UJC’s national campaign chair sees impact of U.S. giving in Israel

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

Joel Alperson recently returned from Israel’s northern region, where a visit to shelters and absorption centers in and near Nahariya showed him the positive impact of federation fund-raising.

During the fighting in August, he said, there were 176 public shelters for 57,000 residents; none of these shelters had air-conditioning or adequate supplies of food and water, and bathroom facilities were often in disrepair.

However, the facilities at a shelter at the absorption center run by the Jewish Agency for Israel and supported in large part by North America’s federation movement, were somewhat better.

“The conditions were difficult, but there was a feeling of community,” Alperson said. “The Ethiopian immigrants were helped by the staff, and young volunteers were playing guitars, singing, and trying to keep the children occupied.”

Alperson, national campaign chair of national United Jewish Communities, will discuss the impact of federation giving as the guest speaker at the 2006 Major Gifts Event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County and the Jewish Federation of Ocean County.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17, at the home of Janice and Richard Sambol in Red Bank.

The Monmouth County federation campaign chairs are Stephanie Ackerman of Marlboro, Joseph Hollander of Holmdel, and Andrew Melnick of Middletown.

Howard Gases, executive director of the Monmouth federation, said Alperson is in a unique position to brief the major gifts event attendees on the situation in Israel and how the funds that have been raised by the federations throughout North America have been used to benefit the country.

“Attendance at this event is even more important this year, in light of events affecting the lives of our family in Israel,” Gases said.

Alperson, 47, of Omaha, a member of UJC’s Prime Minister’s Council, is president of a company that imports retail display fixtures. He was named the chair of the 2007 federation campaign last February and assumed his new role in July. He succeeds Mark Wilf, who was a keynote speaker at the Monmouth federation’s major gifts event last year.

“I look forward to building on the accomplishments of my good friend and predecessor, Mark Wilf, and to working closely with the Jewish communities across the continent,” Alperson said.

The federation campaigns are “remarkable,” said Alperson, and continue to inspire all generations of North American Jewry to support life-saving humanitarian initiatives throughout the world.

“The UJA Federation campaign is the central vehicle through which the North American Jewish community helps fellow Jews,” he said. “I am anxious to assume the role and responsibility of leading our campaign efforts to meet the critical needs of our community. So many people depend on us to continue our vital work.”

He added that there is nothing “monotonous” about Jewish suffering. The stories may differ, but the need is always there, he said.

“The federations are not only saving lives, they’re helping other Jews to live their lives in dignity,” he said. “As Jews, we are preserving a better way of life.”

Last year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County raised more than $700,000 at its major gifts event. More than 150 attended the event, which took place at the Two River Theater in Red Bank.

Additional information about the major gifts event is available from the Monmouth federation office at 732-531-6200.