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MISSION STATEMENT

Guided by Jewish ethics, the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Rockland County (“Federation”) is the County’s leading organization that uniquely convenes collective action, identifies and helps the most vulnerable, addresses security needs, strengthens connections to Israel, combats antisemitism, and celebrates the breadth and beauty of Jewish identity, truly bringing Rockland’s community together.

 

JEWISH FEDERATION
2025 COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN

FEATURED PROGRAMS
 

Am HaSefer

Book Campaign


Jewish and Zionist voices are being silenced in creative spaces. Join us on this new endeavor as we read and review from a curated list of Jewish authors. We have 38 books to choose from. Select one and we will reimburse you. Submit a review and be featured in our newsletter and social media.

Rockland Day of Jewish Learning

Am echad - We are one people.

February 23, 9:30AM - 1PM


Discover, discuss and debate how and why we connect with one another

Please join us for the following free sessions, offered both in person and online. For security purposes, the Rockland location and online links will be distributed to registrants closer to February 23.

Community Events

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Feb

19

Pirkei Avot at CSI with Rabbi Russo

CSI 300 North Broadway
Upper Nyack, NY 10960

Feb

19

Building a Conscious Community with Judith Rose

CSI 300 N Bdwy
Upper Nyack, NY 10960

Feb

21

Tot Shabbat at JCC Rockland

JCC Rockland 450 West Nyack Road
West Nyack, NY 10994

Jewish Voices, Jewish Lives

Read the latest posts

  • This month, we honor Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month, a time to bring together Jewish communities around the globe to increase awareness that every member of our community, regardless of ability, deserves access and opportunities to engage in Jewish life.

    Individuals with varying abilities may face challenges in connecting with others, but they possess a deep and meaningful bond with G-d. This connection can even be more profound than a typical bond. As a community, it is our...

  • February is Black History Month and for the Jewish community, that means a time to reflect upon the many historic instances of African American and Jewish unity. From the civil rights movement to a variety of iconic cultural events, it is important to remember the vast impact the African American community has had within our community as well as around the world.

    There are many historical instances of alliance and support between the African American and Jewish communities. The profound conn...

  • Strap in. This is going to be a long read, but it’s worth it.

    Our community is very familiar with the murder of 6 million of our people during the Shoah.

    The word Genocide was first conceived and used by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin a year before the death camps were revealed and the war ended. The United Nations, following on from the revelations of the Nuremberg trials of Nazis in 1946, created a definition accepted into International law in 1948, the Convention on the Prevention...

  • Nine years ago, I was engaged in a discussion with a colleague about the utility of the January 27th International Holocaust Memorial Day which is observed on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. At the time, I was remarking on what looked to me like a misdirection of focus. I wrote:

    “It's not my Holocaust Memorial Day, dear world, it's yours. Mine is every day; or, at least, on a day chosen religiously, like Tisha B'av, or nationally, like Yom Hashoah. Chosen. By Us. And we wil...

  • This week, we’ve all experienced a rollercoaster of emotions as word of a ceasefire and hostage return deal shifted from possible to likely to agreed-in-principle. Knowing that many of the hostages will not be coming back alive is a crushing reality that families are grappling with, and coming to terms as well with the fact that at least for now, Hamas will remain  - though incredibly weakened and without substantive, effective military support - in power in Gaza is a harsh and disappointi...

  • Today marks some 2500 years (depending on what account and date you use) since the army of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar encircled Jerusalem, capital of the Kingdom of Judah. In the Jewish tradition, this day, the 10th day of Tevet, is marked by fasting, and it precedes the fasting observances of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av, marking the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls and the destruction of our first holy Temple several months later.

    Looking back at the seeds of destruction, one may recall that...

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ANNUAL REPORT

2023-24
 

 

ROCKLAND COUNTY SYNAGOGUES

As the world slowly emerges from the Covid pandemic, people everywhere are re-discovering the importance of community. At the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County, we have striven to maintain our Rockland Jewish Community throughout the pandemic. And the response has shown that people care about belonging.
 

Rockland’s synagogues are coming out of this pandemic with an eye towards the future. If you are Jewish or connected to someone Jewish, you are part of this family. We want to help you find your spiritual home and community.

 

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Kfar Silver
 

The connection between Rockland’s Jewish Federation and Kfar Silver Youth Village is a recent one when a group of Rockland County residents visited the school, which is supported by ORT. The agricultural/residential school located just eight miles from Gaza is part of the Zionist dream to make the Negev bloom. 
 

