Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor

06/09/2026

A timely story, as our community prepares to celebrate America's Seder on July 1!
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-story-larger-than-ourselves/

06/04/2026

Last week at our Annual Meeting, we launched Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor's 36th year! It was a fantastic evening where we celebrated Marla Linderman Richelew, our outgoing Board President, and installed our new Board President, Joan Lowenstein. We thanked our board and volunteers and we celebrated our accomplishments as a community. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

06/04/2026

Consider hosting Ann Arbor's next ShinShinim in your home! When a post-high school Israeli volunteer lives with you for a season, they become family for life. Reach out to [email protected] by June 26 to find out more.

06/01/2026

Nearly 200 attendees came to the Jewish Arts Fair on May 31, celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month at the Ann Arbor Public Library. A big thank you to all our volunteers, especially to Esther Terry for envisioning and organizing this event and for co-chairing our JCRC affinity group for parents of Jewish students in public schools.

05/19/2026

The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor mourns alongside the community of the Islamic Center in San Diego following yesterday’s horrific shooting. We have reached out to our Muslim friends here in Ann Arbor to let them know we're thinking about them.

No one should ever fear for their safety while gathering in prayer, community, or worship. Our Community Relations Director Rabbi Asher Lopatin is currently in Washington, DC advocating for $1 billion to make ALL religious institutions more secure. He is there with representatives from Ann Arbor's JCC and Jewish Family Services.

https://ow.ly/aFsn30sVT0X
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05/13/2026

The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest has begun, and Israel's entry in the semi-finals was performed last night! Check out "Michelle" performed by Noam Bettan, and keep an eye on his progress through the contest this week.
New to Eurovision? Check it out, and you'll be hooked!

Noam Bettan

05/11/2026

Just returning from our Jewish Federation and Black Jewish Coalition Civil Rights Mission to the South, one of the participants, Lisa Bashert, wrote this concise summary of our trip:

My spouse and I had the opportunity to participate in a civil rights mission sponsored by the Jewish Federation & Washtenaw Black Jewish Coalition, this past week. We visited sites important to the struggle in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma. There, we visited Kelly Ingram Park (where fire hoses and dogs were used to attack Black protesters); the Birmingham 16th Baptist church where four Black girls were killed by a racist bomber (and met with a fifth girl who, as an 10-year-old, survived the bombing); the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma (where Rabbi Abraham Heschel marched for voting rights arm-in-arm with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.); and the Equal Justice Initiative sites in Montgomery, including the Legacy Museum, Sculpture Garden, and Memorial to Peace & Justice (aka the “lynching museum”). We also made short visits to the Rosa Parks Museum, saw various Jewish temples in the three cities, and also met with an activist who survived Bloody Sunday as an 11-year-old girl.

The makeup of our small tour group really heightened the experience. We were a group of 12 that included six Black Americans and six Jewish Americans. They included our Ypsilanti State Rep. Jimmie Wilson, plus a staffer from Sue Shink's office, as well as the head of the Ann Arbor branch of the NAACP, an Ypsilanti pastor & assistant pastor, officers from the Jewish Federation, and three Ypsilanti members of Temple Beth Emeth.

Daily, there were scheduled conversations to share our reflections on these sites and the relationship between Blacks & Jews, historically and in today's fraught climate.

Relationships were built as we got to know each other on the bus, during meals, and in conversations. I came home feeling like I'd made deep connections with these newfound activist friends. Our tour guides from Etgar 36 and the “color commentary” by Prof. Riggins Earl (an activist & schoolmate of John Lewis) helped to deepen my understanding of movement culture and how we can take action today in regards to reconciliation and racial justice.

–Lisa Bashert

05/06/2026

We are grateful for the work of ADL Michigan and support this message they released after last weekend's UM Commencement ceremony.

ADL Michigan Director Elyssa Schmier’s statement on Faculty Senate Chair Derek Peterson‘s politicized speech at the University of Michigan‘s commencement ceremony yesterday.

05/05/2026

The next stop on the Civil Rights Mission to the South- Selma, AL, where the group visited the historic synagogue Temple Mishkan Israel, built in 1899, and met with Barbara Barge who lived through Bloody Sunday and the march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965. Where will they go next?

05/05/2026

The Washtenaw Black Jewish Coalition's mission has continued onto Birmingham, AL, where the group had the opportunity to speak with Sarah Collins Rudolph, who suffered a severe eye injury during the deadly 6th Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963. Keep following to see where their journey takes them next!