As it marks its centennial, the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation is looking spry and ready to strengthen the Bay Area Jewish community for the next 100 years.
This centennial offers a good excuse for a party, which the federation will hold with FedFest 100, a daylong mix of panel discussions, workshops, prominent guest speakers and fun activities. It takes place Sunday, April 10 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, and is free to federation donors.
An event like this typifies the federation’s commitment to learning, discussion and community solidarity. It should be a blast, and we encourage all to attend.
But no single event can properly sum up the work of the federation, nor fully convey the impact the institution has had on the Jewish community. In a word, that impact has been extraordinary.
A century ago, leaders of what was already a thriving Jewish community understood that federating was the best way to serve the needs of local Jews. Those needs were parochial at first, most often involving aid to the poor.
Over time, the federation stepped up to rescue Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and, later, the Soviet Union. It stepped up to support the nascent State of Israel, becoming the first federation in North America to open an Israeli office. It stepped up to fund every major Jewish capital project in its region, from JCCs to museums to day schools.
In addition, decades ago federation leaders had the foresight to establish an endowment, which has since become one of the nation’s largest. The financial might of the endowment is a first line of defense when emergencies crop up.
In short, there is no aspect of Bay Area Jewish life that the federation has not impacted in a positive way.
It is true that the old adage about federations providing the “central address” of a Jewish community no longer wholly applies. Philanthropy has changed — some institutions that were once dependent on the federation, such as Jewish Family and Children’s Services, are now far more self-sufficient.
But make no mistake. We need our federations, including the great institutions in the East Bay, Silicon Valley and Sacramento. They provide ballast for our diverse and eclectic Jewish community. They serve as a key fundraising arm for all areas of Jewish concern. And they are always there to assist Jews in need, wherever they may be.
So happy birthday to the federation and its dedicated staff, past and present. Without you, we would not be the vital Jewish community that we are.