Students come from all over to Kfar Silver, some born in many parts of the FSU…former Soviet Union, as well as students from Ethiopia who were airlifted to Israel with their parents. One third of the student body—750 students—live on the campus. Many come from low socio-economic and single parent families, the disadvantaged part of Israeli society. By the time these kids graduate and move on to the IDF and further educational opportunities, Kfar Silver will have given these kids a leg up they might otherwise not have had.
 

Rockland County’s Jewish community supports Israel in many ways. Federation’s direct support of Kfar Silver is as much about supporting Israel as it is about supporting a special project we feel a connection with…one we have grown to love. 

Adult Jewish Education
 

  • For those who stopped learning about what it means to be Jewish during their last Sunday school session before their bar/bat mitzvah…  
  • For those who have studied Jewish customs, religion, and culture on their own, but are hungry for more…  
  • For those who want to be educated about who they are and where they came from, but know little or nothing of what it means to be Jewish…
  • For those who aren’t Jewish but are fascinated with Judaism in all its many forms and want to learn about it…

Rockland’s Adult Jewish Education classes are for you. Background doesn’t matter. Level of education doesn’t matter. A desire to learn and participate in riveting, fascinating classes is all you need. Join our classes taught by fascinating, articulate teachers and enjoy!

Got questions? We have answers. 

PJ Library
 

For young moms and dads, reading stories to their children is something many do every night at bedtime…or even in the middle of the afternoon! PJ Library, which is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is underwritten in Rockland County by Rockland’s Jewish Federation. It provides Jewish-themed books for children, ages 2-8 every month and gives those moms and dads a wonderful way to help them understand and appreciate what it means to be Jewish…even at a young age.
 

PJ Library books are wonderful additions to every Jewish family’s library. It doesn’t matter what the family’s background, knowledge or family make-up or observance is. There are PJ Library books for every kind of Jewish family. 
 

But PJ is not only about books. It’s also about Jewish-themed activities…like Zoom classes on cooking for the holidays. And outings where young Jewish families can meet and make friendships with other young Jewish families.

Leket Israel
 

Leket Israel is the largest food bank and food rescue organization in Israel. Rockland’s Federation has had a long-standing relationship with Leket because we know how important it is to take care of the most basic need of making sure people who struggle to feed themselves and their families have food to put on the table each and every day.
 

During the year of the pandemic, Leket Israel had to change the way it feeds people in need. It went from rescuing good, nutritious food from restaurants, hotels, and even the IDF, and feeding more than 200,000 Israelis per week, to buying 12,000 meals a day because just like here in Rockland County, the need for food increased tangentially as the Pandemic worsened and people lost their jobs. 
 

Here in Rockland County’s Jewish community, we have a strong relationship with Leket Israel. It’s a special project we support directly and that has come to mean a lot to us. Through donations to Jewish Federation, we can see the difference those donations make in the lives of those who are helped by Leket Israel.

Community Relations Council
 

If you see something… 
 

The Community Relations Council is Federation’s advocacy arm. One of its prime roles is as the Rockland Jewish community’s voice with elected officials at every level from national to local. The CRC has developed relationships with many of these people and will contact them when there’s an issue that is of concern, and must be addressed. From gatherings the were highly visible, such as the one that occurred after the Monsey stabbings, to those that are strictly behind-the-scenes, the CRC takes a strong and active role in combatting antisemitism no matter where it occurs. 
 

The CRC makes sure our elected officials understand the pernicious effects the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) has on the State of Israel, and the hateful rhetoric that is too pervasive on certain social media channels and group pages in and around Rockland County. When the CRC becomes aware of such hate speech or any violent threats against the Jewish community, it makes sure our local officials are aware of them so they can be dealt with.

Community Weaving
 

The most important role Jewish Federation plays in the community is in community weaving. Federation has built a platform where all organizations and individuals can come together to share common concerns. Through Community Weaving, Federation brings synagogues and organizations together to work for the common good of Rockland’s Jewish community. 
 

Whether it’s to learn how to apply for security grants, or the PPP during the pandemic, or learning how to set up endowment funds for the financial security of an organization through Life and Legacy, Federation has made Community Weaving the important initiative it is for  the community. 

Our Address

450 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY 10994

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