Resources

Links

Related Links

These links are provided by The Baltimore Jewish Educational Center of Jews for Judaism as a resource only. Inclusion and exclusion does not indicate any specific endorsement and is being provided to you as an aid in helping you link-up to the Global Jewish Family.  Unless otherwise specified, information about the organizational sponsor for each site was obtained from the site, itself.   (Note: please let us know of you discover that any of these links have changed or are inaccessible.  Also, please let us know if there are any other sites of Jewish interest that you'd recommend for inclusion in this list.)

D'var Torah Resources

• Aish Hatorah --Aish HaTorah is a world leader in creative Jewish educational programs and leadership training, dedicated to answering the vital question, "Why be Jewish?".  Aish HaTorah, founded in Jerusalem by Rabbi Noah Weinberg in 1974, is dedicated to revitalizing the Jewish people by providing opportunities for Jews of all backgrounds to discover their heritage in an atmosphere of open inquiry and mutual respect.   Aish HaTorah operates 26 full-time branches and on 5 continents.

 

• Chabad --Chabad-Lubavitch: A chassidic movement founded by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in the latter part of the 18th century that emphasizes the importance of "Chabad," an acronym for “Chochmoh, Binah, Da’at” (wisdom, understanding and knowledge); the concept of studying and understanding G-d and His relationship with the world. Lubavitch is the name of the townlet in the county of Mohilev, White Russia, which served as the center of the Chabad Chassidism for four generations.  The Chabad.org website is run under the auspices of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center, under the direction of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters.  This site offers a variety of resources for learning and coping with daily life, from the Chabad perspective.

 

• Ohr Sameach – Based in Jerusalem, Ohr Somayach, a world leader in Jewish outreach, gives Diaspora youth coming to Israel in search of their roots a chance to experience Jewish learning in their own language, at their own pace and at an intellectual level that rivals and surpasses that of the Ivy League universities from which many have come. In its battle against Jewish ignorance, Ohr Somayach has targeted outstanding college students and graduates — who are accomplished in secular studies, but have never found a comparable level of excellence in Jewish studies. Ohr Somayach’s exceptional staff includes scholars who are former professors at leading universities in the United States and who are as conversant in Kant and Hegel as they are in Maimonides. They teach basic Talmud skills to small groups, offer individual counseling to young people at a crossroads in their lives, and address the “big picture” issues that so preoccupy college students in their quest for meaning.

 

• The Jewish Learining Connection –  The Jewish Learning Connection is a Cleveland-based full service outreach organization offering a wide array of educational and social programming. Their goal is to connect Jews with their Jewish heritage by both establishing and maintaining quality learning opportunities for every Jew throughout Northeast Ohio, regardless of background or affiliation; and by enabling them to experience the joy and vibrancy of Torah and traditional Judaism. Programs are offered in a warm and inviting atmosphere, thus fostering spiritual growth and greater involvement in the Jewish Community. JLC is based at the Waxman Torah Center.  The organization has an extensive collection of archived MP3 files on the parshot of the week.

 

• Project Genesis – Project Genesis is a new and innovative organization, and one of the fastest-growing Jewish outreach programs today.   Project Genesis promotes further Jewish education about our Jewish roots, as represented in Jewish sources. Project Genesis believes that this is the best way to restore self-respect, self-confidence, and an interest in our own continuity, among modern Jewish collegiates and unaffiliated Jews worldwide. Project Genesis works to establish a strong Jewish identity, expand Jewish knowledge, and encourage its participants to become more involved with Judaism and the Jewish community.   Project Genesis has found great success with its network of "on-line classes" -- a unique program in Jewish studies offered on the Internet. The Project Genesis Global Learning Network has attracted college students and others from around the world who are interested in adding computer-based Jewish learning to their day. Project Genesis educational material reaches thousands of Jews worldwide every week.

 

The Project Genesis Host, http://www.torah.org, followed suit, and is well on its way to becoming a major resource for the technologically sophisticated and Jewishly curious. The site maintains full class archives here for new subscribers, and provide other educational materials here as well. In addition, the site offers information on a wide range of Jewish programs, speakers and special events, and link our visitors to other sites of Jewish interest.  In addition, a number of free audio downloads of archived lectures by prominent rabbis are available from the sister site, TorahMedia, although a for-pay monthly subscription is required for recently posted materials.

