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Faygie Holt

Faygie Holt

Faygie Holt is the columns editor and editor of the JNS Wire.

Enrollment struggles comes as the Jewish community becomes less and less affiliated with traditional communal organizations and connections. Still, some new ideas are being tested.
Featuring haunting music, storm clouds and photos of Chassidic county legislator Aron Wieder and multifamily developments in Ramapo, N.Y., the ad proclaims, “If they win, we lose,” and says what’s at stake is “our families” “our schools” “our way of life” and even “our water.”
“You have this situation where there is demographic growth, but that is being used as an excuse to scapegoat the Orthodox community for all the trouble that the particular community has,” says Alexander Rosemberg of the Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey.
Title I services, which include tutoring, pull-out programs, counseling and other resources, are mandated by the federal government.
Since the start of the bike rides a decade ago, more than $50 million has been raised to help offset the costs of programs run by Chai Lifeline, which helps children with cancer and other illnesses.
“UnCamp” is a program for teenage Jewish girls from all different backgrounds and levels of Judaism that encourages personal growth, reflection, discussion, and, of course, friendship.
Prayers, lectures, tributes and the performance of good deeds in the Rebbe’s memory are just some of the ways Jews throughout the world will honor the Rebbe’s goals and teachings.
Faith leaders heard from officials from the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other experts on growing threats and what can be done to counter them.
“Parents should be asking their children’s camp how they are addressing safety and security. What are the policies and procedures they have put in place? What physical security do they have at the camp? How are they training their staff? The counselors? The campers?” said security expert Michael Masters, national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network.
The inaugural Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative Leadership Summit in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., drew 100 women together to talk about volunteer recruitment, forming nonprofit boards, dealing with donors, team-building and more.
“The medical consensus, which halachah [Jewish law] demands that we follow, unambiguously supports the safety and efficacy of vaccines as a first-line defense against measles,” Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, the religious leader at Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida.
What’s new in kosher-for-Passover baked goods, butters, wearables, kids’ toys and more to relish over the course of eight days.