‘Deeply thankful.’ Amid antisemitism spike, $5M raised for Charlotte’s Jewish community
Amid a nationwide spike in antisemitism, the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte raised a milestone $5 million in its annual campaign to support critical needs in the local Jewish community and abroad, federation officials said Friday.
“We are deeply thankful to our close to 1,600 donors who have generously given to our annual campaign,” Sam Bernstein, the federation’s chief development and marketing officer, said in a statement. “They continue to make a vital impact on the Jewish community in Charlotte and around the world.”
This year’s record-breaking campaign got a particular boost from The Leon Levine Foundation, whose $950,000 gift was the campaign’s largest ever.
“Enhancing vibrant Jewish communities is a core part of The Leon Levine Foundation’s mission, and few do that better than the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte,” Tom Lawrence, president of The Leon Levine Foundation said in the federation’s statement.
Friday’s announcement came just ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the two-day holiday that celebrates the Jewish New Year and starts the Jewish High Holiday season. The holiday begins the evening of Sunday, Sept. 25, and ends the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 27.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte’s 2022 campaign, led by chair Sara Kulbersh, helps the federation “enrich Jewish life” in the Charlotte area and world through allocations to at least 70 local and global organizations, Bernstein said.
The organizations provide activities for Jewish youth, support Jews in need, build Jewish identity and promote Jewish education, federations officials said.
The campaign meets the needs of Jews not only locally but in Israel and elsewhere around the world, according to the federation.
Funds also are essential to efforts to raise awareness of and stop antisemitism, campaign officials said.
The campaign, for instance, funds the federation’s newest initiative, “Outshine Hate: Together Against Antisemitism.”
“Outshine Hate” works to “combat antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred, and educate the wider Charlotte community,” according to the federation statement.