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Celebrating Success – Federation 2013-14 AGM The Jewish Federation’s Annual General Meeting, held at King David High School on Thursday evening, provided a great opportunity for all of us to appreciate and reflect on the significant scope of work being done to build a strong, vibrant and enduring Jewish community in the Lower Mainland. The range of programs highlighted by Jewish Federation Chair Diane Switzer in her address was impressive and I was happy that more than 80 members of the community were able to attend the event and celebrate our success. Thanks to all of those who were able join us. You can learn more about what was accomplished by Jewish Federation in the 2013-14 Annual Report and view photos from the AGM here. None of our successes would have been possible without the support of our volunteers, strong partner agencies and the dedicated effort of Jewish Federation staff. Four dedicated volunteers received awards in recognition of their contribution to our success: Alex Cristall - Lou Zimmerman Award In addition, Jewish Federation staff members Wendy Finlayson, Marcie Flom, Shelley Goldberg and Emilia Yau were recognized for their long-standing service to Federation and the community. Chair Switzer also acknowledged the leadership role of Senior Consultant in the Office of the CEO, Richard Fruchter, over the past year. I have been particularly appreciative of the support provided by Richard during this transition period and wish him all success in the future. As I noted in my address to the AGM, it is difficult to predict the future. However, with a commitment to inclusiveness and engaging the community in our work, collaborative relationships with our partner agencies and the support of the volunteers and donors, we will build on the strong foundation already in place and will have much to celebrate again next year. 2014 Local Allocations The 2014 local allocations were approved by our board last week. The Allocations Planning Committee met intensively over a six week period to review and assess over 54 individual proposals submitted by our partner agencies. The quality of the proposals submitted and the reported results of the impact of these programs and services were truly impressive. The approved amount totals $3,488,000, an increase of 1.7% from previous years. Over the next few weeks, we will be meeting with our partner agencies to inform them of their 2014 funding. I want to commend both our Planning Council, who works with our partner agencies and community volunteers to identify new and emerging needs, and our very hard-working and dedicated Allocations Committee members who gave up a number of Sundays to complete their tasks. Update on our Partnership with Kiryat Shmona It was our pleasure to host a visit by Rabbi Nisim Malka, Mayor of Kiryat Shmona, our partner city in the North Galilee Panhandle, along with Kfir Maoz, Director of the City's Community Centres, including Beit Vancouver, and Eran Shmueli-David, Director of Coast to Coast (CTC), Panhandle Partnership2Gether (P2G) and CTC Communities representative. The delegation was en route to a P2G CTC Joint Steering Committee meeting in Ottawa and stopped in Vancouver to provide updates on the status of programs being delivered in Kiryat Shmona and Beit Vancouver to Federation’s Israel and Overseas Affairs and the Partnership2Gether committees. They also took advantage of the opportunity to visit two of their partner schools, Vancouver Hebrew Academy and Richmond Jewish Day School. Prayer Vigil in Solidarity with Abducted Teens As Jewish communities around the world struggled to make sense of the kidnapping of three teens last week, our community was one of many across Canada that held prayer vigils for the safe return of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frankel. Initiated by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver with support from our Federation, over 200 people came out to the Norman Rothstein theatre to stand in solidarity with the families and join together to pray for a positive outcome. Community Rabbis were joined by Rabbi Avi Berman, Director General of the OU Israel, who spoke passionately about the situation. This Shabbat, my wife and I, like many, will be lighting three extra candles in honour of the teens. I invite you to do the same in solidarity with them. Parshat Korach Parsha Korach retells the story of the protest by Korach to the leadership of Moshe and his family. It also gives an insight into the continued challenges that are inherent in the guiding of a community. In the story, Korach approaches Moshe with 250 renowned leaders in the community to ask the question: "The entire congregation is holy, and the L-rd is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the L-rd's assembly?" This was in response to the elevation of Aaron to the role of High Priest. The story ends with all of those who participated in the rebellion being swallowed up by the earth and consumed by fire. As a Federation professional I have read this parsha every year with both awe and sadness. Awe because of the power of G-D, but sadness because the response to dissent was so harsh for so many. Though there have been commentaries around Korach's kavanah (intention) in forming this rebellion, this Parsha may still be challenging to some because of the message that it sends. Today, we celebrate both the Moshes and Korachs because we want all who have an opinion on how our community is being led to feel a sense of empowerment in standing up for what they believe in. As we move into the summer and plan for our coming year, I welcome all the positive Korachs out there to step forward and communicate with me so we can build a richer community together. Shabbat Shalom,
Ezra S. Shanken |
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