Portland, Oregon – June 2024 The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation (OJCF) supports vital and impactful community organizations and initiatives in Oregon and SW Washington through its Community Endowment Fund (CEF). For Fiscal Year 2024, OJCF awarded grants from the CEF to seed innovative and collaborative organizations and programs in Oregon and SW Washington that remove…
Since October 7, antisemitism on and around the Ohio State University’s (OSU) campus has run the gamut from antisemitic verbal taunts and threats directed at OSU Jewish students, antisemitic and threatening graffiti in classrooms and other facilities, removal of posters of kidnapped Israelis, and outright physical assault of Jewish students. StandWithUs alleges that OSU has…
By Cindy Saltzman As Israel and America stand strong against Hamas, Hezbollah, and anyone who supports the massacre of innocent civilians, the desire to help is palpable. But how do you know where and how to give? How do you determine a charity is credible and fiscally responsible? How can you be sure that the…
We are fortunate at Cedar Sinai Park to have access to wonderful volunteers who can help us process together the horrific events occurring in the Middle East. Volunteers David Molko, L.C.S.W., and Rabbi Barry Cohen are on campus weekly sharing mindfulness tips and spirituality, respectively. Each has generously adjusted their usual activities to meet in groups with…
Elaine Savinar was recently awarded the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Elaine has been an active member, volunteer, and philanthropist in our Jewish community for decades. The Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award was created as a tribute to Norma Kipnis-Wilson and Toby Friedland, who co-founded the Lion of Judah program in 1972. Today,…
By Shannon Levitt Rabbi Cahana unpacks supplies from Portland, Oregon, to be donated More than three million refugees have made their way to Poland since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. With that many people on the move, things could quickly unravel into chaos. Instead, Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana, who was at Poland’s…
The life of Victoria Leshiner, a Jewish woman living in Donetsk, Ukraine, was completely normal until about a month ago. When the war began, she started looking for a way out with her two children, a 20-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. Having lived in Israel some 20 years ago, she decided to immigrate to Israel as…
Photo: Volunteers packing Thanksgiving Food Boxes prior to the pandemic. This month, Jewish Family & Child Service is continuing its 20-year tradition of brightening the season for families and individuals of all ages, including greater Portland’s Holocaust Survivors, experiencing hard times. Their Thanksgiving Food Boxes and Family-to-Family (previously Adopt-a-Family) programs give hundreds of people…
Photo: From left: Juli and Rick Barde, Jorden Cohen, Sallie Cohen, Karen Fairfield. Positive Charge! PDX is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is open to everyone, with a mission to make a positive impact on a collective scale by doing good deeds, sharing good news, and building community. They create opportunities for the public to…
A motorcyclist from the Chicago area is stopping in Portland as part of a cross-country trek visiting Jewish-style delis in nearly every state to call attention to the persistent hunger crisis in the United States that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. On Sunday, Aug. 1 at 11:30 am, Steve Goode will stop for…