General Interest

• mazeltov.com –  (coming soon)
• The Jerusalem Post (also http://www.jpost.com/) –  The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. While the daily readership numbers (tens of thousands) do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers, the Jerusalem Post has a much broader reach than these other newspapers in that its readership comprises Israeli politicians, foreign journalists, and tourists, and it is also distributed worldwide. While it was once regarded as left-wing, the paper underwent a noticeable shift to the right in the late 1980s.  Under the new ownership and editorial leadership of editor-in-chief David Horovitz since 2004, the paper's political identity has moved again to a more complex centrist position. Examples of this shift include support for the August 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the paper's advocacy for privatization of Israeli religious institutions.  (Source: Wikipedia)

Israel

 

• The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world. The JTA was founded on February 6, 1917 by Jacob Landau as the Jewish Correspondence Bureau with the mandate of collecting and disseminating news among and affecting the Jewish communities of the diaspora.  The JTA is headquartered in New York City and has correspondents in Washington, DC, Jerusalem, Moscow and thirty other cities in North and South America, Israel, Europe, Africa and Australia.  The JTA is a not-for-profit corporation governed by an independent Board of Directors. It claims no allegiance to any specific branch of Judaism or political viewpoint.  (Source:  Wikipedia)

 

• Israel Foreign Ministry Home Page – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the Israeli parliamentary system, is responsible for carrying out the Government's foreign policy.  Information about the structure and history of the Foreign Ministry may be found at http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/about%20the%20ministry/structure%20and%20departments/.

 

• Israeli Tourism – This site was created by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, located in Jerusalem, Israel. The site is available in different languages (see the "choose language" bar), each maintained by the Ministry's respective office abroad.  Most of the content and pictures in this website was provided by “Mapa Ltd, Israel”.

 

• Karmiel – Karmiel, founded in 1964, is the commercial, educational, cultural and industrial hub of the Western Galilee. Situated on a major east-west highway in a valley, separating the upper and lower regions of the Galilee, its location is central with respect to the major population centers of Northern Israel.  A community of close to 50,000, Karmiel is a planned modern city consisting of self-contained neighborhoods. It is the home of ORT Braude College and a Performing Arts Cultural Center.  (The contents of this Website were gathered from the respective sources as a pro bono effort on behalf of the City of Karmiel by Webscope and Stelcom, Inc., who assume no responsibility with regard to accuracy or current validity. )

 

• The Knesset –  The Knesset, the legislative branch of the Israeli government, enacts laws, elects the president and prime minister (although she or he is ceremonially appointed by the President), supervises the work of the government, reserves the power to remove the President of the State and the State Comptroller from office and to dissolve itself and call new elections.  The Knesset first convened on 14 February 1949, on the Jewish New Year for Trees, Tu Bishvat, following the 20 January elections, succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the Mandate era.  Every 4 years (or sooner if an early election is called, as is often the case), 120 members of the Knesset (MKs) are elected by Israeli citizens who must be at least 18 years old to vote. The Government of Israel must be approved by a majority vote of the Knesset.  The Knesset has de jure parliamentary supremacy and can pass any law by a simple majority, even one that might arguably conflict with the Basic Laws of Israel; in accordance with a plan adopted in 1950, the Basic Laws have themselves been adopted (and occasionally amended) over the course of the years by the Knesset, acting in its capacity as a Constituent Assembly.   Even though no Basic Law adopted thus far has formally granted a power of judicial review to the courts, the Supreme Court of Israel has in recent years asserted its authority, when sitting as the High Court of Justice, to invalidate provisions of laws it finds to be inconsistent with a Basic Law.  (See Wikipedia.)

Tu Bishvat of this year marked the 60th birthday of the Knesset, and the Knesset Web Site is celebrating with a new subsite for the occasion. View and enjoy the photo anthology, the 60-Questions quiz, the history of the building and a summary of the Knesset`s work.  (See  The Knesset Celebrates 60.)

 

