The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati has approved a special $10,000 contribution to assist in the worldwide efforts to aid victims of the famine in Ethiopia, it was announced by Federation president Philip Cohen.
The $10,000 allocation will be sent along with other individual contributions from the Cincinnati Jewish Community. Monetary aid will be sent to Ethiopia via the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Cohen said.
The JDC efforts, he said, will be coordinated with those of the Catholic, Protestant and other nonsectarian agencies providing humanitarian assistance for the victims of the famine in Africa. In the past year, JDC aid has been used in developing health services in the Gondar province, and the government of Ethiopia has asked JDC and other voluntary agencies for help in the famine relief effort.
Cohen said, “The $10,000 which our Federation is sending to Ethiopia expresses the Jewish commitment and tradition of ‘Tzedakah’ — a Hebrew word which translates to righteousness and justice and signifies the commitment toward ‘helping those in need’ regardless of race, religion or nationality. We feel all those people who have food should be as generous as possible in helping to save victims of the faminestricken areas of areas of Africa.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
