Menu

Our Blog

Apr 22, 2025

A Dispatch from Israel and the Gaza Envelope

By Zach Benjamin

Last month, I was privileged to spend ten days in Israel on a JCC Association of North America-hosted and funded series of leadership workshops for a cohort of thirteen newly-hired JCC CEOs. While the stated purpose of the experience was to use Israel and its remarkably res…

Apr 8, 2025

This Passover, Let us Dwell in the Common Ground of our Joy

By Zachary Benjamin

As I write this month’s reflections, we sit midway between the celebrations of Purim and Passover, two of the Hebrew calendar’s most profound observances of Jewish perseverance over challenges to our very existence. Our Jewish identities are forged, in large part, by…

Feb 24, 2025

Reflections on the Tragedy of the Bibas and Sharabi Families

By Zachary Benjamin

 

Last month, I reflected on the excruciating price of—and the rightly incalculable value that we place upon—Jewish life. At that moment, the Jewish world awaited with mixed emotions the release of the first October 7 hostages to be freed under “Phase I” of Isr…

Feb 4, 2025

Mixed Feelings on Day 471

By Zachary Benjamin

As I write this on Day 471 since Hamas committed the crimes against humanity of October 7, 2023, I feel compelled to confess an uncomfortable personal reality. The agreement struck between Israel and Hamas—a veritable deal with the devil to gradually exchange a handful…

Dec 6, 2024

A Lesson from the Maccabees in Managing Jewish Communal Conflict

By Zach Benjamin

As we approach Hanukkah with its themes of rededication, it seems appropriate that our community is engaged in an ongoing conversation regarding the renewal and re-envisioning of its physical spaces going forward. The November 18 community conversation served as a challengi…