'New Beginnings' - 'New Beginnings' - A national early childhood effort to develop an integrative program according to community needs that arise which is implemented in the 50-some participating communities.

(The) Jewish Summer - Program launched by JDC in 2006 in Belgrade, Serbia, in which a group of Jewish youngsters take part in a local Jewish day camp and then in the Jewish camp in Bulgaria before moving on to Hungary and a session at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/JDC International Summer Camp at Szarvas.

(Weinberg) The Penni and Stephen Weinberg Center for Lay Leadership in Israel - The Penni and Stephen Weinberg Center for Lay Leadership in Israel - Through this newly-established center, JDC will work to form a new cadre of lay leadership in Israel.  The Center will work to improve the governance and oversight abilities of public boards, as well as implement targeted programs to promote lay leadership from various professional communities.

13:17 Project - 13:17 Project - Developed by JDC during the height of Argentina’s economic crisis, the program today continues to provide Jewish teenagers with a nurturing Jewish framework for sports and cultural activities during summer and winter school breaks. The majority of participants are from families that are still part of the social assistance network. The teenagers get a daily meal, an outlet for their energy, a place to meet other Jewish youngsters, an opportunity to add to their Jewish knowledge, and a feeling of belonging to a caring community. Over the past year, a monthly Saturday night activity was added to the program with the aid of various partners.

Accessible Community Initiative - Accessible Community Initiative - This Initiative increases the involvement of people with disabilities in community life and in decision-making processes that affect their lives.

Adler Feeding Program - Adler Feeding Program - Implemented by JDC in the Baltic countries, the program continues to ensure that families in the most desperate financial situations can provide their children with the nourishment they need. In Latvia and Estonia, the program has been providing monthly cash assistance for the purchase of basic food supplies, while in Lithuania, it delivers monthly food packages with nutritional staples. Operating through the Jewish schools and the local Jewish welfare organizations, the program also provides its young clients with vitamin supplements and special food packages before Jewish holidays, and it has generated a number of welfare-related community projects. 

Agro-Joint - Agro-Joint - The America Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation. Founded by JDC in the Soviet Union in 1924 to promote the wide-scale establishment of new Jewish farm settlements, thereby saving Jews from privation and enabling them to recover the citizenship rights they were being deprived of as “non-productive” artisans and traders. Nearly 70,000 Jews had been resettled by 1934, when the Soviet government’s industrialization program and new granting of citizenship rights effectively ended the Agro-Joint experiment, and many settlers soon abandoned the colonies for better opportunities in urban areas

All-Former Yugoslav Jewish Children’s Camp - All-Former Yugoslav Jewish Children’s Camp - Since 2004, the Zagreb Jewish community, with JDC’s support, has been organizing an all-former Yugoslav Jewish children’s camp at Pirovac, the community campsite on the Dalmatian coast where similar JDC-supported programs nurtured earlier generations of Yugoslav Jewish youth.

Alternative Learning Space - Alternative Learning Space - Provides an environment for combating truancy and transitioning students back into the classroom.

AMEN - AMEN - The AMEN (Youth Volunteering City) program develops volunteerism and leadership capabilities among teenagers and young adults in Israel, including those from Israel’s most vulnerable communities. It uses forums, training initiatives, and the development of attractive new frameworks to attract greater numbers of participants who want to help in meeting local needs. The program now includes nationwide partner­ship volunteer initiatives with the Israel Fire and Rescue Services and the Hapoel Tel Aviv Sports Club. AMEN volunteers were an important resource during the summer of 2006 war, and they have been an integral part of recovery efforts like the Northern Lights Project

AMIA - AMIA - The Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (the Argentine Mutual Aid Association), the central welfare and social service organization of the Argentine Jewish community. It was the AMIA building, the Jewish community’s central headquarters, that was destroyed in a July 1994 terrorist bombing that left 87 people dead and 200 wounded, traumatizing and destabilizing this community even as Argentina’s economic troubles began to accelerate. JDC continues to work closely with AMIA and with other local organizations as it helps the Jewish community regain its equilibrium and meet ongoing needs generated by the country’s recent economic crisis.

Ariel Foundation (Ariel Job and Business Center) - Ariel Foundation (Ariel Job and Business Center) - Developed by JDC and the Argentinean Jewish community at the height of that country’s financial crisis in the early years of this decade, the center has subsequently helped many community members recover their economic footing. Its services have included resume writing, career counseling, job training and placement programs, networking, and the provision of small business loans. It has supported the opening or expansion of a variety of micro-businesses, thereby furnishing community members with earning and employment opportunities throughout this difficult period.

Armenia Building - Armenia Building - A building in Yerevan, Armenia, that JDC helped the Jewish community purchase and renovate. It houses a synagogue, Orot Hesed (the local welfare center), a Jewish library, a soup kitchen, a Sunday school, and the Jewish Community Center.

Ashalim Child Protection Centers -  See Beit Lynn Protection Center.

Ashalim: Programs for Children & Youth at Risk - The Association for Planning and Development of Services for Children and Youth at Risk and their Families. Founded in 1998, Ashalim is a ground-breaking partnership of UJA-Federation of New York, the Israeli government, and JDC that aims to secure a brighter future for Israel’s at-risk young populations. Over the past decade, it has developed and piloted over 300 programs for youngsters of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds, the most effective of which have been replicated nationwide. Its innovative, community-based interventions have strengthened and improved services for the nearly 350,000 Israeli youngsters who are considered to be at-risk of neglect or abuse and their families, and by sharing its cutting edge methodologies it has enhanced the ability of Israel’s professional community to respond.

Avi Chayil - Avi Chayil - The Avi Chayil (Hebrew for “Father of Valor”) program is an employment/empowerment effort for Ethiopian-Israeli men that was adopted from the Eshet Chayil initiative.  