• The Labor Party (Hebrew) –  A social-democratic party established in 1968 following a union of Mapai, Ahdut Ha’avoda, and Rafi. The party supports the policy of social pluralism and equality, and since the 1990's, a free market "with a soul" economic policy. In the political sphere, the pragmatic approach usually prevailed, despite the military background of most of its leaders. Until the elections for the Thirteenth Knesset, the Labor Party within the framework of the Alignment list. In the elections for the Fourteenth Knesset it ran under its own name, in the elections to the Fifteenth Knesset within the framework of One Israel (2), and in the elections to the Sixteenth Knesset within the framework of Labor-Meimad. Since its establishment the Labor Party lost more than half its strength. The chairmen of the Party since its establishment were Levi Eshkol (1968-69), Golda Meir (1969-74), Yitzhak Rabin (1974-77; 1992-1995), Shimon Peres (1977-92; 1995-97; 2003- ), Ehud Barak (1997-2001), Binyamin Ben-Elizer (2001-2), Amram Miznah (2002-3). Until the mid 1990s the party headed the Histadrut, and its leader was Prime Minister in 1968-77; 1984-86; 1992-96; and 1999-2001.       (See Parliamentary Groups in the Knesset.)
• The Likud Party (Hebrew) – Likud (Hebrew: הליכוד‎, lit. The Consolidation) is the major center-right political party in Israel.   It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party has won only one Knesset election since 1992, in 2003. However, Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task to form a government after the 2009 elections. After a convincing win in the 2003 elections, Likud saw a major split in 2005, when Likud leader Ariel Sharon left the party to form the new Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in 2006 elections. Following the 2009 elections, the party appears to have mostly recovered from its loss, and now leads the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu. (See Wikipedia; also Parliamentary Groups in the Knesset.)

 

• Kadima (Official Party Website in Hebrew and Russian) – Kadima (Hebrew:  קדימה lit. Forward) is a centrist political party in Israel founded by like-minded Likud and Labor politicians. It became the largest party in the Knesset after the 2006 elections, winning 29 of the 120 seats.  The party is currently headed by Tzipi Livni, and its members include moderates of the political center and center-left who support her diplomatic steps to peace with the Palestinians.  (See Wikipedia.  Also see Knesset Page on Factions.)

 

• Yisrael Beyteynu – Yisrael Beiteinu, (Hebrew:  ישראל ביתנו lit. Israel is Our Home) is a nationalist political party in Israel. The party describes itself as "a national movement with the clear vision to follow in the brave path of Zev Jabotinsky", the founder of Revisionist Zionism. It takes a hard  line towards Haredim, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, characterized by its 2009 election slogan "No loyalty, no citizenship". Its main platform involves the creation of a Palestinian state that would include the exchange of largely Arab-inhabited parts of Israel for largely Jewish-inhabited parts of the West Bank.[The party maintains an anti-clerical mantle and encourages socio-economic opportunities for new immigrants, in conjunction with efforts to increase Jewish immigration. In the elections the party won 15 seats, its most to date, making it ‎, the third largest party in the Knesset.  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• Office of the Prime Minister – This site is the formal, but personal site for the Prime Minister.  It includes biographical information, links to recent speeches, and various links to Israeli governmental and historical sites.

 

• Tel Aviv-Jaffa – This is an interactive tour guide for the Tel Aviv and Jaffa areas, including hotels, transportation, events, restaurants, etc.
• Welcome to Virtual Jerusalem! – This is a trendy, news and features site that documents the current Israeli cultural scene.
• Go Visit Israel – Go Visit Israel that was created as a summer project in 2008 by brothers Ari and Ben Levitas, who as young boys moved to Beit Shemesh, Israel in July 2000 from Baltimore Maryland.  They thought their website,  Go Visit Israel, would be an interesting and useful website for people visiting Israel to be able to quickly find Places to Tour in Israel, Places to Visit, Places to Eat, Places to Stay and Places to Volunteer.  They continue to update and add new features to the website that include: pictures of places to visit, links to YouTube videos, more cities and grouped cities into regions for easier navigation.   A major upgrade to the site is planned by the end of summer break, 2009.

 

• www.onefamilyfund.org – OneFamily is a large volunteer-based non-profit organization providing much-needed assistance to thousands of terror victims throughout Israel on a daily basis.  This is web site through which we can send Rosh Hashana packages to Israeli terror victims, soldiers, or friends and family.
  
  OneFamily began with a selfless act by one twelve-year-old girl.   Michal Belzberg was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem when a suicide bomber, as part of the Intifada, struck the crowded Sbarro restaurant in the city's downtown. The attack murdered 15 and wounded 130 Jewish men, women, and children.  Michal  canceled her Bat Mitzvah party in order to contribute the party's funds and friends' contributions to victims of the attack. I  While Michal and her family raised over $100,000, they quickly realized that was not nearly enough to address the suffering of the growing number of Israelis affected by terror. In that moment, OneFamily was born.

Jewish Federations in North America

• http://www.ujc.org (also http://www.cjfny.org/) –  UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America represents and serves 157 Jewish Federations and 400 independent Network Jewish communities across North America. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning).

 

• Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore – The ASSOCIATED:  Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore works to preserve and enhance Jewish life.  It addresses educational, charitable, religious, humanitarian, health, cultural, and social service needs of the Jewish community locally, nationally, in Israel, and around the world.  The Associated's volunteer and leadership program for Jewish adults (ages 22-45) is covered at IMPACT.

