SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — The parents of Congresswoman Sara Jacobs — Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs — have accepted roles as chairs of the Israel Emergency Response Campaign sponsored by the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
In a letter to the community, the Jacobs said that the campaign “will provide critical funds to those most hard-hit by the savagery of terrorism in our sister region of Sha’ar HaNegev and across Israel. We hope our collective support –financial and otherwise — will bring some reprieve to our friends and family in Sha’ar Hanegev and throughout Israel.”
In their Oct. 20 message, they said the San Diego Jewish community has “already distributed $1 million to address a wide spectrum of urgent needs in the region.”
“However,” they added, “the needs in Sha’ar HaNegev and across Israel continue to grow.”
They appealed for community members to support both the emergency campaign and the Jewish Federation’s annual campaign, saying that donations would not only show solidarity with Israel but also “fight mounting antisemitism locally” while funding “the increasing need for keeping our Jewish organizations secure. ”
“Together,” they added, “we can fortify our Jewish community in San Diego while at the same time sending critical support to Sha’ar HaNegev and across Israel.”
Congresswoman Jacobs, D-San Diego, is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Relations Committee.
Gary Jacobs is a past president of the Lawrence Family JCC, the Jewish Federation of San Diego, and the Jewish Community Center Association of North America. He and Jerri-Ann were the principal sponsors of the High-Tech High Schools in San Diego County. They also founded the Jewish International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI), which sponsored trips for mixed groups of Jewish and Arab teenagers to Spain and Israel, among other initiatives.
Gary is the son of philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs, the co-founder of Qualcomm.
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San Diego Jewish World staff report