Avoda Micro-Financing and Employment Center - Avoda Micro-Financing and Employment Center - Operating in Ukraine, the center, which was established in 2006, aims to strengthen local Jewish communities by increasing the range of available employment opportunities. It provides training courses in entrepreneurship and business management, as well as small business loans and mentoring services for budding entrepreneurs.

Baby Help - Baby Help - The Baby Help program, initiated by JDC in 2003 at the height of the Argentinean economic crisis, has been furnishing special assistance to a particularly vulnerable segment of the Argentine Jewish community—babies and children up to five years of age and pregnant women living below the poverty line. The program supplies baby formula, fortified milk, nutritional supplements, and other food aid, as well as vitamins, medicines, vaccines, diapers, and various pieces of baby equipment. Parents have benefited from a variety of supportive activities and counseling programs, and the families’ ties to the community have been strengthened through their involvement in key life cycle celebrations, holiday programs, and new, hands-on lessons in Jewish living.

Baku Jewish House - Baku Jewish House - Officially opened in the summer of 2004, this refurbished three-story building in Baku, Azerbaijan, serves as the headquarters and central address for local Jewish community organizations, including Hesed Gershon, the Hava charity center, the local Hillel student organization, and the Baku Jewish Community Center (JCC). Over 1,600 people have been participating in JCC programming, which ranges from communitywide holiday celebrations and Jewish theater and musical performances to family clubs and Jewish-themed camps for children.

Balint Jewish Community Center (JCC) - Balint JCC: The Balint Jewish Community Center has, since 1994, become a true hub for Jewish activities, offering a wide range of events, clubs, courses, and cultural programs for all age groups and segments of the community. The center was recently refurbished to better serve the needs of its members, attract newcomers, and house exciting social and community-building events. A greater emphasis is now being placed on fundraising and marketing, increasing local memberships, and gathering cooperation and partnerships with civil society groups and individuals within the Jewish community. In recent years, the center has attracted a greater number of people through its innovative, diverse programming. A resource center and a Jewish home, the Balint serves as a focal point for many Jews seeking to discover and express their Jewish identity. Examples of ongoing programs and events include: Children’s Play Center, Bi-weekly Hora Dancing, Language classes, Art, Computer Room, Fitness Centers, Film Club, Weekly Shabbat Services, Lectures, Special Holiday Celebrations, and more.

Baltic Summer Camp - See Olameinu Baltic Summer Camp

Bambinim Early Childhood Education Program - Bambinim Early Childhood Education Program - One of the Jewish educational initiatives and family-oriented programs that JDC has been helping the Jewish émigré community in Germany develop in order to raise Jewish awareness and provide multiple entryways into Jewish life.  Originally launched in Berlin, the Bambinim program was recently extended to Duisburg, and parallel meetings and activities were developed for the youngsters’ parents.

Bayit Cham Program - Bayit Cham Program - The program was developed by JDC in the former Soviet Union to aid and help alleviate the loneliness plaguing so many Jewish elderly; its name is Hebrew for a “warm home.” Throughout the region, small groups of elderly Hesed clients are regularly hosted by those who have volunteered their homes, with participants benefiting from nutritious meals as well as much-needed social contact. Special activities for the Jewish holidays and other programs with Jewish content reinforce the clients’ sense of belonging to a caring Jewish community. The program has been adopted by ESHEL in Israel, where it is of special help to non-Hebrew speaking immigrants; it has also been implemented in Jewish communities in Romania and the Baltic countries.

Bayiti - Bayiti - JDC’s small home for the aged in India with day center programming. Activities include Jewish study and discussion sessions, arts and crafts, gardening, and festive Jewish holiday gatherings. Staff members operate one of the community’s two Help Lines, which continue to provide reassurance and support to Jewish elderly in the Mumbai/Thane area.

Beit Alicia Home for the Aged in Jerusalem - Beit Alicia Home for the Aged in Jerusalem - A residential facility for the mentally and physically frail elderly operated by the Jerusalem-based Idan Services for the Elderly, one of a large network of non-profit associations serving the elderly for whom JDC-ESHEL continues to provide various forms of professional support.

Beit Ha’am - Beit Ha’am - The first Jewish Community Center (JCC) established in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the post-Communist era, Beit Ha’am became the setting for an ever-expanding range of programs instituted by Shalom, the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria, for every age group and segment of the community, with assistance and support from JDC. As community needs continued to grow, a search began for additional space for activities—leading to the development of a second JCC, called Beit Shalom.

Beit Lynn Protection Center - Beit Lynn Protection Center - Developed by Ashalim, this Jerusalem center is the prototype for a new model of assistance for children in Israel who are victims of sexual abuse. Operating in partnership with the Ministries of Health, Justice, and Social Affairs, the police, and Hadassah Hospital, the center offers these children a comprehensive set of services, bringing key response agencies together under one roof to ensure prompt and sensitive investigation, assessment, and treatment.

Beit Shalom Jewish Community Center - Beit Shalom Jewish Community Center - Sofia, Bulgaria’s second JCC was dedicated in 2006 and occupies three floors in a renovated, restituted building. Designed to be self- sufficient, rental income from the commercial tenants occupying the building’s other two floors will help cover the center’s operating costs. Beit Shalom provides ample space for the programs instituted by Shalom, the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria, in recent years to meet community demand for more cultural and educational activities, especially for young families and the middle generation.

Beitenu Centers - Beitenu Centers - In Central, Western, and Southern Ukraine, over 20 Beitenu Centers are addressing the physical, social, and emotional needs of at-risk children and youth and their families. In addition to providing food, clothing, and medical assistance, the centers conduct after school activities that offer the youngsters professional counseling, help with their studies, and Jewish educational activities. The Odessa center also offers computer training, and it has a special program for special needs children that includes physical therapy, horseback riding, additional medical attention, and family retreats.

