H EADLINES
Jewish Federation Raises $1M,
Secures $500K Match
L OCA L
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
THE JEWISH FEDERATION
of Greater
Philadelphia announced that its Maimonides
Fund reached a $1 million
fundraising goal in just six
weeks — and that total will
be bolstered by an additional
$500,000 grant from Jewish
Federations of North America.

Th e entire $1.5 million
will be distributed to Jewish
community organizations for
pandemic-related needs.

Jewish Federation Executive
Vice President
Melissa Greenberg said the donations
received either came from new
donors or were from existing
donors who went above their
prior donation levels.

“People have been beyond
generous,” she said. “We really
are amazed by the generosity of
the community.”
Both professionals and
volunteers had one-on-one
conversations with potential
donors about contributing,
Greenberg said, noting that
this is how Jewish Federation
can best serve the public.

“We are here to really
provide the resources to
support people,” she said,
adding that the organization is
nimble in marshaling assets in
times of crisis.

Th e ongoing pandemic has
increased demand on local
agencies trying to meet the
need of clients — needs such as
food insecurity, fi nancial insta-
bility, job loss and isolation.

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Melissa Greenberg
Courtesy of Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia
People have been beyond generous. We really are amazed by the generosity of the
community.” MELISSA GREENBERG
Agencies selected to receive
funding are on the front lines
of meeting pandemic-related
needs. LEGAL DIRECTORY
LOUIS B. HIMMELSTEIN
& ASSOCIATES, P.C.

Agencies receiving grants
include Abramson Senior
Care, Federation Housing, Inc.,
Female Hebrew Benevolent
Society, Friendship Circle,
Golden Slipper Gems, Hebrew
Free Loan Society, Jewish
Family and Children’s Service,
JEVS Human Services, Jewish
Relief Agency, KleinLife,
KAVOD SHEF, Mitzvah Food
Program and JCHAI.

Allocations will be used for
a variety of needs, including
rent relief, home repairs for
seniors, extra meals, infor-
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mation technology upgrades
for clients, technology assis-
tance, supermarket gift s cards,
additional staff , a new refrig-
erator/freezer, overtime costs,
transportation and for buying
health and safety items like
hand sanitizer and personal
protective equipment.

“Food insecurity and mental
health are two of the areas we
wanted to focus our COVID-19
philanthropic dollars on,”
donors Bethany and Garett
Shiner said. “We know that a
lot of people are struggling this
year and feel fortunate to be
able to make our gift go further
and help even more people
by supporting the Jewish
Federation’s Maimonides
Fund,” KleinLife President and
CEO Andre Krug said the
money his organization
receives will be used to buy
meals to deliver to homebound
seniors. “Jewish Federation has
really stepped up and helped us
JEWISH EXPONENT
since day one” of the pandemic,
he said.

KleinLife has delivered
about 90,000 meals to more
than 600 seniors since the
pandemic began. Th e number
of meals delivered each month
has nearly tripled since the
pandemic began, Krug said.

Th e fund provided will
allow KleinLife to buy about
45,000 meals, Krug said.

Transitioning online
required a signifi cant early
eff ort in revamping delivery
programs and teaching seniors
how to use computers, Krug
said. KleinLife is now off ering
10 to 15 programs a week
online for seniors, in addition
to other virtual programming.

“We’re as busy as ever,” he
said. “It’s just been a diff erent
kind of busy.”
In addition to agencies
receiving grants, there will
be two other initiatives — an
emergency cash assistance
fund managed by JFCS that
will provide individual grants
to those in need — and an
emerging need funds for
things such as bulk purchases
of tablets to help reduce social
isolation, trauma-informed
training to care for Holocaust
survivors and the acquisition
of PPE.

Brian Gralnick, who is
Jewish Federation’s director
of social responsibility, said
agencies are generally seeing
increases in the need for their
services, which ebbs and fl ows
as the pandemic continues.

“We’re seeing a wide variety
of individuals who are coming
and seeking support,” he said.

“We’ve seen people who’ve
never been in these circum-
stances before.”
He noted that some former
agency volunteers are now
clients themselves.

