Milwaukee Jewish Federation
We all went to bed on Oct. 6 and woke up to a new, surreal reality both in Israel, and here in America, including Milwaukee.
As the full impact was settling in, we here at Milwaukee Jewish Federation marshaled a response. Our Milwaukee Jewish community, like all Jewish communities around the world, had challenges to meet. This is a brief report on our Federation response.
The entire Jewish Federation staff – all departments – have been working on overdrive providing guidance, responding to issues of concern, and focusing on ways to support our local Jewish community and our brothers and sisters in Israel.
Job one for the Federation is ensuring the safety of Jewish organizations and our community, statewide, including responding to issues of concerns on college campuses, in businesses and in government. Post Oct. 7, we supported Israel through this time of war and helped our community members through an intensity of emotion and a sharp rise in antisemitism. Through it all, we worked to not make security define our Jewish existence.
Safety and security
We provide Jewish organizations with security personnel and equipment; security risk and site assessments; ongoing security trainings for agency staff and security teams; guidance around issues of threat or concern and security grant administration for organizations. We also provide significant funding to Jewish organizations to ensure members are able to gather, study, pray and socialize in safe environments. We added security to more than 25 sites post-Oct. 7. We provided funding for this increased effort – ensuring organizations had the security they needed without impacting their budgets.
In addition to site security, the Federation monitors antisemitic incidents nationally and throughout the state, relying on a network of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
College campuses
While we appreciate and support free speech and academic freedom, when people feel targeted and expression turns to threat, it’s our job to call that out. When protests on campuses violate campus, local, state or federal laws, those engaging in such activities must be held accountable.
Many of you have been following the issues and incidents at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where encampments were allowed and the administration negotiated with the protesters to the point of promoting Hamas propaganda in an official university statement. A timeline of the issues can be viewed at (https://www.jewishchronicle.org/2024/06/04/after-making-encampment-deal-that-outraged-jewish-milwaukee-uwm-chancellor-apologized-for-weighing-in/).
We have been and continue to be in direct contact with Chancellor Mark Mone and University System President Jay Rothman, both of whom now see the Jewish Federation as the voice for the organized Jewish community.
Outreach to schools
Our Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center was the first responder in supporting our state’s schools, educators, students and parents in the aftermath of Oct. 7. HERC provided informational workshops, listening sessions, and 1:1 consultations with school superintendents and administrators to help foster a safe learning environment for Jewish students and all students. HERC added new 5th-12th grade lesson plans to its TeachHolocaust.org digital toolkit, including lessons on contemporary antisemitism, the danger of hateful rhetoric, and how to define genocide. HERC’s speakers bureau of Holocaust survivors and their families served nearly 10,000 students in FY2024.
The Coalition for Jewish Learning and Jewish Community Relations Council sent a letter to public school superintendents with resources and ideas. CJL provided Milwaukee Jewish school directors and educators with resources for support, as well as ongoing safe spaces and professional development for them to have conversations and seek out support if needed.
Government
There have been (and continue to be) resolutions being presented and voted on in city councils, school boards, and more throughout the state. In some cases, community members and elected officials have sought our advice to navigate these difficult community discussions. We continue to reach out directly to government leaders when we hear discussions are being formally added to public meetings.
The resolutions are largely performative and one-sided statements, not policy, and thus far all have focused on a ceasefire with no conditions related to the hostages or surrender. Because these city, county and state government bodies have very little experience, much less authority on these complex issues, these resolutions are fraught with complications that can lead to misinformation MJF addresses head on.
Supporting Israel
We are proud that our community rallied around Israel in its time of need and raised $5.3 million to assist those in need in Israel. We joined Jewish Federations around the country to raise a total of over $846 million.
All the Israel Center’s programs provided this year were connected to Oct. 7. The Center led many community events throughout the year, including a gathering on Oct. 9; a large community event with Elana Stein Hain, and the March in Washington, D.C. It gave out microgrants to community organizations to address Israel and antisemitism. Our community Shlicha has been running a monthly support group called “Israel Without Sugar”; this group provides a safe space for discussion around what has been happening in Israel and Milwaukee since Oct. 7. The Yamim events were also adapted to reflect the community’s needs post Oct. 7.
The workplace
We responded to a need shared with us by corporate leaders. Working with their candor and support, we were able to develop and implement diversity and inclusion training focused on understanding what antisemitism is – as well as appropriate ways to respond to it and the importance of creating an inclusive environment for all employees, including Jews. This toolkit and training will now be offered to organizations and businesses statewide.
Living Jewishly
We are a community blessed with many wonderful Jewish organizations; organizations which present the Jewish – and Jewish adjacent – community with incredible opportunities to pursue meaningful Jewish journeys.
Our Milwaukee Jewish Federation is proud to support Jewish organizations in our immediate community and throughout the state. We hope that Jewish journeys are filled with joy – for all ages and stages and throughout the year.
We will continue to convene the community for joyful and sad opportunities; to respond to issues of concern to the well-being of the Jewish community; and to do our best to ensure Jewish organizations are safe to allow for meaningful education, worship and socialization. We are stronger when we work as one.
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This article is a brief report to the community, from Milwaukee Jewish Federation, on the Federation’s response to Oct. 7 and its aftermath.
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Federation’s response to Oct. 7 and aftermath timeline
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