Bejt Elend - Bejt Elend - An independent and highly successful informal Jewish educational program for children in Prague, in the Czech Republic. It began as an after school program and has grown to include bar/bat mitzvah training and a youth club, with arts activities, English courses, and recreational outings. Special emphasis has been placed on reaching out to youngsters with special needs, new immigrants from the East, and children living in single-parent families.

Beseva Tova - Beseva Tova - Named for the Hebrew phrase for a “ripe old age,” the Beseva Tova (or Aging with Dignity) program was spearheaded by JDC-ESHEL under the auspices of Israel’s President in response to concern over poverty among Israel’s elderly. The resulting wide-ranging partnership has been addressing the housing, nutrition, and health care needs of low-income Israeli seniors.

Beslan (Russia) Trauma Relief and Resilience-Building Project - Beslan (Russia) Trauma Relief and Resilience-Building Project - This project was developed by JDC in collaboration with the Israel Trauma Coalition and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the psychological needs of this North Ossetian community following the September 2004 school hostage crisis and killings in this North Ossetian town. The project strengthened local resources by training professionals in the fields of mental health care, education, and welfare.

Better Together - Better Together - Developed by Ashalim, this program has facilitated the establishment of community-wide frameworks to address children’s needs in some of Israel’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Harnessing the capacity of local residents and service agencies, the program encourages communities to work proactively to revitalize from within. The Better Together program, a neighborhood-based initiative providing a full range of services for at-risk children and their families, serves some 14,000 youngsters in nine neighborhoods.

Beyachad - Beyachad - Hebrew for “together,” Beyachad is the name of two programs developed and/or supported by JDC.

Beyachad Festival - Beyachad Festival - In Croatia, JDC’s involvement in the weeklong Beyachad Festival is part of its ongoing effort to preserve regional Jewish solidarity in the former Yugoslavia by promoting cross-border contacts and reinforcing communal ties. The festival brings large numbers of Jews from all parts of the former Yugoslavia (and from around the world) together during the Sukkot holiday each fall on the Croatian island of Hvar, in the Adriatic Sea.  Participants celebrate their unique Jewish heritage with a variety of cultural activities and opportunities for Jewish learning.

Beyachad Program - Beyachad Program - In Argentina, where so many Jewish community members were devastated by the nation’s economic crisis earlier this decade, the Beyachad Program—supported by a full roster of local communal institutions—has provided families in need with a communal setting for Jewish holiday celebrations that they could not otherwise afford to mark. It proved to be an important source of moral support for the beleaguered community, and it continues to support Pesach and Rosh Hashanah programs today for some 5,500 community members.

Bikkur Cholim Clinics - Bikkur Cholim Clinics - Satellite outpatient centers set up by the Riga Jewish Hospital in Latvia in conjunction with the local Jewish community. The clinics are expected to generate much-needed income for the hospital while serving elderly Jews.

Black Sea Gesher Region - See: Weinberg Black Sea Gesher Region

Braille Club - Braille Club - Established by JDC in Bucharest, Romania, with the help of JBI International, the club offers weekly social activities for visually impaired, mostly elderly community members, and it has a lending library of audio books. JBI offers similar programs in the provinces.

Bratislava Kosher Kitchen - Bratislava Kosher Kitchen - This JDC-supported facility in Bratislava, Slovakia, produces an average of 2,200 meals each month for the elderly and for other needy members of the community. That number includes meals served in the kitchen's dining room, at the Ohel David Jewish Home for the Aged, and at the Chabad kindergarten, as well as those delivered to the homebound.

Bucharest Jewish Community Center (JCC) - Bucharest Jewish Community Center (JCC) - Housed in an extensively renovated facility, Bucharest’s new JCC was designed to be an attractive, up-to-date venue for community activities, with innovative, high quality, but affordable programs for all age groups that will appeal to the unaffiliated and draw youth and young families into community life.

Buncher Community Leadership Program - Buncher Community Leadership Program - Established in 1989 as a partnership of the Buncher Family Foundation, the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, and JDC, the program can point with pride to the many Buncher graduates holding key positions today in Jewish communities worldwide. Dedicated to training Jewish community leaders in Europe, the former Soviet Union, India, Latin America, and beyond, the program, which is operated by JDC, offers a series of intensive seminars and workshops conducted in the participants’ own language, and held both in Israel and in their local communities. Mentoring is part of the framework, which aims to strengthen participants’ Jewish identity, affinity for Israel, and commitment to communal service.

Buncher University Scholarship Program - Buncher University Scholarship Program - The impact of this leadership training program has been magnified in recent years by a number of regional scholarship funds, which have been helping university students in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Latin America complete their studies while engaging in volunteer work in their local Jewish communities.

Casablanca Jewish Home for the Aged - Casablanca Jewish Home for the Aged - Maintained by the Jewish community in Casablanca with help from JDC, this Moroccan facility is home to 51 residents, with 60 additional elderly benefiting from services provided at the day center operating out of this spacious institution. Recreational and therapeutic activities initiated and supervised by JDC local staff and recent JDC Jewish Service Corps volunteers include exercise and physiotherapy sessions, music programs, holiday celebrations, social events, and excursions. OSE furnishes 24-hour medical supervision and nursing care as needed at an in-house facility set up a few years ago with JDC’s support.

Centers for Independent Living (CIL) - Centers for Independent Living (CIL) - CIL’s multiple centers provide services such as peer counseling, advocacy, information, and practical support. 

Centers for Young Adults - Centers for Young Adults - Launched by JDC-Israel in 2004 to help young people new to Israel make crucial, life-shaping decisions, these centers are now serving both immigrant and veteran Israelis. The centers offer assistance and information on a broad range of topics, including higher education, employment, housing, parenthood, and social responsibility.

Central Jewish Welfare Commission - Central Jewish Welfare Commission - A national Polish Jewish community entity, made up of representatives of the country’s five major Jewish organizations. In 2003, JDC, as part of its efforts to encourage local self-sufficiency, transferred full technical management of its cash assistance and welfare program for elderly and impoverished Holocaust survivors to the commission, whose organizational capacity has continued to grow.

