The Role and Responsibility of Federations for Israel and World Jewry

Publication Date: January 2005

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Howard Rieger

Research Area: Banking and finance; Culture and religion; Social conditions

Keywords: Allocations; Global Responsibility; Communal Organization

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Jews have always had a mandate to care for one another. Judaism flourishes in a communal setting that broadens this responsibility beyond the personal. Ever since the dispersion of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple, there has been a need to identify a series of cohesive forces that enable us to sustain ourselves. The federation system, which dates back more than 100 years, was built on the concept of domestic service through community building. Through a series of increasingly sophisticated steps, federations began extending their central role of sponsoring the annual fundraising campaign by moving into allocating funds to local and national beneficiary agencies.