Blog entries

NOLA

mrieber@mkjf.org — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:38:48 +0100

I spent the early part of this week in New Orleans at a conference for directors of small and intermediate sized Federations. The early part was dedicated to the story of the destruction and recovery of New Orleans: on Sunday we heard from Tulane University President Scott Cowan about how the university, most of which was under 8 feet of water, was able to rebuild its database and facilities and open its campus again only 5 months after the flood. Tulane is the largeRead More...

Wiesel Foundation statement on HR situation in Iran

mrieber@mkjf.org — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:07:27 +0100

Via JCPA's Israel Advocacy Initiative, here's a link to an open letter placed in yesterday's NY Times by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, calling on world leaders to intervene in the deteriorating human right situation in Iran.

The letter, which is part of Mr. Wiesel's campaign to bring awareness to the threat that the Iranian regime poses to global peace, was signed by over 40 Nobel Laureates from various countries. Here's a quote:

The situation in Iran is not improvingRead More...

Closing Remarks for Campaign Event (undelivered)

mrieber@mkjf.org — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:27:36 +0100

I wrote this as the Closing Remarks for the MKJF's Campaign Event on November 1. In the end I didn't deliver them (no one ever complained that a rabbi spoke too little) but I think they're interesting so I include them here.

I'm often looking at Jewish texts with one eye toward their use in Federation settings, writings with the themes of peoplehood, Jewish unity, charitable giving and Israel. I found a quote from Mordechai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, that addresRead More...

Links 10.2.09

mrieber@mkjf.org — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:46:58 +0100

Kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit appears to be healthy in a video aired on Israeli television stations Friday. Israel received the video of Shalit, held by Hamas for over three years, in exchange for 20 Palestinian women prisoners. There's hope this may open up channels for Shalit's release. Ha'aretz (including the video).

On Thursday in Geneva -- in a coordinated effort that recruited not only staunch European allies, but Russia and China as well -- the United States laid out whatRead More...