Our Leadership

Bruchim ha'baim, chevre (welcome, friends) to the website of the Westchester Jewish Council, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Westchester!  The Council now proudly boasting over 140 member organizations and has served the Westchester Jewish Community since 1975, whose population, currently at 150,000 strong, makes it the United States' 8th largest.  In short, the Westchester Jewish Council connects Westchester Jews to each other, to their neighbors and to Israel, and does so in an ever-evolving, seamless way.

My friend and predecessor, Debra Abrahams Weiner, has been heard to say, "The Council is like that BASF commercial - we don't make the products you buy, we make the products you buy better." What Deb was saying was that the Council doesn't (usually) make the programs and events you enjoy and support; the Council just makes them better.

How so, you ask? By making connections -

By connecting to chinuch (education) - the Council regularly consults with the Board of Jewish Education, Me'ah, as well as Westchester’s Jewish day schools and synagogue religious schools. Our own interfaith work (and with our partners at the American Jewish Committee) connects people of different faiths and ethnicities and helps to educate people in our county toward a better good. Our Israel Roundtable connects groups from around our county, helping Northern Westchester know what White Plains and Southeastern Westchester is doing, and vice versa, all the while educating people on how to advocate for (and best support) our homeland. The Council is also at (and in fact, convening) the table as we begin to tackle the vexing day school issue - trying to endeavor to find some important financial solutions for that segment of our Westchester Jewish community.

By connecting to k'hilah (community) - We at the Council are currently working closely with the JCC Maccabi leadership, as we look forward to connecting the athletes and family volunteers for what will no doubt be a showcase for our wonderful community. Our government affairs group goes far and beyond our Jewish Heritage and History Month function each September. In fact, it's all about our perennial engagement of and connections to our elected officials, so that they know where we're coming from, and that on the flip side, what we can do to help them. It's about our connecting our communities to rally to support Israel and fight anti-Semitism. And it's about our support of the rejuvenated New Rochelle Jewish Coalition, where the Council (in close partnership with UJA Federation's synergy initiative), where the goal is to unify and connect that incredibly unique and diverse Jewish community (following the successful model of the 5 White Plains synagogues). In the coming months, look for the Council to increase its presence on (and make use of) the emerging social media, i.e Facebook and Twitter and in so doing continue to strengthen its connection to its membership.

By connecting to Chesed (acts of kindness) - The Council supports and salutes the wonderful work of its chief funder, the UJA -Federation of New York. Through Westchester Jewish Community Services, the Connect To Care initiative provides professional assistance to our friends in the Westchester Jewish community who have experienced a significant change in their lives due to the economic downturn. The Connect to Care Center offers job search assistance, guidance on career, legal and personal issues. As Julian Y. Bernstein, z"l, a longstanding and beloved leader of the Council once said, "Doing tzedakah is just as important as giving tzedakah." The Council and I would submit, all of its member organizations, are ever guided and connected by that principle.

So...Connect to Council! Connect by frequenting our new website and get a full sense of the programs that we coordinate or promote on behalf of our member organizations. Connect by visiting our new, state-of-the-art interactive Community Calendar, which will keep you fully abreast of the major upcoming events, lectures and happenings. Connect to Council by letting us know how we can serve you better (elliot@wjcouncil.org)!

B'shalom,  

Ronald E. Burton

President, Westchester Jewish Council

 

Mona Abramson	Louise Challop	Steffanie Harris	Beverly Rosenbaum
Dan Alcott David A. Alpert Rabbi Jaymee Alpert*	Steve Chill Joyce Claar Steve Cony	Joni Jablansky Michael Karnes Dr. Martin Keltz	David Ruzow Liz Schonfeld Dan Schorr Carolyn Schrier
Marilyn Arsham	Karen Firestone	Marc Klee	Rabbi David Schuck
Harold Aspis Joy Avidan	Elise Flagg Asher Gaffney	Rabbi Susan Mitrani Knapp Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky*	Bert Schwarz
Susan Taxin Baer Scott Baken Shari Balaish Betsy Bernstein Tracey Bilski .	David Glasser Wayne Goldstein	Stuart Kolbert  Betsy Landis Arnold Linhardt Lee Lowell Susan Pecker Keith Reich Mark Reisman Barry Richman Lisa Roberts Judy Stern Rosen	Stan Selbst Harry Waizer Clifford Wolf Charlotte Yudin Harriett Zeller
* = ex-officio

 

Debra Abrahams Weiner	Samuel Stein (z"/)
Irwin S. Davison	Hon. Sam Eisenberg
Lester J. Millman	Hon. Samuel G. Fredman
Donald Landis	Clarice Pressner
Saul Singer	Rabbi Amiel Wohl

Andrew Benerofe.	Hon. Nita Lowey
Froma Benerofe	Abigail Mandel
Hon. Eliot Engel
Donald Fleishaker
Robert Friedland

Executive Director	Elliot Forchheimer
Assistant Executive Director	Pam Goldstein
Financial Administrator	Margo Lampert
J Teen Leadership	Abbe Marcus
Project Manager WAJE Director Marketing and Office Manager Directory Manager	Donna Bartell Nina Luban Debbie Schwartz Joi Baum