COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes
financial and volunteer resources to address the
communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and
around the world.

#VoicesHavePower: How Our Women of Vision
Support Survivors in the Jewish Community
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL Domestic
Violence Awareness Month and,
at the Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia, funding culturally compe-
tent responses to domestic violence
has long been a priority. Twenty-five
percent of all Jewish women will experi-
ence domestic abuse— the same rate as
non-Jewish women — but studies have
also found that Jewish women stay in
abusive relationships for twice as long.

Understanding this nuance and
offering a full range of support — like
trauma-informed counseling and finan-
cial help — is why we fund organizations
like Jewish Family and Children’s Service
and The Female Hebrew Benevolent Society. And in the past few years, our
Women of Vision affinity group has built a special relationship with one violence
prevention organization focused on community education and legal support:
Dinah. Dinah, named for Jacob’s voiceless daughter, focuses specifically on violence
against women in the Jewish community. It points to specific issues that create
a culture of complacency, such as stereotypes that Jewish women are “difficult,”
and tolerance for men who refuse to grant their wives a divorce.

“We have created a void in which anyone suffering thinks they are the only
one — t he exception, the weak one,” founder Shana Weiner wrote. “They believe
that no one will listen them, support them, save them.”
Dinah aims to be that savior, connecting Jewish women with culturally
competent legal defense, educating
lawyers and clergy, and offering bystander
training to community members. It
was a perfect match for our Women of
Vision, a group of women philanthro-
pists dedicated to funding innovative
programs to enhance the lives of women
and girls.

With Women of Vision’s help,
Dinah was able to develop a trauma-in-
formed training curriculum, called a
Community Ally Training, which breaks
down misconceptions about violence
in the Jewish community. Dinah also
trained 50 lawyers to support survivors
of domestic violence in court — and
since Dinah is volunteer-run, recruiting strong allies in the legal profession is
crucial to fulfilling their mission.

Most recently, Women of Vision has provided Dinah with a capacity building
grant to help this young, volunteer-run organization put systems to better serve
survivors. “Members of the Jewish community are not exempt from the tragedy of
domestic partner violence,” said Mindy Fortin, Women of Vision chair. “At this
difficult time, when incidences of domestic violence have skyrocketed due to
the hardships that COVID-19 has brought to our doorsteps, we feel it is more
important than ever to help protect the most vulnerable among us.”
If you or someone you know needs help, you can find a domestic violence
reporting hotline at dhs.pa.gov/contact/Pages/Report-Abuse.aspx.

Our 2020 High Holidays Food Drive Rises
to Meet a Challenge
ENDING FOOD INSECURITY IS A MAJOR PRIORITY at the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and the High Holiday Food Drive is one
of our biggest initiatives in the fight against hunger.

Each year, synagogues from across the region participate, collecting tens
of thousands of pounds of food for all five of our food pantry sites. And this
year, economic downturn and a high unemployment rate mean that need is
greater than ever.

“We have seen an increase in new recipients and an increase in the number
of visits from all recipients,” said Phil Holtje, our Mitzvah Food Program
associate. “One pantry location has seen a dramatic weekly uptick of 40%.”
Typically, the food collection process is part of the participating synagogues’
High Holiday programming, with congregants collecting food and bringing it
to their synagogues. But this year, almost all services are virtual, and many
synagogues are not open to the public. To further complicate matters, our
team doesn’t have access to the SHARE Food Program warehouse in North
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Philly, where we usually store and sort donated food.

“COVID-19 really threw a wrench into all this,” Holtje said. “Synagogues
have had to get creative in how they collect for us.”
Some congregations are still collecting items at their synagogues and coordi-
nating pickups with our Mitzvah Food Pantry staff. Others are delivering the goods
directly to our pantries, while still others are collecting money from their congre-
gants or purchasing items in bulk and having them delivered to the pantries.

Holtje stressed the importance of the food drive and anti-hunger initiatives
in general.

“COVID-19 has put families out of work,” he said. “More often than not,
they’re forced to choose between paying for food and paying other bills. We
expect the economic impact of this pandemic to stretch well into 2021, so that
means that we have to be there for our community.”
Learn more about the High Holidays Food Drive or make a donation to our
Mitzvah Food Program at jewishphilly.org/resources/mitzvah-food-program/.

JEWISH EXPONENT
OCTOBER 22, 2020
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