Jewish Interest

• Shalomhome.com – Shalom Home, Inc. is a real estate location service that works with the finest Realtors (R) across the country. They can help you purchase the ideal home in the right community and will assist in obtaining information regarding home inspections, schools, financing, community centers, Kosher merchants, and congregations – at no cost.  Their objective is to help individuals and families preserve their connections after moving to a new city. Too many families never make the connections, remain unaffiliated, and feel isolated.  The same professional real estate agent who will locate housing also specializes in his or her community and can assist individuals and families in acclimating themselves to a new environment.  Shalom Home, Inc. is pleased to serve the relocation needs of all interested persons, regardless of race, religion, color, sex or national origin.
• Jewish and Israeli Facebook Groups / Fan Pages – This is a link to a compendium of Jewish and Israeli Facebook groups and fan pages by Jacob Richman.  Over 1500 links are included.

 

Jewish Kids

• Jewish Funland – This site, composed by Dr. Nurit Reshef, is intended as a place where Jewish children can learn about Hebrew language, Jewish culture and religion, and Israel through play.
• Torah Tots – This site was developed by Reuven A. Stone and Shloimy Bluth, with financial assistance from Menachim Z. Shimanowitz, President of HI-TECH Computers, Inc., a computer consulting firm. The site provides traditional Orthodox materials programmed in a Disney-like format for young children.  The site is updated and revised weekly, based on the religious calendar and topics of current interest to the Orthodox Jewish community.

National and Local Organizations

• American Jewish Congress On-Line –The American Jewish Congress is an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy - using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.  Among their most important current projects are:  (1) advocacy for the safety and security  of Israel,; (2) leading the fight against terrorists' use of "Human Shields" and for interpretations of the Law of War allowing nations to protect themselves against terrorist attack; (3) advocacy for religious freedom in the U.S., including the separation of church and state; (4) energy Independence from nations whose interests are opposed to our own; and (5) furthering  Women's  Empowerment.

 

• American Jewish Historical Society – Founded  in 1892, the American Jewish Historical Society’s holdings include 20 million documents, 50,000 books, paintings and other objects that bear witness to the remarkable contributions of the American Jewish community to life in the Americas from the 16th century to the present.  Among the treasures of this heritage are the first American book published in Hebrew; the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus, which graces the Statue of Liberty; records of the nation’s leading Jewish communal organizations and important collections in the fields of education, philanthropy, science, sports, business and the arts.

 

• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee – The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC or Joint) is a worldwide Jewish relief organization. It was established in 1914 and is active in more than 70 countries—today, especially in the former Soviet Union, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.  JDC works to preserve and enhance the vitality of Jewish community life around the world. Wherever Jewish lives are under imminent threat due to poverty, persecution, natural disaster, or war, JDC responds through an array of social and community assistance programs that relieve suffering and foster long-term development and self-sustainability. JDC is non-political, and has extends its reach beyond the Jewish community (e.g., in Rowanda). . It has provided well over $20 million in non-sectarian disaster relief and development assistance to non-Jewish communities in the last few years alone.  (Also see Wikipedia.)

 

• American ORT – ORT America is a non-profit non-governmental organization with nearly 400 chapters in the United States. As the largest private contributor to the worldwide ORT program, ORT America is supported by generous donations from private contributors, grants, foundations, planned giving gifts and generous bequests.  ORT supporters are part of a global movement that enriches entire communities by educating the individuals within them. Whether that involves reaching young at-risk students in Tel Aviv, Israel, or adult immigrants to the United States adjusting to a new homeland and language, ORT adapts its programming to the particular challenges of a country and community.

 

• Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah –  The Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah is a home for those who identify as Jews primarily through culture, history and family. They  provide a welcoming and enriching Jewish environment with no demands for religious beliefs.  Their beliefs are:  (1) that Judaism is the creation of the Jewish people and that all generations are responsible for carrying it forward and adding to it; (2) that only natural forces and human beings are responsible for what happens in this world; (3) that people have the ability and the responsibility to solve human problems through striving for equality, social justice and peace; and (4) in the equality and dignity of every human being and in the power of community.  Their mission is to provide a community for people who wish to express their Jewish identity in a Secular Humanistic manner, emphasizing Jewish culture and history.

