Editor’s Note: Following is a selection from news stories and press releases sent to San Diego Jewish World:
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Once again, JFS San Diego receives a 4-star rating
SAN DIEGO (Press Release – For the ninth consecutive year, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator which highlights the work of efficient, ethical, and open charities.
Only one percent of nonprofits nationwide have achieved such high standards of sound fiscal management, accountability, and transparency year after year.
“This accomplishment,” said Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service, “is a testament to our dedication to fulfilling our mission and responsibly managing our resources so we can help move clients along the continuum toward self-sufficiency. It addresses perhaps the greatest donor concern – that their investment is stewarded wisely and put to good use.”
JFS’s strong financial health and embrace of good governance and other best practices are key to its ongoing achievement of Charity Navigator’s highest designation. This latest rating signals the agency’s firm commitment to moving forward with the highest level of financial responsibility.
“Attaining a 4-star rating verifies that Jewish Family Service of San Diego exceeds industry standards, setting the agency apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness,” said Charity Navigator President and CEO Michael Thatcher.
In addition to the new Charity Navigator rating, JFS was also named “Nonprofit of the Year” for the 39th district by Sen. Marty Block, and was honored in June at the first inaugural California Nonprofits Day on in Sacramento at the State Capitol. — Preceding provided by Jewish Family Service of San Diego
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Israel to dedicate week to Jews of Diaspora
JERUSALEM (Press Release) — The Israeli government (via the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs) approved on Sunday (July 10, 2016) a decision to designate the week of Dec. 18-24 to the country’s connection with Jews in the Diaspora, with the goal of strengthening the ties and mutual responsibility between Israel and the Jewish People, in light of the many common challenges Jews facing in Israel and around the world.
As part of the week, which will be commemorated for the first time this year, the Knesset and Israeli education system are scheduled to dedicate their activity for topics related to the Jewish People and State of Israel. During this unique week a central meeting is planned between hundreds of Jewish teenagers from Israel and overseas, as well as additional activities in the education system and youth movements. Additionally, there will be joint activities for students from Israel and around the world to discuss Jewish identity and their ties and relationship to Israel. The Knesset will dedicate a day to special sessions and professional discussions, as well as an event for world Jewry, under the directive of the Speaker.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said: “The State of Israel belongs to all the Jews. World Jewry can claim many credits in the creation and prosperity of Israel, and connecting the Jewish People to their Jewish identity and to the State of Israel is strategically important. Our ability to influence the future of the Jewish People is through creating and deepening the dialogue between Jewish living in Israel and their brothers and sisters, Jews living around the world. This is why it is important to strengthen the connection and raise awareness about this issue among Israelis, goals that will be addressed during the Week of Connection to Diaspora Jewry.
“The goals of the Week of Connection to Diaspora Jewry are the broadening and strengthening of Israelis’ knowledge regarding Jewish life in the Diaspora, tightening the ties between Israelis and Jews around the world, increasing the understanding that Diaspora Jewry is a strategic asset for the continuation of the Jewish People, and propelling Israelis to action around this important topic.” — Preceding provided by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs
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Pope Francis to meet with Jewish community in Azerbaijan
(JNS.org) Pope Francis will meet with interfaith leaders on a visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan, two Caucasus region nations that were part of the former Soviet Union. The pontiff’s trip to the region begins Sept. 30, according to the Vatican.
In the majority-Muslim country of Azerbaijan, Pope Francis will celebrate mass with the nation’s small Catholic community and meet with the region’s chief Muslim imam, Allahshukur Pashazade, as well as with the Orthodox Christian bishop of Baku and the head of the country’s Jewish community. About 15,000 Jews live in Azerbaijan, mainly of a group known as the “Mountain Jews.” Some Georgian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews also live in the country.
“We will be happy to welcome the pope in Baku,” said Moisei Bekker, representative of Baku’s Georgian-Jewish community, the Catholic Herald reported. “We Jews are satisfied with how we live here. We are protected. In Azerbaijan, anti-Semitism did not and does not exist.” –Preceding provided by JNS.org
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Global forum on anti-Semitism to convene in Latin America for the first time
(JNS.org) Two-hundred international experts will gather in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from July 16-18 for the Global Forum Combatting Antisemitism (GFCA), a conference to discuss the global rise in Jew-hatred and formulate an action plan to counter it.
The GFCA, held biennially in Jerusalem, is being hosted in Latin America for the first time. This year’s conference is organized by the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition (HILC)—a subsidiary of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, America’s largest Latino Christian organization; the Israeli Foreign Ministry; and the World Jewish Congress through its regional chapter, the Latin American Jewish Congress. Attendees will include academics, political leaders, heads of civil society, clergy, journalists, diplomats, educators, and concerned citizens.
“The emerging Evangelical community in Latin America, in its support for Israel, must stand side by side with the Jewish community in fighting anti-Semitism,” said Pastor Mario Bramnick, president of HILC, which is the first Christian organization to take part in the planning, implementation, and follow-up for the GFCA.
“The first GFCA in Latin America presents a unique opportunity to discuss the issue of anti-Semitism in Latin America and develop an action plan that would complement the one drafted at the last GFCA in Jerusalem during June 2015,” HILC said in a press release.
On July 18, forum participants will attend a ceremony for the 22nd anniversary of the AMIA Jewish Center bombing in Buenos Aires. That attack, suspected to have been carried out by Iran and its terror proxy Hezbollah, killed 85 people and injured hundreds more. — Preceding provided by JNS.org
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