Chabad School – Casablanca - Chabad School – Casablanca - One of the three remaining Jewish school networks in Casablanca, Morocco, all of which have been helping to maintain the vibrancy of this community. Determined to see that all Jewish children receive a high quality Jewish and secular education that will serve them well in Morocco or elsewhere, JDC continues to furnish financial support and professional assistance, and has been working to enhance computer literacy among teachers and students.

Chabad School - Tunis - Chabad School - Tunis - The Chabad Lubavitch School, also known as the Pinson School in memory of its revered founder, is the only Jewish school in that Tunisian city. Despite its small enrollment, it continues to respond admirably to the crucial need for Jewish education in Tunis. JDC helps to support the school and to ensure that its quality of instruction remains high by supplying it with new books and instructional materials and arranging for teacher training and the services of a pedagogical consultant. With help from ORT and a generous private donor, JDC recently opened a computer learning center at the school that has quickly become the students’ pride and joy.

Chai Family Service - Chai Family Service - Provides assistance to children and families in need in Ukraine using a holistic, family-centered case management approach. It offers a range of welfare and social support programs for special needs children and their families.

Children’s SOS and Basic Needs Program - See DSOS Programs

CIN Program - Children in Need program - Through Children in Need programs in various European countries, JDC has been helping local Jewish communities provide various forms of assistance for their most vulnerable children, including food, medicine, school supplies, and scholarships for activities that give the children a chance to take part in Jewish community life. The programs are thereby helping to promote the well-being of these at-risk youngsters, as well as their Jewish future.

City Works Program - City Works program - A community employment program for cities with higher than average unemployment rates.

Club Ilan - Club Ilan - The Jewish community’s popular children’s program in Vilnius, Lithuania, which offers daily activities for children and youth, including computer training for teenagers in a newly renovated computer room. As part of its Jewish renewal and community development efforts in the Baltic countries, JDC helped establish Club Ilan, as well as similar programs for Jewish children in Riga, Latvia, and Tallinn, Estonia. All of these clubs have been flourishing, and organized Jewish youth activities are regularly held in the region’s smaller towns.

Communal Meals - Communal Meals - Hot meals are served in community dining rooms in the former Soviet Union and parts of Central and Eastern Europe for destitute Jewish elderly as well as children and their families.

Communal Property Reclamation - The Jewish communal property restitution process in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union began with the fall of the Iron Curtain, when pressure was brought to bear on former Communist bloc countries to return wrongfully appropriated Jewish assets. Jewish communal property includes synagogues, schools, ritual baths, hospitals, land, and cemeteries once owned by a Jewish community, congregation, or organization, whether now existing or destroyed. Most often, the properties were confiscated by the Nazis during World War II or seized by the various Communist regimes, a fate that also befell other faiths now pursuing similar property claims. The process is an ongoing one; its pace and the results achieved to date vary from country to country.

Computer Centers in Cuba - ORT, a partner agency in Latin America, enables JDC to equip computer centers for use by the local Jewish communities in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camaguey, thereby helping to facilitate the organization of a variety of communal programs and activities.

Computers for All Ages Program - Developed in Israel by JDC-ESHEL, the program has introduced computers into seniors' clubs, day-care centers, and nursing homes and encouraged computer-literate seniors to teach their peers.

Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) - Created in 1951 primarily to advocate for compensation and restitution from Germany and Austria. The Claims Conference is JDC’s major partner in providing welfare services to needy elderly Jewish victims of Nazi persecution in the former Soviet republics and in Central and Eastern Europe. These Claims Conference beneficiaries have often been called "double victims," for they have suffered through the horrors of the Holocaust as well as decades of repression under Communist regimes.

Council of Jewish Communities - The umbrella organization of the local Jewish communities in Morocco.  JDC has been encouraging the Council to become more involved in funding social and educational services, and it consults regularly with Council leaders.

Day Care Centers (Israel) - Day care centers, part of JDC-ESHEL’s services, for the elderly provide a wide range of personal care and paraprofessional services, as well as social and cultural activities. They provide for the disabled and mentally frail elderly an opportunity to spend much of each day in a secure, comfortable and inviting setting.

Day Care Centers in Peripheral Communities - Jewish community day care centers and clubs for seniors in various locations, including outlying towns, offer physical therapy programs as well as opportunities for the elderly to overcome their loneliness and isolation.

Day Center - Elderly clients attend Day Center once a week for meals, medical care, exercise, physical therapy, lectures, and social activities.

Day Centers for Children - Through Day Center programs in the former Soviet Union, at-risk children’s material, emotional, developmental, and social needs are all addressed. Psychologists and other staff members work with the children and parents, often helping the latter to improve their parenting skills and secure jobs that will add to their household income.

DEJJ - The Departement Educatif de la Jeunesse Juive au Maroc. DEJJ youth programs in Casablanca, Morocco, offer computer facilities and sports, cultural, and social activities to over 160 Jewish youngsters year-round and more than 500 during the Jewish holidays, when young families often return to Morocco to be with their parents or other relatives. JDC has provided financial support and professional assistance for these programs.

Djerba Yeshiva - The centuries-old Djerba Yeshiva is one of the major Jewish institutions on this Tunisian island. JDC covers about 20 percent of its budget, helping to support educational programs for some 167 boys. With support from generous donors, JDC was able to subsidize a major renovation effort in 2007, which added four new classrooms, a dining hall, and various other facilities.

Dobra Volja (La Benevolencija) - The humanitarian aid society of the Macedonian Jewish community, which JDC helped establish in 1999.

Dor Va Dor JCC - Situated in Tallinn, Estonia, the center offers a rich menu of social, cultural, religious, and educational programs and services to Jews of all ages. Its newly added Posner Floor provides critically needed space for the welfare center and community canteen, as well as an area suitable for larger communitywide events.

