• The Community Relations Council (CRC) of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County has spent several months engaged in conversation with Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day regarding his ca...

  • A community event celebrating Israel’s 70th year as a nation and homeland of the Jewish people took place on Sunday, April 15 at the Rockland Jewish Community Campus in West Nyack, NY. The free "...

  • Federation CRC Update

    The hotly-contested political campaigns of 2017 are over, but the ugly rhetoric continues. The Community Relations Committee of Federation continues to monitor social media. We are in frequent contact with the administrators of some of the social media platforms on which some of the more problematic posts have been seen, and we have been successful in having particularly vile material removed from those sites.

  • By Gary Siepser, CEO

    This is the time of year when many make resolutions. What is a resolution if not an imagining of a different and better future?  In the coming months Federation will be inten...

  • 2017 Rockland Candidates Forum

    Heavy rain on Sunday did not deter 300+ Rockland residents from attending the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum at the Rockland Jewish Community Campus. The event was co-sponsored by nine local organizations, including the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County.

  • Rockland Federation’s Immediate Past President Andrea Weinberger was honored at our Campaign 2018 Launch at Orangetown Jewish Center on October 2. Keynote speaker Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of...

  • Reaching for the Moon

    An interview with Yonatan Weintraub, co-founder of SpaceIL, the organization that will land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon. Hear Yonatan at Federation's Campaign 2018 Launch on October 2!

  • Guests were inspired by words of transformation and progress at Federation’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Graduation, which was held in the Rockland Jewish Community Campus Schwartz Family Social Hall...

  • Congress Approves Greater Funding to Protect Nonprofits

    On May 4, Congress approved $25 million to fund a federal grants program that helps nonprofit entities improve the security of their buildings. Organizations that will benefit from the security grant range from synagogues and mosques to hospitals and Jewish Community Centers.

  • Raviv to Rockland: “Don’t Lose This Momentum”

    When Dr. Zohar Raviv spoke to a full house of 450 attendees at New City Jewish Center on March 7, he wanted to present a fresh way of looking at Judaism and to push audience members “beyond their zone of comfort.” It’s something Raviv succeeded in doing three weeks prior, when he met with a group of leaders from Rockland’s Jewish agencies and synagogues at a “community weaving” seminar in Israel.

  • New Guidance on Holocaust Survivor Care

    On January 12, 2017, the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) sent the national Aging Services Network a formal set of guidelines for providing services to Holocaust Survivors. This guidance is the result of years of Federation advocacy efforts to include language in the Older Americans Act (OAA) that specifically addresses Survivors’ unique needs.

  • By Jennifer Gilbart, FedConnect Editor

    On December 19, Ohio became the 15th state in America to pass an anti-BDS bill, prohibiting state agencies from contracting with companies involved in boycot...

  • PJ Library Awards "Get Together" Microgrants to Rockland Residents

    PJ Library in Rockland County was selected as one of ten pilot communities across the United States to be part of a PJ Library Get Together Microgrant. This $150 grant was awarded directly to PJ Library families in Rockland County who wanted to get together to create a Jewish experience for themselves and at least two other PJ Library families.

  • Kramer Senior Center Update

    The Sol and Bea Kramer Senior Center in Kiriyat Ata, Israel serves over one hundred local elderly residents and has been supported by generous Rockland Federation donors for a number of years.

  • Jewish Cemetery in Warwick Vandalized

    Swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti were maliciously spray-painted onto the entrance of Temple Beth Shalom's cemetery in the Town of Warwick on October 8. The heinous crime was discovered the next morning, just days before the start of Yom Kippur.

  • Challenge, Innovation, Inspiration, Renaissance

    This is the time of year when Jewish tradition directs us to be reflective about the present, consider alternatives and plan for a better future. The latest revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway couldn’t be timelier as I think about the future of Rockland County.

  • Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County held its Annual Meeting on June 9, bringing together community members, agency partners and graduates to celebrate a remarkable year of change and ...

  • Scandinavian Jews Concerned About Future

    According to a February 2016 JFNA report, many Jews feel that the “Scandinavian spirit” that had protected minorities and civil rights for so long may be weakening. With the influx of anti-Israel immigrants and anti-Zionist ideology into the body politic, Jews in Scandinavian countries are beginning to be concerned for their immediate safety, and their future.

  • The Student Who Spoke Up

    Cassie Blotner, a ninth-grade student at Clarkstown South High School felt “really uncomfortable” when she saw a video in Social Studies class that inappropriately portrayed Jews during the Roman Empire. Cassie told her parents about the video later that day and the school district and Federation got involved – showing that one person can truly make a difference.

  • CEO's Message

    By Gary Siepser
    I'm writing on my first day on the job as the chief professional at Rockland Federation. During the next 90 days I'm planning to do a great deal of listening. I'll be reaching out to hear your thoughts on making Rockland a more vibrant and welcoming Jewish community.

  • By Steve Gold, Chair, Jewish Federation of Rockland County Community Relations Council

    Rockland County is at a crossroads. Its residents and government officials must consider how the county can m...

  • RJI Impacts Community During High Holidays

    The Jewish Federation of Rockland County’s Rockland Jewish Initiative (RJI) conducted a number of outreach programs in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah 2015/5776. The programs were designed to “get the word out” to unaffiliated Jews about the importance of synagogue life, during the High Holidays and beyond.