 

• BBYO International – BBYO is the leading pluralistic teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. For more than 80 years, BBYO has provided exceptional identity enrichment and leadership development experiences for hundreds of thousands of Jewish teens. In 60 communities across North America, Jewish teens connect with one another, volunteer in the community, celebrate their Jewish heritage, prepare for leadership roles, and travel the world together, all within a Jewish context. The power of the experience is proven through BBYO’s 250,000 alumni, who are among the most prominent figures in business, politics, academia, the arts, and Jewish communal life.

 

• B'nai Brith Intenational – B'nai B'rith International, the global voice of the Jewish community, is the most widely known Jewish humanitarian, human rights, and advocacy organization. Since 1843, BBI has worked for Jewish unity, security, continuity, and tolerance.  BBI's reach extends to more than 50 countries around the world.   Today B'nai B'rith International is a national and global leader in the fight against antisemitism and anti-Israel bias; provides senior housing and advocacy on issues of vital concern to seniors and their families; helps communities in crisis; and promotes Jewish identity through cultural activities.

 

• Embassy of Israel, Washington DC – This website is intended tol serve as an open door to learn about the embassy and about Israel,  On this site, you will find information on the embassy's activities and services, access to each of the embassy's departments, to current events updates, information about Israel's economy, culture, society and politics, as well as useful links to other sites.   Visitors are invited to explore the strong and dynamic bilateral relationship that Israel and the United States enjoy,  discover Israel's most significant developments, and see our country through Israeli eyes.  The site alsocontains a section specially created for children. The children's website includes interactive activities, creative graphics, and music. The site allows children to learn about Israel in an educational yet enjoyable and entertaining way.

 

• HADASSAH – HADASSAH, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, is a volunteer women's organization, whose members are motivated and inspired to strengthen their partnership with Israel, ensure Jewish continuity, and realize their potential as a dynamic force in American society.   Founded in 1912, Hadassah retains the passion and timeless values of its founder, Henrietta Szold, Jewish scholar and activist, who was dedicated to Judaism, Zionism, and the American ideal.  Committed to the centrality of Israel based on the renaissance of the Jewish people in its historic homeland, Hadassah promotes the unity of the Jewish people. In Israel, Hadassah initiates and supports pace-setting health care, education and youth institutions, and land development to meet the country's changing needs.   In the United States, Hadassah enhances the quality of American and Jewish life through its education and Zionist youth programs, promotes health awareness, and provides personal enrichment and growth for its members.

 

• Hillel - The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life – Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life , the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, provides opportunities for Jewish students at more than 500 colleges and universities to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity through its global network of regional centers, campus Foundations and Hillel student organizations. Hillel's mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students by  creating a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students, where they are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually and socially. Hillel helps students find a balance in being distinctively Jewish and universally human by encouraging them to pursue tzedek (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world) and Jewish learning, and to support Israel and global Jewish peoplehood.

 

• JESNA- Jewish Education Service of North America –  JESNA's role is  to strengthen North American Jewish communities and their educational offerings by providing tested solutions, leveraging partnerships, promoting synergies, and building the connections that strengthen Jewish education and community development.  Building the capacity of Federations and their Central Agencies to improve Jewish education in local communities is a key means of accomplishing their mission.
  
  
• JCC Association – JCC Association is the continental umbrella organization for the Jewish Community Center Movement, which includes more than 350 JCCs, YM-YWHAs, and camp sites in the U.S. and Canada. JCC Association offers a wide range of services and resources to help its affiliates to provide educational, cultural, social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs for people of all ages and backgrounds. JCC Association supports the largest network of Jewish early childhood centers and Jewish summer camps in North America, and is also a U.S. government accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs of Jewish military personnel through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.

 

• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger – Founded in 1985, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is a national, nonprofit agency that allocates donations from the Jewish community to prevent and alleviate hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds.  Each year, MAZON grants over $4 million to more than 300 carefully screened hunger-relief agencies, including emergency food providers, food banks, multi-service organizations and advocacy groups that seek long-term solutions to the hunger problem.

 

• Na'amat USA –For more than 80 years, NA’AMAT USA, International Movement of Zionist Women, has had one mission: to support the women and children of Israel. To accomplish its mission, NA’AMAT —through its sister organization in Israel— provides a broad range of social services, from day care centers to domestic violence shelters; from legal aid to alternative high schools. NA’AMAT has services and facilities in communities throughout the country, from Kiryat Shemoneh in the north, to Eilat in the south.

