According to the local Jewish papers, fallout from the layoffs at Hadassah was minimal. And some other tidbits:
- Hillel, which laid off six employees this week, has been hit hard by the downturn in the economy, reports the Washington Jewish Week. The organization lost $20,000 it had directly invested in Madoff, but also another $600,000 that is was supposed to receive next year from the Chais Foundation, which closed after losing all of its money with Madoff.
- The paper also reports that the local chapter of Hadassah was not affected by massive layoffs at the National organization last week, but two of three members of Hadassah’s Washington, D.C., action office were let go.
- Hadassah in Baltimore was also not affected by the mass layoffs, says the Baltimore Jewish Times.
- Jews will push for funding for health care and energy independence, support for toughened hate crimes legislation and stem-cell research, and some sort of compromise on government-funded faith-based initiatives, reports the Forward.
- The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund is funding UpStart, a program to help build socially innovative nonprofits in the Bay Area, reports j. The Jewish Weekly of San Francisco.
- Synagogues are cutting costs during the recession, says the New York Jewish Week.
- A Schechter school in New Jersey hosted a “Green Fair” reports the New Jersey Jewish Standard.
- Religious schools in St. Louis have started a campaign to get people to say the Shema prayer.
