Blog
Processing a Week of Grief
February 22, 2025
Dear friends, After 503 days, the news we dreaded – the news we knew on some level was coming – finally arrived. And all our hearts, which have been broken […]
Hostage Release Deal Reached in Israel
January 15, 2025
Dear friends, Today’s news of the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Isarel is both a welcome relief, and a sign of much more work to come. We are especially […]
Collecting Moments of Hope
September 19, 2024
Dear friends, A week after October 7th, my family and I went to the wedding of the daughter of some of our closest friends, whom we have known for a […]
Iranian attack on Israel: Message from Heidi Gantwerk & David Bark
April 14, 2024
Friends, A few days ago, Heidi wrote to you from Sha’ar HaNegev following our second Solidarity Mission as Israeli artillery in Gaza boomed in the background. We spent four intense […]
100 Days.
January 12, 2024
This Sunday marks 100 days. One hundred days since the “Black Sabbath;” since more than 200 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken into Gaza as hostages. One hundred days of […]
Thoughts of Resilience and Light this Shabbat
December 9, 2023
Dear friends, It has been almost a week since I returned from our Federation Solidarity Mission to Israel, and as I lit the candles with friends and family from San […]
Marking One Month
November 11, 2023
Dear Friends, This past week, marking the one-month mark since the October 7 Hamas attack, has brought equal parts inspiration and joy and grief and anger. I want to start […]
Building Our Own Resilience
October 30, 2023
The last two weeks have been among the most difficult of my life, professionally and personally. Each day brings reports of acts of brutality and news of unimaginable loss in […]
Yesterday, I went to Washington D.C.
October 18, 2023
Yesterday, I, along with Federation Board Chair David Bark, flew to Washington D.C. to gather with more than 200 Federation and partner agency leaders, philanthropists, and many national officials – […]
A Weekend of Reflection: Shabbat Shalom and G'mar Chatimah Tovah
September 22, 2023
Dear Friends, This week, in preparation for Yom Kippur and the demanding work of teshuvah (repentance), I spent some time looking back at 5783, and all of the communications we […]
