Updated Jan. 13
No stranger to the devastating impact of wildfires, the Northern California Jewish community is mobilizing to pool resources and aid relief efforts in Los Angeles.
A punishing set of wildfires began spreading with ferocity on Tuesday across the Los Angeles area, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and destroying more than 2,000 homes and other structures, according to officials. Five people have died, and the death toll is expected to rise.
The Los Angeles area is a hub of Jewish life, with the second largest Jewish community in the U.S. The fires have already destroyed one synagogue and threatened other Jewish institutions.
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC), a Conservative congregation, nearly burned to the ground on Tuesday, JTA reported, though members managed to rescue all of the synagogue’s 13 Torah scrolls. PJTC, which is over 100 years old, is seeking donations to assist congregants who have lost their homes and to help pay for a temporary site and to eventually rebuild.
On Wednesday, the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund — which in the past raised millions for wildfire relief in the Bay Area, including after the deadly 2018 wildfire season — alerted its donor base to the needs in Los Angeles. The S.F.-based Federation, one of the wealthiest in the nation, has more than $2.4 billion in assets under its management.
“You can help,” according to the email sent to families with philanthropic funds managed by the federation. It directed donors to its donor portal, with an alert about the Wildfire Crisis Relief Fund, opened jointly by three Jewish federations in the Los Angeles area.
“All of us here in the Bay Area have so many friends, and family, and loved ones who have been affected,” Rebecca Randall, the S.F.-based Federation’s chief philanthropy officer, told J. on Thursday.
Value Culture, a Jewish-led San Francisco nonprofit, announced on Friday that proceeds from its events over the weekend would be donated to support fire relief.
The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region also launched a fundraising campaign.
“Having experienced this in our region not long ago, our hearts go out to the Los Angeles community,” said an email sent Wednesday from the Sacramento federation staff. “The victims of the Los Angeles wildfires need us now.”
Meanwhile, the Jewish activist and San Francisco cafe owner Manny Yekutiel, who is from Los Angeles, turned his business into a storage facility to support fire victims, he said.
“We have turned the back of Manny’s into a drop off center for needed goods,” he wrote in an email to his customers. He added that the business was taking in non-perishable food, masks, baby supplies and other urgent supplies to be donated.
Yekutiel also wrote that he planned to drive down to LA over the next few weekends, and was seeking volunteers to join the effort. “It is an evolving situation and before we send anyone down there we are making sure that we are going to be helpful and not in the way,” the announcement said.
Randall, of the S.F.-based Federation, said that Jewish federations are uniquely capable of raising large sums quickly due to their size and reach, pointing to, for example, the more than $850 million raised by federations across North America after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
According to the Wildfire Relief Fund’s website, the money raised will “support our neighbors affected by this catastrophic event.” It states that “one hundred percent of your gift will go directly to those who need it most.”
On Thursday, the local Federation planned to send an email to its entire Bay Area Jewish email list, urging them to donate.
The Palisades Fire, already considered the most destructive in L.A.’s history, had burned across more than 17,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Thursday, according to Cal Fire. The Eaton Fire, which had burned more than 10,000 acres, was also 0% contained.
“This is really the power of collective action, and working together to ensure that Jewish communities and others that are affected receive the support that they need,” Randall said.
Daniel Sher, the associate rabbi at Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades — one of the communities hit hardest this week — reflected the grief so many are experiencing.
“I cannot begin to describe the feeling that I am currently holding as I hear from so many beloved community members who’ve lost their home. My family has found out that we’ve lost our home,” he said Wednesday in an emotional video posted on Instagram. “Our community that we love so dearly is in disarray.”
Kehillat Israel, a Reconstructionist synagogue, has set up a fire assistance fund and created a list of resources for people seeking help.
To donate directly to the L.A.-based Wildfire Crisis Relief Fund, visit its website. For those with a donor-advised fund or supporting foundation managed by the S.F.-based Federation, visit its portal to give.