A group of people in their 30s and 40s went to Israel this past week as part of Jewish Federations of North America's National Young Leadership Cabinet, affectionately termed Cabinet.
Cabinet works to promote benefactors to roles of national leadership positions within JFNA's capabilities of The Jewish Agency for Israel, The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and WorldORT and better advocate for Israel and Overseas issues in North American communities. The Greater Kansas City Jewish Federation allocates evenly to Jewish Agency for Israel and JDC and provides a small allocation to WorldORT, as is the custom of most Federations.
Like most JFNA and AIPAC trips, the program provided impressive access, included amazing food and hotels, and functioned to inspire greater impact. This program, and many others, is available to anyone in Kansas City, and I urge you to join Erin Berger, Mollie Berenbom, Lindsey Fineman and myself in the coming year.
I started my visit with Rabbi Ben Gonsher, who is now the executive director of Aish, and Gavi Glickman, son of Congregation Beth Shalom’s Rabbi David Glickman and Annie Glickman. Gavi enlisted in the Israel Defense Force last week. He has been studying for the past few years in Israel and is someone I can say truly wants to work on issues that will be good for the whole of the Jewish people.
Gavi is someone who says “yes'' to the opportunity to make a positive impact on humanity, beyond institutional allegiances, with Jewish Zionism. I share this value with Gavi. Hearing stories of men and women like Gavi who have made the decision not just to move to Israel but do something good for humanity inspires me to actualize my capabilities at my capacity.
JFNA's Cabinet trip began with hearing from the head of Hillel for Russia. She left Russia with her 10-year-old son with no expectation to return and felt that while life will return to normal in Ukraine, Russia will be entering years of isolation. She said that when her plane took off, she wiped her phone clean to start anew.
Later, I was able to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who illustrated the importance of Israel's role in the peace process and its vulnerability to attack from Russia, just 20 minutes from Israel's borders.
While the Hillel director is understandably focused on Russia and her son, hearing stories of inhumane conditions in Ukraine is horrifying. Tens of thousands of Jewish people in both the Ukraine and Russia are seeking asylum to Israel, illustrating the importance of Israel to world Jewry.
In contrast, we visited an Ethiopian Integration Center, where it typically takes a few years to acculturate Ethiopians to Israeli norms. This is a practice that I'm not sure would be politically viable in the United States. Beautifully, the state of Israel pays for 50% of the purchase of a home for Ethiopian immigrants once they leave the integration center.
Tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jewish people remain waiting, some for decades, to emigrate to Israel and feel sidelined by their brothers and sisters from Russia and Ukraine. This is confounded by a sense of exclusion felt by the Ethiopian community based on the color of their skin, something that the Jewish Agency for Israel is developing inclusive programming to combat.
While I find the notion that the liberation of anyone in need is somehow less important absurd, Nir Buchner from Jewish Agency for Israel put it beautifully when he said, "Every Aliyah brings a blessing.” I am truly excited for the transformations our communities will realize as we work to not just immigrate but also integrate our brothers and sisters, not only in Israel.
To demonstrate domestic dynamics, I heard from programs that JFNA supports for LGBTQ+ inclusion, Haredi Job Skills Training and Masorti development in Israel. This gives me a depth of compassion for Israel's leaders and inspired me to work on finding meaningful resolutions to action within the Kansas City Jewish Community. Many of the recipients of JFNA funding, despite partially being in Israel, are not Jewish; in some cases, recipients of aid maintain empathy with those who commit acts of terror and do not hope to see the state of Israel grow stronger.
As part of my role on Cabinet, I serve as a WorldORT Board Observer. I was able to tour and meet the resident students (many of whom are suffering trauma) at one of WorldORT's schools, Kvar Silver. Kvar Silver feels like a kibbutz; farm work like gardening, milking cows and raising lambs is used as an alternative when classes aren't accessible.
Seemingly half of the students were Jewish, with Palestinian and Russian backgrounds. Amos Gofer showed us around and shared how teachers live there, providing a parental role that these children did not have the privilege of. Understandably, it's not for everyone.
They are working on building a technical skills center for students who are not able to pursue a traditional degree to develop welding skills. I'm committed to helping this facility get built as it's consistent with my values. If helping vulnerable children of all backgrounds heal their trauma in the Jewish homeland and have the ability to provide for themselves and their families resonates with you, I would love to work with you.
The weekend concluded with a beautiful Shabbat in Jerusalem with JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut. He delivered a vision for the humanitarian work developed as a result of this crisis. I was able to hear from JDC representatives, hear about JFNA's $40 million allocation and its coordination with Chabad's $100 million allocations.
Fingerhut described this vision as being inclusive of all of those in need. In his words, "there is no one else," meaning there is no elder generation to look to. It's our time to make a meaningful impact on an emerging humanitarian crisis of our brothers and sisters, not only Jewish.
Traveling and meeting leaders around the world, there is an immense pride in singing Kansas City when getting to know someone, the vast majority of the time in the Jewish world. Warm smiles with stories and names gush from otherwise strangers, and I truly wish everyone in Kansas City had the opportunity to feel the impact of the work that the whole community provides the world.
If there's one thing you take from this article, let it be this: There is nothing quite like the feeling of expressing lovingkindness in real life — to be there with people needing love and doing the work to support those in need. For me, it swells my heart with connection to those who came before me, by meeting my brothers and sisters who in one sense I could have been and in another sense am. Providing them opportunities that I, in my heart, know to be good. But it's not for those who are no longer with us, it's for those who will come next, to be more resilient to take on more important problems than we can't solve today.
As my trip ended, saying my prayers at the Kotel for Kabbalat Shabbat, I witnessed the haredim encircle the young men of the IDF. My eyes welled and my heart trembled as I was able to witness the true beauty of our people, knowing that it takes us all to get stronger to bring more love and light to humanity. A strong sensation develops in my chest as I leave Jerusalem, knowing that the opportunities we are given are truly a blessing.
I am excited to hear about your story and, if we connect on values, I want to learn how I can help grow our community together.
Joe Loeffler is Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City board member and member of JFNA's National Young Leadership Cabinet.