DSOS Programs - Dietsky or Children’s SOS and Basic Needs Programs were established by JDC in the former Soviet Union to respond to urgent needs among the region’s Jewish children. They provide one-time or ongoing material assistance that may include food, medicines and medical equipment, warm clothing, shoes, and blankets, as well as help in paying for medical operations, essential home repairs, and family heating and utility bills.

ECHAD - Ashalim's Early Childhood Achievement and Development Partnership with the Israeli Government and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco to improve the quality of Israel's early childhood services for the Arab-Israeli population by working with children, parents and professionals.

Economic Unit - The Economic Unit was established and funded by JDC to aid unemployed Jewish community members who have been relying on community support. The Unit offers employment counseling, training programs, and small business development assistance, and it succeeded in placing 107 applicants in new jobs in 2007.

Employment Initiative - See Tevet Employment Initiative.

Endowment Fund for Holocaust Victims (EFHV) - Established by the Czech government to compensate individuals ineligible to reclaim property under Czech law, to pay for the renovation and maintenance of Jewish cemeteries and synagogues throughout the country, and to finance special projects proposed by Jewish communities, organizations, and institutions.  JDC is a member of the EFHV Advisory Committee, which distributes annual grants in the areas of social welfare, education, and cultural projects benefiting the community.

ESHEL (JDC-ESHEL): Services for the Elderly - The Association for the Planning and Development of Services for the Aged in Israel. Established in 1969 as a partnership of JDC and various Israeli government ministries, ESHEL has been instrumental in enhancing the quality of life for Israel’s senior citizens.

Eshet Chayil - The Eshet Chayil (Hebrew for “Women of Valor”) program was initially developed by JDC in Israel to help Ethiopian-Israeli women find gainful employment. It has since been adapted to meet the needs of other hard-to-absorb immigrant populations, as well as the long-term jobless.

European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) - A pan-European umbrella group that, together with JDC, organizes conferences, meetings, and seminars for lay leaders and professionals that focus on various fields of communal endeavor.

European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) - JDC helps support the activities of this pan-European student umbrella organization, which organizes a variety of regional events and study seminars as well as a popular Summer University that is held in a different city each year.

Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center (EPJCC) - JDC’s flagship community program in Mumbai, India, named in memory of the much-loved country director who worked so hard to bring it to fruition. The EPJCC moved to new and larger premises in November 2004, with more space now available for the Jewish activities it has been organizing for all age groups. These include a bi-monthly Sunday school for children and day camps during school holidays; classes in Hebrew and a range of Jewish subjects for all segments of the community, including a bar/bat mitzvah training course; holiday celebrations; a workshop and monthly discussion group for women; regular meetings, outings, and social events for seniors—who now have their own computer class; a cyber café, an expanded Jewish library, and a variety of activities for young adults.

Family Programs (Romania) - The Bucharest JCC, which opened early in 2007, has introduced new Jewish education programs for parents and young children, and it organizes summer camps for Jewish families at the recently renovated community retreat center in Cristian.

FEDROM - The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania. Romanian Jewry’s nationwide communal infrastructure, which has been engaged in a unique partnership with JDC since 1969. In conjunction with FEDROM’s national leadership, JDC has provided financial and professional support for a specially tailored, quality network of Jewish institutional and community services in Romania, and it continues to respond to changing needs. FEDROM has also established key partnerships with various North American federations, and they are providing important support for social welfare programs as well as for community development activities.

Food Cards - Recently introduced in many Hesed welfare centers in the former Soviet Union, Food Cards, or “supermarket debit cards” enable clients to purchase products of their choice (with the exception of alcohol and cigarettes) at stores vetted by the Hesed for selection and price. The initiative gives clients access to fresher ingredients while restoring their sense of control over personal needs. The cards are also improving the efficiency of the Hesed network’s food delivery service and are replacing other food programs. Supermarket debit cards are also provided to vulnerable young Jewish families through the IFCJ-JDC Partnership for Children in the FSU, to needy Jews in Europe, and as part of the social assistance programs in Argentina.

Food Distribution Program (Ethiopia) - Part of JDC’s humanitarian assistance efforts for the Felas Mora, this food distribution program, which was made possible by generous Federation support, has provided much-needed assistance for special cases, including families with special needs, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Supplementary food was also provided to families with children in the nutritional program, to help speed the youngsters’ recovery, and micronutrients were added to their diet.

Food Packages - Monthly packages containing items such as oil, sugar, rice, grains, tea, pasta, and condensed milk are provided to elderly who are able to cook for themselves, and to vulnerable children and their families.

Food Support - The eight kosher kitchens operated by the Union of Jewish Religious Communities of Poland (JRCP), one of JDC’s local partners, serve free meals to needy, mostly elderly Jews, with operating costs covered locally. JDC funds the purchase of kosher meat and supplies matzah and other Passover foods. Along with other forms of assistance, food was provided to some 120 Jewish children last year through JDC’s Children in Need program.

Fresh Food Sets - Part of the Hesed network’s hunger relief program in the former Soviet Union and also distributed to impoverished Jews in Europe, the sets may include fish, dairy products, eggs, fruit, and other perishable items. They are delivered primarily to needy elderly Jews who lack the strength or mobility to go to the market regularly, but are still able to cook for themselves; and to vulnerable Jewish children and their families who depend on JDC assistance to meet their basic needs.

From Risk to Opportunity - A program model developed by JDC in Israel to help lower the dropout rate and incidence of delinquency among immigrant youth. The initiative has been helping at-risk youth enrich their language skills and strengthen their identities as Israelis.

Gan Katan - Gan Limudim - Informal classes for elementary school children on Jewish holidays, culture, and tradition. The classes are held twice a month.

General Assembly of European Jewry (European GA) - A key part of JDC’s international community development efforts, the scope of this gathering belies its name, going well beyond continental boundaries to bring together Jewish communities from Morocco to Kazakhstan. The third European GA was organized in Budapest in May 2004, the first to be held in the eastern half of the continent. It garnered rave reviews from the 1,056 lay and professional leaders in attendance, among them the top leaders of JDC.