 

• National Conference of Synagogue Youth – NCSY is a world-recognized organization that has played a pivotal role in the lives of Jewish teens across the globe. The Orthodox Union founded NCSY in 1954 to provide Jewish teens with an opportunity to build a strong connection to their Jewish roots through inspiration and leadership skills.  Today, NCSY is the premier organization dedicated to connect, inspire and empower Jewish teens and encourage passionate Judaism through Torah and Tradition.  NCSY connects with Jewish teens through innovative, cutting-edge social and recreational programs to develop a positive Jewish identity; inspires Jewish teens through informal Jewish education, retreats and summer programs; and empowers teens through leadership development and guidance to become passionately committed leaders of the Jewish community and instruments for positive change and renewal.

 

• National Council of Jewish Women - Howard County Section – The National Council of Jewish Women is a volunteer organization that has been at the forefront of social change for over a century. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW courageously takes a progressive stance on issues such as child welfare, women's rights, and reproductive freedom.   Connect to news, programs, and resources at the national level on www.ncjw.org.
• National Jewish Medical and Research Center – Evolved from a tuberculosis hospital founded at the end of the nineteenth century in Denver, Colorado, National Jewish Health is at the forefront of a new era in health care - personalized medicine. Their  commitment to science is the basis from which they perform research and treat will disease and lead to significant benefit for physicians and patients throughout the world. National Jewish Health remains one of the pre-eminent respiratory hospitals in the country.

 

• OU - Orthodox Union – The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), more popularly known as the Orthodox Union (OU), is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher supervision service, with the circled-U symbol, a hechsher, found on the labels of many commercial and consumer food products.  The OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and some international units with locations in Israel and formerly in Ukraine.  It is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Its synagogues, and the rabbis who lead them, are usually identified among the stream of Judaism referred to as Modern Orthodox.  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• Union for Reform Judaism – The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America.  The origins of the URJ began with the founding of the UAHC  in 1873, based at Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time it consisted of 34 congregations. In 1950, the UAHC relocated its headquarters to New York City.  In 2003, the UAHC was officially renamed the Union for Reform Judaism by the General Assembly at the organization's Biennial Convention. Today, the organization is often referred to simply as "the Union." As of 2005, some 900 synagogues were affiliated with it.  In 1875, the Union created Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati, the Reform movement seminary to train rabbis and later cantors and other Jewish professionals. In 1950, the college merged with the Jewish Institute of Religion, a Reform rabbinical college founded in 1922  and located in New York City.   Rabbis in URJ member temples are members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR).  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• United Jewish Communities – UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America represents and serves 157 Jewish Federations and 400 independent Network Jewish communities across North America. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning).

 

• USY- United Synagogue Youth – United Synagogue Youth is the youth movement of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism or USCJ.  United Synagogue Youth, more commonly known as USY, is a youth group with members from the United States and Canada dedicated to creating a fun, educational environment where Jewish teenagers can connect in hopes of meeting other Jewish teens in a comfortable atmosphere, combating assimilation, supporting Israel and giving and performing charity. The organization is open to all Jewish teenagers. While synagogue membership is not a requirement, most affiliate with the Conservative movement. (See Wikipedia.)
• World Zionist Organization – (This is a Hebrew, only site.)  The World Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית‎), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית‎), or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland.   The WZO served as an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement, which aimed at creating a Jewish State of Israel in the region then known as Palestine. Theodor Herzl, who with Max Nordau, organized the first Congress, later wrote in his diary: "If I were to sum up the Congress in a word – which I shall take care not to publish – it would be this: At Basle I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today I would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it."  When the State of Israel was declared 51 years later on May 14, 1948, many of its new administrative institutions were already in place, having evolved during the regular Zionist Congresses of the previous decades. Some of these institutions remain to this day.  In January 1960 the ZO changed its name to the World Zionist Organization. The WZO's headquarters is in Jerusalem.  (See Wikipedia.)
• www.youngjudea.org –  Founded in 1909, Young Judea is the oldest Zionist youth movement in the United States.  Sponsored by Hadassah, it seeks to build Jewish identity and Zionist commitment in Jewish youth and young adults.  Young Judaea is built on a framework that emphasizes three core facets: peer leadership, political non-partisanship, and religious pluralism. Within this framework, its programs and activities focus on instilling our members with three core values: Judaism, Zionism, and Jewish identity.

 

• Zionist Organization of America – Since its founding in 1897, the Zionist Organization of America has been fighting for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. Under the leadership of such illustrious past presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, the ZOA has been on the front lines of Jewish activism.  With a national membership of over 30,000, and chapters throughout the United States (including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, North Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South Jersey and Washington D.C.), the ZOA today works to strengthen US-Israeli relations, through educational activities, public affairs programs, working every day on Capitol Hill, and by combating anti-Israel bias in the media, textbooks, and on campuses.
• Baltimore Jewish Times – The Baltimore Jewish Times is Maryland’s largest Jewish weekly publication and a cherished weekly tradition. Founded in 1919 by David Alter, the publication has attracted and retained a large and loyal audience of readers who value its news and advertising information.  The Baltimore Jewish Times is one of North America’s largest Jewish weekly publications serving the Jewish community. It averages more than 120 pages, and its all-paid circulation reaches nearly 50,000 readers.

