By Andrew Adler
Community Editor
We asked four members of Louisville’s Jewish community to share some thoughts after returning from Jewish Federations of North America’s 2024 General Assembly, which ran Nov. 10-12 in Washington, D.C. Here’s what they said:
Mike Fine
As a recent Joseph J. Kaplan Young Leadership Award winner, I was invited to attend JFNA’s 2024 General Assembly in Washington, D.C. The timing was solemn. The GA arrived on the heels of decisive state and federal elections in the United States, mob attacks on Jewish soccer fans in Amsterdam, and Hezbollah’s rocket launches into Israel’s heart. Occurring about one year removed from October 7, it provided me with an opportunity for introspection, learning and connection (reconnection?) by way of 2,000+ attendees from across North America.
I am better able to contextualize the outcome of the recent elections and voice my concerns around antisemitism – whether on college campuses, in daily life, or the halls of government. Frank Luntz, a national news contributor, and Mark Mellman, a pollster and political consultant, contextualized the “Jewish” vote during a standing-room only panel. They cautioned attendees about our country’s growing political stratification along lines of class and educational achievement. They advised us to name and fight antisemitism taking root in the extreme wings of both major political parties. Mr. Luntz reminded us about the importance of language when denouncing antisemitism. He armed attendees with a new and more effective vocabulary – using “H” words like humanity, human rights, inhumane, to which most listeners will respond positively.
I was surprised to agree with ideas espoused by Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta; and Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press. Ms. Weiss asked attendees to realize that we are living inside history and not just looking back on it. For generations, American Jews had been able to “sleepwalk” – as she put it. We must be more vigilant given recent events. Ms. Sandberg plugged Screams Before Silence, her recent documentary film exploring sexual violence by Hamas during 10/7. Ms. Sandberg has been holding screening events for the documentary across college campuses – the same ones where Jewish undergraduates have been experiencing hostility. To me, it seems like an excellent way to educate students and combat antisemitism with each stop. I applauded vigorously when Sheryl avowed that rape is a war crime, and it should be punished accordingly.
Beth Salamon
Outgoing chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council and incoming board chair of the Jewish Community of Louisville
The General Assembly this past weekend inspired me for the moment that we are in. The theme this year was Unity, and even though there was a lot of focus on the rise in antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world after October 7, there was also a sense of the Jewish community standing together and leaning into our Jewish pride. So many Jews are finding strength and solidarity with each other and there is a noticeable surge in Jewish communal life. I personally attended seminars on how to meet the moment we are in with programming and engagement across different age groups.
Also, as incoming board chair, I was fortunate to have the time to meet with board chairs from across the country and hear from experts on board leadership. The political junkie in me enjoyed the deep dive into election results and legislative priorities — and it’s always amazing to see the political people I follow on social media in real life. Most importantly, I loved the chance to bond with the nine other Louisville attendees.
Becky Admony
I was excited to go and didn’t know what to expect. The experience started when some of us met at the Louisville airport to travel as a group. The location was perfect: Washington, D.C. From the very first moment it just felt like a big gathering of a very large extension of my family (Meshbacah).
Wherever I went, random people would come up to me and just start talking. It was thrilling. We all had a lot to talk about. The age gaps, the cultural differences and the fact that we were from all over the United States, did not seem to matter at all. We had a great deal of things to say and share with one another. It felt like we are all in this together. We’re all going through similar things in our personal life and community-wise.
The schedule had a variety of activities and different lectures to choose from. We were well taken care of. Everything was effectively organized even to the smallest details. The top two events I liked the most was the rally- “We stand together”- it felt powerful and inspiring. It was at the local stadium and the program was great. There were many speakers and other entertainment. The second event I liked a lot was the last speech of the event. Sheryl Sandberg read a poem she wrote and it was very powerful. She spoke about how we are kind of ignoring what’s happening around us. According to her, we really need to awake to our new situation as Jews around the world and to be more aware. This experience truly inspired me to attend other gatherings similar to this one, and I’m very glad I was a part of it.
Bill Altman
I decided to attend the General Assembly for the first time in over 20 years because I was interested to see how Jewish leadership addressed the unprecedented times and troubling issues faced by Jews in America—the surge in anti-Semitism across the political spectrum; strained relations between Israel and the West; divergent political perspectives between American and Israeli Jews; and intergenerational divides on the Israel/Palestine conflict.
The GA did not disappoint. There were sessions with top notch speakers on all of these topics and more. I left the meeting with three impressions. First, across America there is a surge among Jews seeking engagement with other Jews as a result of recent events. And while there were some ideas presented on how to provide opportunities for engagement, there was also an honest acknowledgment that our Jewish institutions must adapt to the forms of engagement that people want. This resonated with me as we in Louisville continue to digest and develop a community-wide plan to respond to the Brandeis study which came to the same conclusion—unaffiliated Jews want engagement, but not necessarily with the programs we’ve done in the past. Second, there were insightful sessions on conflict both within Jewish communities and between the Jewish community and other groups. Nevertheless, the sessions focused on the importance of creating constructive forums for having conversations—even difficult ones—and provided tools to facilitate these conversations.
Finally, I left the conference with a ray of optimism after a very difficult year and a difficult couple of weeks. There was optimism generated by Israeli victims of October 7 sharing not only their grief, but also their strength and belief in the future. Optimism that our Jewish leadership is focused on the right issues, confronting difficult issues honestly and with creativity. And optimism in the resiliency of the Jewish people.