Another good week in the Jewish news. I’m dreading the holiday slowdown, because some of this is good reading.
- The Forward tracks down members of the Lehman family. They are are sad about their bank going under, but not that sad. And Sheldon Adelson shrinks his giving to Birthright Israel. (I had this story last week, Anthony Weiss, but back-burner-ed it. But no excuses. You win this one.)
- The Baltimore Jewish Times has a cover story about CHAI, the Jewish housing and urban renewal organization that has helped revitalize part of Baltimore’s Jewish landscape.
- The Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit will become a community Jewish day school rather than a day school affiliated with the Conservative movement, reports the Detroit Jewish News.
- Orthodox yeshiva high schools in New Jersey adopt an anti-drug program, reports the New Jersey Jewish News.
- Jews in Phoenix are working with their local federation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to help rebuild Polish Jewry, says a first-person piece in the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix.
- After a long and heated debate, the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland is moving to the suburbs, but also keeping a presence downtown where it has been historically, says the Cleveland Jewish News.
- The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco has drawn 150,000 visitors – better than expected – since it opened in June, reports J.
- The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles will not give grants to local synagogues to beef up security for the High Holidays. Since 2006, the federation has given $1,000 grants to increase security to each of the 150 shuls that hold services, but the federation will not do it this year because it is too expensive, reports the L.A. Jewish Journal.
- Jewish education is going green, according to the New York Jewish Week.
- A Birthright alumni, the Washington federation and local donors sponsor a “reverse Birthright” and bring 10 Israelis to the D.C. area, reports the Washington Jewish Week.
- Jews in Wisconsin support raising the minimum wage in Wisconsin, but it could put the squeeze on a Jewish camp there, reports the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.
- A nonprofit in Philadelphia called the Collaborative, which is sponsored by the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, tries to bring singles, the 20’s and 30’s set, and young professionals in through the Jewish doors, reports the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
