MAKING OUR COMMUNITY SAFER
As we witnessed during the troubling events in Colleyville, Texas, our community faces constant threats. Our Federation’s Community Security Initiative (CSI) provides strategic and layered security assistance to over 500 Jewish community organizations in Los Angeles. As one example, our CSI team developed Project Safe Classroom — an educational program to empower teachers and school staff to use tools to keep their classrooms and students safe. Last month, CSI hosted a Project Safe Classroom seminar at Yavneh Hebrew Academy where 99 staff members and educators learned how to respond in the event of an active shooter. Additionally, 42 classrooms were equipped with lockdown backpacks that contain supplies designed to mitigate the impact of an active shooter incident. Over the lifetime of the Project Safe Classroom program, CSI has trained more than 2,000 school staff and educators, outfitted more than 1,000 classrooms with backpacks, and protected 23,800 students.
To learn more about Project Safe Classroom and how we keep our children safe, visit JewishLA.org/CSI.
SUPPORTING JEWISH MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS
As we endure the ongoing impact of the pandemic, we recognize that so many in our community are suffering from anxiety, hopelessness, and feelings of isolation. We care deeply about mental health and wellness and believe access to resources should be easy and affordable. Through our Ezra Network, we have created a safety net of accessible mental health services for our entire Jewish community. Jews in need can receive access to one-on-one sessions with a social worker and mental health services. If you would like to know more about how to access these services, please reach out via our community call line at (855) JFED-HLP.
To learn more about our mental health advocacy programs, go to JewishLA.org/Ezra.
COMBATING ANTI-ISRAEL CURRICULUM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Over the past year, we have witnessed a troubling increase in anti-Israel and antisemitic education in California schools. To combat this disturbing trend in public schools, and to provide accurate information and understanding of Israel in the classroom, we developed the Holy Land Democracy Project (HLDP). Through this transformative program, we have led delegations of high school teachers to Israel. The educators who travel with us to Israel commit to teaching a curriculum on modern Israel developed by the Federation. More than 150 teachers from approximately 100 schools have joined a Federation HLDP Israel trip and, in turn, have taught our Israel curriculum to more than 40,000 students. We are committed to continuing our efforts to develop an understanding of Israel in public schools and will bring more delegations to Israel as soon as it is safe to do so.
To learn more about the HLDP, visit JewishLA.org/HLDP.