Publications

 

• Washington Jewish Week == Washington Jewish Week is an independent community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. Area.  Founded in 1930 as the National Jewish Ledger , it is mailed to paying subscribers in Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia, and is also sold at local bookstores, newsstands and vending machines. In 2004 it had circulation of 15,000,  including paid circulation of 13,000, and unpaid circulation of 2,000.  The newspaper has won a number of Simon Rockower Awards for excellence in Jewish Journalism, including the First Place Boris Smolar Award for Excellence in Comprehensive Coverage in 2004, and the First Place Award for Excellence in Editorial Writing in 2005.  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• Jerusalem Post – he Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. While the daily readership numbers (tens of thousands) do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers, the Jerusalem Post has a much broader reach than these other newspapers in that its readership comprises Israeli politicians, foreign journalists, and tourists, and it is also distributed worldwide. While was once regarded as left-wing, the paper underwent a noticeable shift to the right in the late 1980s.  Under the new ownership and editorial leadership of editor-in-chief David Horovitz since 2004, the paper's political identity has moved again to a more complex centrist position. Examples of this shift include support for the August 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the paper's advocacy for privatization of Israeli religious institutions.  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• Biblio Books – Biblio.com is an online marketplace for booksellers specializing in rare and out-of-print titles. Several thousand individual booksellers subscribe to their listing service. Booksellers will upload their book lists along with prices and descriptions of items they own. Searches on the site bring up results from any seller's books. On completed sales, member booksellers pay a percentage of the sale price to the firm. Certain sellers are also charged a monthly fee. The site can collect charge card payment via the web. Biblio.com is probably the 3rd largest books-only website. Many sellers who list stock on Biblio also have their material simultaneously on competitor's sites such as abebooks.com or alibris.com.  (See Wikipedia.)

 

• Chicago Jewish News – This site carries Jewish News from Chicago, IIsrael and around the world, including news for and about the Chicago Jewish Community.  This site also covers organizations serving The Chicago Jewish Community: Jewish Federation, JCC, social service., education, Israel, rabbinic. Others.

 

• Der Bavebter Yid – Yiddish language journal featuring new poetry, fiction, commentary; needs (Hebrew font) .

 

• The Forward – The Forward (Yiddish: פֿאָרווערטס; Forverts) is a Jewish-American weekly newspaper published in New York City.   T Launched as a Yiddish-language daily newspaper on April 22, 1897, the Forward entered the din of New York's immigrant press as a defender of trade unionism and moderate, democratic socialism. Under the leadership of its founding editor, the crustily independent Abraham Cahan, the Forward came to be known as the voice of the Jewish immigrant and the conscience of the ghetto.   By the early 1930s the Forward had become one of America's premier metropolitan dailies, with a nationwide circulation topping 275,000 and influence that reached around the world and into the Oval Office.   The newspaper's editorial staff included, at one time or another, nearly every major luminary in the then-thriving world of Yiddish literature, including  future Nobel laureates Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel.   With the end of World War II the Forward entered a period of decline.  In 1983 the paper cut back to a weekly publishing schedule and launched an English-language supplement.  In more recent years the Yiddish paper has experienced a modest revival, benefiting from the renewed interest in Yiddish on college campuses and from the leadership of editor, the Russian-born essayist and novelist Boris Sandler, who took over in 1998.  In 1990 the Forward Association, the newspaper's non-profit holding company, decided to remake the English-language Forward as an independent, high-profile weekly newspaper. In 2008, the newspaper took another bold turn by appointing its first woman editor, Jane Eisner.   Each weekly edition (Yiddish and English) is effectively an independent publication with its own contents.

 

• Hello Israel on the Net – (coming soon)

 

• Israel Hour News – SITE NOT AVAILABLE

 

• Jewish Family & Life - Jewish Parenting Zine – SITE NOT AVAILABLE

 

• Jewish Heritage On-Line Magazine – Jewish Heritage Online Magazine (JHOM.com) is an innovative web monthly with some 2500 screens devoted to the study of classic and modern Jewish texts, culture and heritage. Originally sponsored by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (NY),   JHOM.com is an independent, non-denominational webzine, without religious or political platform.  Each monthly edition focuses on a different topic, among them: Dreams, Memory, Stones, Bread, Tears, Fish, Fire, Spices, Envy, Money, Angels, with articles crossing the spectrum of biblical and talmudic literature, mysticism, modern poetry, Hebrew language, art and music. A calendar section includes a rich array of articles with interesting and little-known angles about the current Jewish month and its festivals. JHOM.com includes a growing collection of exquisite, original electronic greeting cards for holidays, birthdays, and others occasions.

