Jewish Community Centers of North America (JCCs)

06/18/2026

In this article in the summer edition of Savannah Jewish Life, Kirby Edmunds, senior director of operations at the Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance in Georgia, writes about the connections she and her colleagues have with their own agency and with other JCCs.

She captures a lot of the essence of the JCC Movement—“core values,” “continuity,” “first jobs that spark careers,” “the sense of being known,” and “a community that truly cares”—precisely the things that draw 1.5 million visitors through the doors of nearly 150 JCCs each and every week.

Nicely done, Kirby!

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:35312923-664a-4bc5-99da-f5bd36346fb4

06/17/2026

Earlier this week Barak Hermann, our president and CEO, attended the East Coast premiere of “From October 6 to October 7” at the Israel Film Center Festival in New York.

Screened at the Moise Safra Center in Manhattan, the documentary details the life of Major General Doron Almog, an Israel Prize laureate, following his journey to transform relentless personal grief into a legacy of national hope.

From the left: Barak Hermann, Doron Almog, and David Miller, CEO of the Moise Safra Center.

06/17/2026

We are excited to welcome Steven Baker to the JCC Movement! He'll join the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island as its president and CEO on July 1, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Jewish nonprofit sector, including deep commitment to building community, strengthening organizations, and inspiring engagement.

Mazel tov, Steven!

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island serves the entire Greater Rhode Island community, come see what the Alliance has to offer you and your family.

06/16/2026

Kudos to Rabbi Joanna Samuels, CEO of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, for this spot-on op-ed in these challenging times.

"[M]y greatest challenge post–October 7," she writes, "has not been antisemitism, but rather figuring out how to keep up with the surge of people wanting to be part of our proudly Jewish institution."

Since October 7, some have described the Jewish community as in turmoil. Rabbi Joanna Samuels says it’s more tight-knit than ever.

06/16/2026

Deann Forman, executive director of our Center for Innovation and Impact, was recently among the participants in a joint Repair the World-Yahel Jewish Service Alliance Israel Service Seminar for Jewish communal leaders across the U.S.

Reflecting on the experience, Forman said, the group “engag[ed] in very meaningful service learning on a very deep level, at a very hyper-local level, in sort of invisible pockets of need throughout Israel.” Among the trip’s goals, she said “is for each of us to be able to go back to our own communities and pay more attention to the needs all around us and take action, to become change-makers in our own communities.”

Read the full interview: https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/it-nourished-my-soul/amp/

06/15/2026

The JCC Movement is proud of Leon Rose, president of the New York Knicks (💙 🏀 🧡 🎉 ‼️), and the role he and his family have played at the Katz JCC, where the basketball court is named in their honor.

Rose, the Knicks' Jewish team president, has been honored by a number of Jewish organizations.

06/15/2026

Mazel tov to Gal Stav, Ph.D., on her selection as the next chief executive officer of JCC of Greater Albuquerque www.jccabq.org. We know she will bring wonderful skills and talents to the vital work of creating and sustaining a vibrant, thriving community at the JCC!
http://bit.ly/4vbZJMZ

06/12/2026

Shabbat shalom from the JCC Movement, where we love to share stories that span the generations, including this one!

L’dor v’dor, from generation to generation, is the amazing and heartwarming story of Lil and Levi, great-grandmother and great-grandson who, with nearly a full century between them, are members of JCC Denver. As CEO Mike Sophir rightly says, “Lil’s story is, in many ways, the story of the JCC itself."

Leave us a comment about someone in your community who embodies the story of your JCC or JCC Camp.

At 100 and 1 years old, Lil and Levi share a special bond through the JCC Denver—a story of family and belonging

06/11/2026

As the school year ends, Orna Siegel, executive director of ElevatedTogether—a joint initiative of Jewish Community Centers of North America, Union for Reform Judaism, and Jewish Federations of North America—joins other educators to discuss the state of Jewish education at this moment.

Check out the insights she and her colleagues have to offer in this op-ed.

It’s been a few years since leaders in different sectors of Jewish education shared a state of the field. Much has changed since many of us first participated in these updates during the pandemic: the Oct. 7 attacks and the experience of rising antisemitism; back-to-back wars in Israel; and the ov...

06/10/2026

Kudos and congratulations to our own Lisa P. Kuh, Ph.D., program director of Jewish Community Centers of North America (JCCs)'s Sheva Center, whose work was recently highlighted in “Exchange EveryDay,” a prestigious early childhood newsletter with national reach.

Yasher koach, Lisa!

Our physical environment isn't just a backdrop for our experiences; the qualities of the space around us innately engage with some of our deepest senses, emotions, and intuitions, shaping the way we feel and experience the world.– Lisa Phillips, Associate Professor of Interior Design, Thomas Jeffe...