael.” The goal is for students to explore their Jewish identities, understand antisemitism from historical and modern contexts and establish or enhance their connection to Israel.
The Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust in Catholic Schools is another grantee. It will use the money to expand its Survivor Studio Project, which brings Holocaust survivors virtually into classrooms to provide testimony to middle and high school students.
“This grant is really a game changer for us because we’re a very small nonprofit and a newer nonprofit,” said executive director Adrian Schrek.
The San Francisco Interfaith Council, which represents hundreds of congregations of all faiths, will use its grant to bring together Jewish and Muslim groups and leaders and to fight the antisemitism that “was amplified with the tragic terrorist attacks of Oct. 7,” said executive director Michael Pappas.
The Brandeis School of San Francisco, a K-8 Jewish day school, will redesign and extend the Mifgash Project, which enables educators to design curriculum connecting Jewish ethics and “democratic habits of mind.”
“I appreciate that the Federation is taking what, to me, reads as a very creative kind of crowdsourced approach to how we respond to this moment,” said Brandeis head of school Dan Glass.
The Holocaust Center of the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services will use the money to boost its Education Leadership Council, which brings together educators from across the state to learn how to teach about the Holocaust, genocide and hate.
“With this grant, we’re able to bring them together in person for a retreat for the first time,” said Holocaust Center director Morgan Blum Schneider. “Previously, we’ve been meeting with them on Zoom because they’re all over the state. Now we’re going to be able to do an in-person gathering with the strategic goal to provide coaching, skills and training on providing tools for how to address antisemitism in our school communities.”
Other Combating Antisemitism grantees are Marin Jewish Parents and Allies Union, Palo Alto Unified School District Jewish Grassroots, San Mateo Jewish Parents and Allies Union, SF Jews in Schools, JCCSF, Osher Marin JCC, Chabad of Stanford, Contemporary Jewish Museum, Contra Costa Midrasha, Israeli American Council, Itrek, Chochmat HaLev, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Jewish Community High School of the Bay, Mitsui Collective, Olamim, Palo Alto Residents’ Alliance, the Mitzvah Project and Wornick Jewish Day School.
The Federation also awarded grants to meet wellness needs of professionals since the Oct. 7 massacre and the surge in antisemitism. Berkeley Hillel, Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma, Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Hebrew Free Loan Association, JCCSF, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, JFCS, OneTable, Wornick Jewish Day School, Shalom Bayit, Shalom Preschool and Temple Isaiah of Contra Costa County will use the money for health and wellness activities, retreats, fitness membership, wellness challenges and specific areas for staff such as teachers lounges.