 

• Jewish World Review – JWR is a free magazine published five days a week on the World Wide Web of interest to people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously.  JWR views itself in a war to change the way contemporary Jewry views itself. Rather than accepting lip service, JWR seeks to enhance the desire of Jews to preserve their heritage for future generations.
• Tikkun Magazine – Tikkun is a bi-monthly English-language magazine, published in the United States, that analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist-progressive Jewish viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America. The magazine was founded in 1986 by Nan Fink (Geffen) and Michael Lerner, who remains the editor-in-chief.

 

The title of the magazine comes from mystical Hebrew concept tikkun olam ( Hebrew: תיקוןעולם, "healing or restoring the world") which suggests humanity's shared responsibility (with the Creator) "to heal, repair and transform the world." Tikkun Magazine was first published in the fall of 1986. According to the cover of each issue, Tikkun is a, "Jewish critique of politics, culture and society." The Jewish adjective, a source of contension among some readers and authors, was shed in January, 2006 to honor the increased interfaith emphasis of the magazine and the growth of the activist Tikkun community.   (See Wikipedia.)

 

• The Jewish Magazine – The Jewish Magazine is a monthly Jewish information resource on the Web that includes Jewish articles, Jewish authors on Jewish and Israel topics each month.  The webzine is written and posted from Jerusalem.

 

• The Jewish Post of New York On-Line – The Jewish Post is an independent newspaper reporting on news of Jewish Interest in the United States, Israel, and throughout the world.  While our print edition is limited to the New York metropolitan market we have visitors to our website from throughout North America, Europe, and the rest of the world.   The Jewish Post was established in 1933 in Indianapolis and grew to five editions throughout the United States.  In 1974 the New York edition became a separate publication which has evolved into the current Jewish Post.

 

The newspaper is proud to call for unity between the religions. Through the years prominent members of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist faiths, including the Dalai Lama, have provided their messages in support of understanding between various religions in the Jewish Post.  Likewise, civil rights activists like Coretta Scott King and business leaders like Russell Simmons have spoken out in the Jewish Post encouraging better relations between Jews and African Americans.

 

• The Jewish Review Internet Edition (Portland OR) – The Jewish Review is a twice-monthly, non-profit tabloid newspaper published since 1959 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. It publishes local, national and world news of interest to the Jewish community. The paper is distributed free of cost by mail to all who request it. It is also available in street boxes, libraries, markets and restaurants.  Because the Jewish Review is a federation paper and because the federation is the central fund-raising organization for the Jewish community, the Review takes a user-friendly approach to its journalism, endeavoring always to be a friend in every Jewish home, while also not failing to address key issues that face Jews today. The paper does this by presenting a broad range of perspectives on current issues, if not always in the same edition where there may be space limitations, then over time.

 

The Jewish Review is a member of the American Jewish Press Associations, which has awarded the Review many of its prestigious and highly coveted Rockower Awards for journalistic excellence in many different categories including international reporting, commentary, personality profiles, arts and criticism, comprehensive coverage and photography. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and the Oregon Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists also have honored the Jewish Review on several occasions.

 

• Women in Judaism – WOMEN IN JUDAISM: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL is an academic, refereed journal published exclusively on the Internet, and devoted to scholarly debate on gender-related issues in Judaism. The ultimate aim of the journal is to promote the reconceptualization of the study of Judaism, by acknowledging and incorporating the roles played by women, and by encouraging the development of alternative research paradigms. Cross-methodological and interdisciplinary, the journal does not promote a fixed ideology, and welcomes a variety of approaches.
• B'nai Mitzvah Ideas – (REQUIRES PASSWORD TO ACCESS SERVER)
• New Baby Ideas – (REQUIRES PASSWORD TO ACCESS SERVER)

Volunteerism - Listed below are Links to Articles on Social Action

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Related Links

These links are provided by The Baltimore Jewish Educational Center of Jews for Judaism as a resource only. Inclusion and exclusion does not indicate any specific endorsement and is being provided to you as an aid in helping you link-up to the Global Jewish Family. (Detailed Link List)

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