While we do not under normal circumstances send communications on Shabbat, this attack by Iran against Israel is alarming and frightening. The launch of hundreds of drones and missiles further underlines the fact that the people of Israel are under constant threat. Our Federation and the Jewish community of Los Angeles stand in unequivocal solidarity with our homeland. We are working with our partners on the ground in Israel to ensure the people of Israel have our full support and the necessary resources. Our Community Security Initiative (CSI) is closely monitoring the situation and working w ..read more

JFEDLA was proud to host our inaugural Education Leaders Summit: Understanding, Embracing, and Including Jewish Students in Your School Community! We convened 50 schools, including 125 school district superintendents, heads of school, DEI directors, and other educational leaders from public and private schools throughout L.A. County to help education leaders ensure that Jewish students feel safe, included, and heard in their school communities. Leaders listened to the experiences of Jewish students and parents as they discussed how to best support them during this moment, as well as how t ..read more

Today, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles (JFedLA), the central organization of Jewish Los Angeles, announced the launch of a critical new initiative – Campus Impact Network (CIN) – to help support Jewish college students across LA including major universities UCLA, USC, and CSUN. Since the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7th, there has been an alarming increase in antisemitism around the world and across the United States. Antisemitism on U.S. college campuses has mirrored this trend, and reached epidemic level proportions, creating a threatening atmosphere for Jewi ..read more

  Photo credit: Cloe Hakakian   The first day of Rosh Hashana this year marks the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. She was a young woman detained and beaten by Iranian authorities for violating the country’s mandatory headscarf law. To commemorate the anniversary, JFedLA and our Iranian-American partners are spreading awareness about the Iranian people’s fight for freedom and elevating Iranian Jewish voices. We interviewed Los Angeles artist, Cloe Hakakian, who uses her artistic talents to raise awareness in our community.     Q & A with Cloe Hakakian:&nb ..read more

Doing good should be ingrained in our daily lives. That’s why, when the Skirball Cultural Center approached our Federation to be a part of its first-ever off-site exhibit Be the Change: A Jewishly Inspired Public Art Movement, we jumped at the opportunity. The exhibit features six monuments designed by artists representing six different service-based organizations. It aims to physically and conceptually elevate the tzedakah box (an item traditionally found in Jewish homes and gathering places where money is collected for charity) as a sculptural form that can bring about community change.&nbs ..read more

Mental health struggles affect a significant portion of the population at some point in their lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness1. The U.S. Surgeon General has also acknowledged a youth mental health crisis, further exacerbated by the lasting impacts of the pandemic2. Managing mental well-being has become increasingly challenging for individuals, leading to a heightened demand for support. Unfortunately, a critical issue intensifying the crisis is the shortage of mental health professionals3. The scarc ..read more

As we commemorate Juneteenth, which marks the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed, we make space to honor the end of chattel slavery in the United States while honoring the struggles of enslaved peoples. As Jews, we gather each year to retell the Exodus story of our freedom from slavery and learn from the experience of our deliverance from bondage. Juneteenth provides an opportunity for us to deepen that learning, understand how the repercussions of slavery shape civic life today, and to talk about t ..read more

Last Thursday night, over 1,200 community members came together for our Real Estate & Construction (REC) Dinner to honor Founder, CEO, and President at TruAmerica Multifamily Robert “Bob” Hart. It was a spectacular, record-breaking evening during which we raised over $3 million for our Jewish community. A heartfelt thank you also goes out to our sponsors and donors for their unwavering support. The night wouldn’t have been so successful without you. We showed our community why the REC Dinner remains the most in-dem ..read more

A new mural by Iranian-Jewish muralist Cloe Hakakian honoring the Jewish community was unveiled in Pico-Robertson on Sunday. The mural was presented by LA vs Hate, an initiative of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, in partnership with our Federation and ADL Los Angeles. The mural unveiling was part of LA vs Hate’s Summer of Solidarity, a unifying city-wide program that allows us to reflect on the diversity of our Jewish community while also capturing the cultural, historical, and spiritual influences that embody Jewish Los Angeles. We are prioritizing efforts to build bri ..read more

May is Jewish American Heritage Month!  Established in 2006, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) commemorates more than 350 years of Jewish history in America. In the face of an alarming rise in antisemitic attacks and rhetoric, it is more vital than ever to embrace Jewish identity and culture. The Jewish Federation of Geater Los Angeles believes that the antidote to hate in all its forms is to live our best Jewish lives. JAHM is an exciting opportunity to come together and celebrate the many ways Jews have positively impacted American society.   We are thrilled to share wit ..read more