Gesher Young Adults’ Club - This Baltics-area program involves whole families in Jewish life by attracting hard-to-reach young and middle-generation adults – many with children in Club Ilan – through holiday, educational, and social activities. The club serves as a social network and a breeding ground for new community leaders and has become a model of programming for this important age group.

Gmilut Hasidim Project - Named for the Hebrew phrase for “acts of loving kindness,” this Vilnius, Lithuania, program was developed by a Jewish social work student at Vilnius University with JDC’s encouragement and support. The project arranges visits by students at the local Jewish school to homebound elderly welfare beneficiaries.

Goods-in-Kind Program - JDC ships considerable quantities of clothing for distribution among members of the Jewish community and to non-sectarian charities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Guidestar.com - Israel's first comprehensive data-base of non-profits and charities (in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of Justice and Yad Hanadiv).

Hadracha College - Established in Sofia, Bulgaria, with JDC’s help, the Hadracha College offers a two-year, weekly Jewish educational and leadership training program for youth counselors. The program is run by community professionals and the leaders of Sofia’s Jewish Youth Club.

Hadracha Training Institute - In Turkey, the Jewish community joined with JDC and The Jewish Agency for Israel to establish a new training initiative for youth leaders (madrichim), with the aim of cultivating a new generation of leaders among the community’s young adults. Working in cooperation with the Weinberg Black Sea Gesher Region, the Institute held its inaugural seminar in January 2007.

Hatikvah Help Line - Maintained by Or Chaim in Slovakia, it responds to approximately 300 calls annually, mostly from elderly Jews.

Havens of Calm - A program developed by JDC in Sderot, Israel, to help children cope with the fears and anxieties induced by years of ongoing rocket attacks on the area. It is one of the programs launched by JDC with the Israel Trauma Coalition and other partners to address the increased needs of children in the conflict zones for therapy, counseling or emotional and educational support.

Hesed Mobiles - Developed by JDC to reach the thousands of needy Jews living in small towns and shtetls far from Hesed centers, Hesed Mobiles use specially trained staff to fan out to remote locations, bringing food, medicine, winter relief, and Jewish books and periodicals to these impoverished and isolated Jews.  Staff members also arrange for neighbors to assist their clients, and they provide help with urgent household repairs.

Hesed Welfare Centers - Named for the Hebrew word for “kindness, compassion or benevolence,” JDC’s welfare centers in the former Soviet Union (FSU) embody the "charitable deeds" and "acts of loving kindness" encapsulated in this term. The Hesed welfare program (or simply Hesed, as the system has come to be known) is JDC's unique, community-based relief approach in the FSU, which was first implemented in 1993 in St. Petersburg in response to the stark needs of impoverished, elderly Jews. Promoting Jewish communal development was an integral part of this effort; hence the program was deliberately designed to cultivate self-sufficiency and build a cadre of trained Jewish professionals and volunteers. The network of Hesed centers subsequently established by JDC in tandem with the local Jewish populations provides a wide range of social services throughout the length and breadth of the FSU. The centers operate on three basic principles: total community involvement, volunteerism, and service provision in an atmosphere of Yiddishkeit. Hesed’s unique form of caring was recognized by the Russian Academy of Languages, which adopted the word “hesed” as a new Russian word meaning “the provision of social services with special compassion.”

Hillel Pesach Project - A hallmark Hillel initiative implemented in cooperation with JDC and The Jewish Agency, the projects brings young adults from North America and Israel together with their counterparts in the former Soviet Union each year to conduct Passover seders for tens of thousands of children, families, and elderly Jews across this vast region. Building on the Pesach Project’s success, Hillel members now also lead communal High Holiday, Hanukkah, and Purim celebrations.

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life - The world’s largest Jewish campus organization, Hillel provides opportunities for Jewish students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity through its global network of more than 500 regional centers, campus foundations, and student organizations. In the former Soviet Union (FSU), the 27 Hillel centers that JDC has helped to establish play a key role in Jewish renewal efforts. They have succeeded in expanding Jewish knowledge and fostering Jewish commitment among university-age Jewish students, while encouraging their involvement in the wider community with programs like the legendary Pesach Project and other holiday initiatives.

Home Care - Home care workers assist homebound elderly with basic activities of daily living such as bathing, laundry, and cleaning; and help support the healthy growth and development of ill, homebound children.

Hungarian General Assembly (GA) - Four-day event comprised presentation sessions on topics such as education, religion, philanthropy, youth, and cultural/community development. The Hungarian Jewish Forum——the coalition of 18 organizations that JDC helped to create as a component of its community building work in the country—organized the monumental gathering.

Hungarian Jewish Social Support Foundation (HJSSF) - A Western-style social service provider that JDC helped the Hungarian Jewish community to establish in 1990. Working primarily through HJSSF, JDC today continues to support various forms of assistance and services for impoverished elderly Jews and other community members in Hungary.

Iaamod Program - Established in Argentina as part of JDC’s response to the country’s economic crisis earlier this decade, the Iaamod program continues to help youngsters of bar or bat mitzvah age mark this important Jewish milestone despite their families’ financial difficulties.  Pronounced “Ya’amod,” the name is a Spanish transliteration of the Hebrew word for “Stand” or “Rise Up,” and is the initial word in the traditional phrase used to “call up” the bar or bat mitzvah youngster to the Torah.

ID Believe Program: The Self-Employment Initiative for Young People - Part of the comprehensive TEVET employment initiative in Israel, the program provides young adults with training, mentoring, and start-up funding to open their own businesses.

Immigrant Integration - Since 1948, JDC has been helping Israel respond to the needs of its most vulnerable new immigrants. Focusing today on education, employment, leadership, and community development initiatives, JDC is helping immigrants from various cultural backgrounds benefit from the opportunities that Israeli society offers.

