Hoffberger Named Chairman of Board of the Institute for Jewish Life

Jerold C. Hoffberger, prominent Baltimore communal and business leader, and long active in national Jewish affairs, has been named chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Jewish Life, a division of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, it was announced by Raymond Epstein, CJF president. Hoffberger succeeds Hyman Safran of Detroit, who will continue to serve on the Board and planning committee of the Institute.

Under Safran’s chairmanship, major initiatives were taken by the Institute in embarking on major programs to strengthen Jewish life in five primary areas–Jewish education, the Jewish family, youth and leadership, use of advanced communications media, and Israel as a resource. The Institute, headquartered in Boston, was established by the CJF in 1972 with the prime purpose of encouraging and developing innovative and replicable projects to strengthen the quality of Jewish life. Basic funding for the Institute is provided by various Federations throughout North America.

Nationally, Hoffberger is a member of the CJF’s Board of Directors, chairman of its Smolar Award Committee for Excellence in North American Jewish Journalism, and a vice-president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Additionally, he is a director and member of the national cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and member of the Assembly of the Jewish Agency for Israel and others. The Institute was created under the guidance and leadership of the late Council president, Irving Blum of Baltimore. It resulted from the work of CJF’s Task Force on Jewish Identity, which, over a two-year period, conducted extensive community dialogues in 38 cities involving more than 1000 communal representatives from all walks of life.