Greenberg said the money
likely will be distributed in the
fi rst quarter of 2021. ●
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



Four Convicted for Terrorism in 2015 Charlie Hebdo,
Kosher Store Murders
A Paris court convicted one man on Dec. 16 of being an acces-
sory to murder in the 2015 jihadist terror attacks on the Charlie
Hebdo satirical magazine and the Hyper Cacher kosher store,
JTA reported.

Along with Ali Riza Polat, a 35-year-old French citizen of
Turkish descent, three others were convicted of the lesser offense
of being a part of a terrorist enterprise. Polat received a 30-year
prison sentence, Le Monde reported.

The men were among 14 on trial in connection with the
terrorist assaults in January 2015. The actual perpetrators were
killed after planning the attacks.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked Charlie Hebdo
and were killed there after murdering 12. Partner Amedy
Coulibaly killed four at the kosher store two days later before he
was shot dead by police. He also killed a police officer.

Polat and the others — Nezar Pastor Alwatik, Amar Ramdani
and Willy Prevost, who received sentences ranging from 13-20
years — were prosecuted for providing the killers with the
weapons, equipment or intelligence to carry out the attacks.

Six other defendants were convicted of belonging to a criminal
enterprise without the aggravated element of terrorism.

LE A
EN OP
U PPE R DU BL I N
NO W
Senate Passes Bill Elevating Anti-Semitism Monitor
THE SENATE PASSED A BILL that would elevate the anti-
Semitism monitor position to ambassador — adding weight
to the envoy’s mission of pushing governments elsewhere to
confront anti-Jewish bigotry, JTA reported.

“Anti-Semitism continues to rise at an alarming rate across
the globe,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who led sponsorship of
the bipartisan bill, said in a statement Dec. 16 after the unani-
mous vote. “To equip the State Department to better address
rising anti-Semitism, it is critical that we elevate the role of
the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to
Ambassador-at-Large.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar bill,
making it likely to become law shortly.

A broad array of Jewish groups backed the measure.

The anti-Semitism monitor position was created by Congress
in 2004.

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EU Court Upholds Belgian Bans on Ritual Slaughter
The European Union’s highest court upheld Belgium’s bans on slaughtering animals
without first stunning them — confirming the prohibition on kosher and halal meat
product in parts of Belgium, while clearing the way for other bans across Europe, JTA
reported. The EU Court of Justice ruled Dec. 17 that bans on the slaughter of animals for
meat without stunning don’t violate EU principles on freedom of worship.

Israel’s ambassador to Belgium said the ruling was “a blow to Jewish life in Europe.”
Two of Belgium’s three states last year banned the slaughter of animals without
first stunning them. The laws were passed despite strong objections from Jewish
and Muslim community leaders. Several groups, including one that represents
French-speaking Jews in Belgium, filed a petition contending that the bans
illegally limit religious freedom.

The ruling is a major defeat for efforts underway to challenge similar bans in
EU countries including Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Luxembourg.

Joe Biden to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, JTA reported.

Biden’s transition team said in at Dec. 7 statement that Walensky is a “leading
expert on virus testing, prevention, and treatment.”
Walensky told Boston’s Jewish Journal in April that she sought solace in her
Jewish community as she faced down the disease.

“I said to them, the last time I spoke with them, ‘I’m thinking I need you more
than you need me,’” Walensky said. “I have a sense it’s getting emotionally pretty
hard. I certainly have everybody’s cell phone number ... I may need to use it in
the weeks ahead.”
Coffee Table That Helped Stop Chanukah Attack in Monsey, New York,
Turned Into a Menorah Stand
A coffee table used to repel an attack last year at a Chanukah celebration in Monsey,
New York, was turned into a dreidel-shaped menorah stand, JTA reported.

A machete-wielding man, who was later ruled incompetent to stand trial,
entered the house of a Chasidic rabbi on Dec. 28, 2019 and began stabbing the
guests, one of whom later died. Party guest Joseph Gluck picked up the coffee
table and threw it at the man, who later fled.

Jewish Doctor to Head CDC Under Biden
The menorah stand has the Hebrew words “A big miracle happened here”
Rochelle Walensky, the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General emblazoned on its sides. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, was selected by President-elect
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
DECEMBER 24, 2020
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