International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) - From unclaimed, or heirless, insurance policies, ICHEIC has set aside a $132 million fund, which it has allocated over a multi-year period to welfare agencies that benefit Holocaust survivors worldwide. Payments are administered by the Claims Conference and are currently helping to finance vital services and improve the quality of life for needy survivors in many of the countries in which JDC operates.

Israel: Responding to Crisis - Working since 1914 to meet the day-to-day needs of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens uniquely positions JDC to mobilize quickly to ease suffering in times of emergency.

Israelis with Disabilities - JDC has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the quality of life for some 400,000 Israeli adults with disabilities, developing community-based programs that have enhanced their ability to live as independently as possible in the community. Efforts to expand services and accessibility are part of this continuum, and JDC has been working to increase the involvement of people with disabilities in decisions that affect their lives.

Ittihad - The Moroccan branch of the France-based Alliance Israelite Universelle’s worldwide educational organization, Ittihad maintains one of the three remaining Jewish school systems in Casablanca, all of which play a vital role in the life of this Jewish community. To ensure that all Jewish children in Morocco receive a high quality Jewish and secular education, JDC continues to furnish financial support and professional assistance, concentrating especially of late on helping children with learning difficulties and special educational needs.

Jaffe Jewish Family Service - Jaffe Jewish Family Service: When a professional study revealed the existence of poverty among Jewish children, JDC—with  a generous grant from the Jaffe Family—opened a Jewish Family service in Hungary to address this problem. The role of the JFS is to serve as an umbrella organization that will provide and coordinate comprehensive social support services and referrals for Jewish families. This agency extends the reach of existing programs to serve additional children and families, provide additional programming and professional support and help families better access community, local and government resources to ensure that their most pressing needs are met. Among the services provided by the center are: case management, emergency relief, support groups, psychological counseling, scholarships for children, and more.

JBI International - Formerly known as the Jewish Braille Institute of America, this worldwide organization is providing blind and visually impaired Jewish community members in Romania, Hungary, and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe with a variety of programs that are enhancing their quality of life.

JDC - FEDROM Dignity Program - The new designation for the Romanian Jewish community’s social welfare program, which is implemented by FEDROM, JDC’s long-time community partner.

JDC - JAFI Integration Program for Children with Special Needs - An innovative citywide program to integrate special needs children into the school system and after-school programs is taking place in Moscow in partnership with other agencies.

JDC Employment Initiative - See TEVET.

JDC Jewish Service Corps (JSC) - A unique one-year volunteer opportunity for active, enthusiastic, knowledgeable Jews to serve, and take part in the life of, a Jewish community abroad. Since 1987, JDC has placed over 100 volunteers in more than 16 countries around the world. In most placements, the challenge is to promote Jewish identity and help the community become more self-sufficient.

JDC Outreach Network Initiative. - JDC Outreach Network: The JDC-initiated Outreach Network initiative provides mentoring and technical support to Jewish NGO’s seeking to find their footing in Hungary’s civil society scene. Through seed money and expertise in community development, JDC helps these re-nascent organizations develop leadership and capacity to carry out their mission. As part of this initiative, JDC works with a range of organizations, including youth movements, Jewish organizations, educational institutions, and Jewish activists. The values and skills they learn will guide these institutions toward real ownership and self-sufficiency.

JDC Unit for Disabilities and Rehabilitation - Targeting the needs of Israeli adults with disabilities aged 21 to 65, the unit works in conjunction with community associations for the disabled and their families, focusing on community-based services that facilitate independent living.

JDC-ELKA - See ELKA

JDC-ESHEL - See ESHEL.

Jewish Community Centers (JCC) - JDC has taken the North American Jewish community center model and adapted it to suit the needs of a variety of different Jewish communities overseas.

Jewish Education Program - The informal Jewish educational activities that JDC supports have received a big boost in recent years. Youth centers and clubs in the larger cities were revamped and upgraded, a new coordinator was hired, cooperation with local Jewish Sunday schools was expanded, and a new team of youth leaders was trained and put in place. What followed was a substantial increase in the number of children participating in winter camps and in the Sarasota-JDC Jewish Children’s Camp in Rodowo, which combines summer fun with a Jewish learning experience.

Jewish Family Outreach Service (JFOS) - Established in Minsk at the close of 2003 and subsequently implemented in peripheral locations throughout Belarus, JFOS provides essential support to young Jewish families and children at risk and organizes social, welfare, educational, and other programs to meet their needs.

Jewish Youth Pioneers (JYP) - The Indian Jewish community’s active and creative youth group, JYP gives local Jewish youngsters a vital meeting point, a framework for expanding their Jewish literacy, and a springboard for their volunteer activities and expanding involvement in communal life. JYP is based at the Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center, where a small youth lounge was set up to give the group’s 100 members their own space.

J-Fund - Part of JDC’s non-sectarian International Development Program, the J-Fund was established by JDC in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to encourage the development of sustainable and gainful employment opportunities for people with physical and mental disabilities. This non-interest-bearing revolving loan fund operates in coordination with local Jewish communities and institutions, and its work is facilitated by a JDC consultant and project director and local professional bodies. The loans, with a payback period of up to five years, are awarded on the basis of sound business plans and guarantees submitted by the applicants.

Judaism Comes Home Project - Part of JDC’s Jewish renewal efforts in the Baltic countries, the project has provided groups of families in Lithuania and Estonia with a year of Jewish learning sessions, led by locals and visiting lecturers, and a kit of essential Judaica items. The goal is to help these families bring the traditions and rituals they’ve learned about in communal settings into their homes and everyday lives. The kit includes a siddur, Shabbat candlesticks and candles, a Kiddush cup, a Chumash, a Hanukkah menorah, a Purim megillah, and a Passover Haggadah and seder plate, with a “Sedarim at Home” Passover offshoot recently launched as part of this initiative.

