H eadlines
JFCS Chair Focuses on Mental Health, Diversity
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
CHARLES “LES” ROBBINS is
the type of Jew who eats matzah
year-round. For the long-time
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel
member, the love of the Passover
food is perhaps symbolic of his
commitment to living Jewishly
all the time.

His integration of Jewish
values in both his personal and
professional roles is what he
believes made him a good fit
to become Jewish Family and
Children’s Service of Greater
Philadelphia’s board chair on
Sept. 1.

“Les immediately became
involved in the work of JFCS
when he became a board
member, and he cares deeply
about serving the needs of the
community,” JFCS President
and CEO Paula Goldstein said.

“I am delighted to work with
him now as chair of our board
of directors and trustees as he
ensures that our organization
continues to thrive and impact
so many in need.”
Robbins has been both the
treasurer and assistant treasurer
of the 25-member JFCS board;
he served as a member of the
Les Robbins has served as the
treasurer and assistant treasurer
of the JFCS board since joining it
in 2016.

From right: Les Robbins and wife Eve as part of BZBI’s Membership
Spotlight video
Courtesy of Temple Beth Israel-Beth Zion
BZBI board for several years
in the 1990s and 2000s while
his children were attending
Hebrew school there; and he
was a board of trustees member
of the Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia.

Having served on the JFCS
board since 2016, Robbins is
familiar with the organization’s
mission of directly serving the
community, beyond just the
Jewish community.

“Approximately 50% of the
service we provide is to people
who are not Jewish,” Robbins
said. “It’s great to be able to have
a larger impact and to be able to
do it through a Jewish lens.”
Robbins intends to focus
on the reach JFCS has on the
broader community during his
time as board chair.

To serve the greater commu-
nity, Robbins, a financial adviser
with Wells Fargo Advisors, will
focus on expanding mental
health services and prioritizing
diversity, equity and inclusion
within JFCS’ leadership.

Robbins believes that in
underserved communities,
mental health resources can be
scarce; mental illness is often
stigmatized. “It’s critically important that
people be able to have access to
those [mental health] resources
so that they can stabilize their
lives and be the best that they
can be,” Robbins said. “If
you don’t address underlying
problems, they just kind of
fester or magnify.”
To prioritize mental health in
the community, Robbins hopes
to raise awareness of preex-
isting mental health resources
with which to connect people.

He wants to help those seeking
help manage costs of care. JFCS
is applying to grants that would
provide funding for these goals.

Expanding mental health
resources is personal to
Robbins. His daughter’s
preschool friend’s mother dealt
with mental health issues; JFCS
helped provide resources and
options to her.

Diversity, equity and inclu-
sion are also personal to
Robbins, who intends to create
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a pipeline for those of diverse
backgrounds to become leaders
at JFCS. As a Black man now
leading the board of directors,
Robbins’ efforts to diversify
the board have already proven
fruitful. However, he believes the
diversification of Jewish leader-
ship has hardly begun. Robbins
knows this process doesn’t
happen overnight. And he isn’t
looking for diversity hires.

“We don’t have a quota; we’re
not going to just select someone
by virtue of them ticking a box,”
he said.

Putting emphasis on the
diverse Greater Philadelphia
community JFCS serves,
Robbins said that diversifying
the board is crucial to fulfilling
the organization’s mission of
serving vulnerable community
members. “It’s important that we
start to have the voices of the
people we serve on the board.

It provides a perspective on
issues that wouldn’t otherwise
be there,” Robbins said.

JFCS has helped to serve
those outside of the Jewish
community most recently
through the assistance of
Afghan evacuees.

Through its In Your
Neighborhood program,
JFCS was able to combat food
insecurity by providing food to
evacuees. Through Our Closet, it
was able to donate and distribute
clothing through partnerships
with HIAS Pennsylvania and
the Nationalities Service Center.

With the ultimate goal of
making JFCS more known
to the greater community,
Robbins hopes to amplify the
organization’s impact.

“Our organization is a
Jewish organization; the values
that we espouse are Jewish
values,” Robbins said. “But, to
a large extent, these values are
universal. And so [JFCS] is a
great place to be.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
ISRAELBRIEFS Bestselling Author Sally Rooney Won’t Allow
Israeli Press to Publish Her Book
BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sally Rooney said she
decided not to publish her latest novel with an Israeli
publishing house because she supports a boycott of
Israel, but said a non-Israeli press could still publish
the book in Hebrew, JTA reported.

Rooney, 30, confi rmed a report by the Israeli
newspaper Haaretz last month that she declined
to sell Hebrew publishing rights for her new book,
“Beautiful World, Where Are You,” to Modan
Publishing House; that company published her fi rst
two novels in Hebrew.

“It would be an honour for me to have my latest
novel translated into Hebrew and available to Hebrew-
language readers,” Rooney said in a statement. “But
for the moment, I have chosen not to sell these trans-
lation rights to an Israeli-based publishing house.”
Whether that’s possible is unclear: Th e Hebrew-
language publishing industry is centered in Israel, the
only country where Hebrew is an offi cial language.

Rooney expressed her support for the boycott,
divestment and sanctions movement in July when
she joined artists signing a letter urging an end
to international aid to Israel as well as “trade,
economic and cultural relations.”
7-Eleven to Start Opening Israeli Stores in 2022
Electra Consumer Products signed a 20-year franchise
agreement with the convenience store chain 7-Eleven
to operate the brand in Israel, Globes reported.

Electra plans to open 300-400 stores around Israel,
with the fi rst store slated to open in Tel Aviv next
year. It plans to invest $18.6 million in opening stores
throughout Israel, according to the memorandum of
understanding that both sides signed in November
2020. Although the stores are open seven days a week
worldwide, Electra said the stores will remain closed
on Shabbat.

Founded in 1927 in the United States, 7-Eleven has
77,000 stores worldwide.

Israel to Double Water Supply to Jordan
Israel formally agreed on Oct. 12 to double the
amount of fresh water it provides to neighboring
water-defi cient Jordan, Th e Times of Israel reported.

Karine Elharrar, Israel’s minister of infrastruc-
ture, energy and water resources, said the agreement
shows that Israel wants “good neighborly relations.”
Elharrar traveled to Jordan for a ceremony between
representatives to the Joint Water Committee that
manages bilateral water relations.

In July, the two countries agreed that Israel would
sell 50 million cubic meters of water annually to
Jordan. Th e water will come from the Sea of Galilee.

Bennett Announces Drive to Quadruple
Population of Golan Heights
Prime Minister Naft ali Bennett said on Oct. 11 that
the government plans to sharply increase the number
of people living in the Golan Heights, noting that
the Biden administration recognized the northern
plateau as Israeli territory.

“Th e Golan Heights is Israeli, period,” Bennett
said. Bennett, who was speaking at the Makor Rishon
Golan Conference in Haspin, said the government
will present a plan in six weeks to boost the popula-
tion that includes the construction of two new
communities. Bennett said the goal was to hit 100,000 residents,
nearly four times the current population of about
27,000. ●
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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