Kadima Baltic School for Youth Counselors-Madrichim - A regional program developed by JDC to train Jewish youth leaders in all three Baltic countries. Kadima alumni are heavily involved in their home communities, helping to run a wide variety of youth club activities as well as the Olameinu Baltic Summer Camp.

Kedem JCC - The Kishinev, Moldova, Jewish community center, which is an integral part of the Kishinev Jacobs Jewish Campus. Kedem provides a wide range of Jewish programming, organizing communitywide events and celebrations as well as educational, cultural, and social activities for different age groups and interests.

Keep the Children Safe Day Camps - Funded by the UJC/Federation Israel Emergency Campaign, the Keep the Children Safe initiative that JDC helped implement kept 300,000 Israeli children off terror-threatened streets during the summer of 2002 by enabling them to attend secure day camps. In 2003, JAFI (The Jewish Agency for Israel) joined with JDC and UJC to enable some 130,000 youngsters to enjoy a second secure summer at camp. Meanwhile, during the 2002-2003 school year, Keep the Children Safe after-school activities helped ensure the security of some 56,000 youngsters, with special programming provided for immigrant children.

Keren Atid Loan Fund - A revolving loan fund established in Argentina by local and North American Jewish community donors as part of JDC’s efforts to help community members recover their economic footing in the wake of that nation’s economic crisis. The Fund has been offering loans to Jewish-owned small and medium-size businesses that agree to fill new job openings through the Ariel Foundation’s Job and Business Center.

Kishinev Jacobs Jewish Campus (KJJC) - Opened in 2005 in Kishinev, Moldova, this large, state-of-the-art facility includes a Hesed welfare center for Jewish elderly, Hillel, the Kedem JCC, the Nes Jewish Family Service, the Center for Training and Professional Development, and various other community and educational institutions. The main center of enrichment activities for the Jews of Kishinev, the KJCC offers a range of innovative activities for all members of the community.

KJJC Computer Center - Part of the Kishinev Jacobs Jewish Campus, the center has been well-supplied with up-to-date computers and Internet access, and it offers computer classes to Kishinev’s Jewish seniors.

Kol India - A quarterly magazine published by JDC's Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center in Mumbai, it is a popular source of community news, articles on events of interest in the larger Jewish world, and Jewish educational features for both children and adults.

Kosher Butcher Shop (Cuba) -  JDC has been helping to renovate and re-equip the kosher butcher shop in Havana, which provides kosher meat to members of the Jewish community under a permit granted by the Cuban government.

La Benevolencija - The Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Jewish community’s cultural and humanitarian aid organization, which operated a variety of assistance programs during the war years and today provides non-sectarian home care for poor, ill, and isolated elderly from all national and ethnic backgrounds, including a vital outpatient clinic.

La Goulette Jewish Home for the Aged - Situated in the Tunis suburb of La Goulette, the Jewish Home fills an essential role for needy elderly Jews who have no family members left in Tunisia to care for them. There are currently about 32 residents in this airy, light-filled facility, which is also used by community members who need short-term emergency or post-hospital care. The community has been increasing its participation in the home’s operating costs, and JDC has been gradually reducing its own substantial subsidy. In addition to enjoying regular social activities and Jewish holiday celebrations, the home’s numerous mentally frail residents are assisted by a volunteer psychiatrist from Marseilles whose bi-monthly visits are co-sponsored by JDC and the Tunis community.

Laredo Home for the Aged - Situated in Tangier, Morocco, this Jewish nursing home has about 16 residents and is maintained by the Tangier community with JDC’s help.

Latin American “General Assembly” - To further the development of a solid network of Latin American Jewish communities, JDC has encouraged and facilitated the creation of a regular forum in Latin America similar to the North American Jewish federations’ General Assembly or GA. The tenth and most recent such Meeting of Leaders of Latin American and Caribbean Jewish Communities and Institutions was held in May 2006. The largest Latin American “GA” to date, it brought together over 1,000 lay and professional leaders from 18 Latin American countries and Israel.

Lavoslav Schwartz Home for the Aged - Located in Zagreb, Croatia, and supported by JDC and the local Jewish community, this 80-bed facility welcomes Jews from all of former Yugoslavia.

Leadership Exchange - A program initiated by JDC for the Moroccan and Turkish Jewish communities, with leaders from each community visiting the other to share program ideas and experiences and discuss mutual needs. JDC is planning to extend this model to include the Tunisian community in these exchanges.

Leatid Europe—European Center for Jewish Leadership (ECJL) - A JDC leadership development initiative begun in 1992 with support from the European Council of Jewish Communities, local communities, World Jewish Relief (UK), and France's Fonds Social Juif Unifie. Its annual Top Leaders Seminar and its ongoing training programs for lay leaders, communal professionals, and rabbis from all the denominations have given senior Jewish leadership from Europe and the former Soviet Union the opportunity to hone their management and community development skills and expand their Jewish knowledge. City Seminars are also conducted “in-house” for European communities that request them, giving local institutional leaders a chance to engage in long-term strategic thinking and specialized training.

Leatid Latin America - Most of the lay and professional Jewish community leaders who have emerged in recent years in Latin America have benefited from the training and counseling programs conducted by JDC through Leatid Latin America.  In addition to specialized workshops, seminars, and follow-up coaching conducted in local communities in response to particular needs, Leatid’s core programs include training for institutional directors and for young communal leaders as well as the Electronic Forum for Jewish Institutional Leadership. Leatid has also conducted programs geared specifically to Jewish community leaders in Central America.

LeDor VaDor - The Jewish community’s new, centrally located multifunctional campus for the elderly in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to a 292-bed residential home, the complex includes assisted living units for the elderly, the community pharmacy, and a day center for seniors designed to keep them actively involved in community life. The facility is intended to be used as a training venue for both nurses and doctors specializing in gerontology.

Let My Children Grow - A supplementary nutrition program for Jewish children in Moldova that was piloted in 2002, when JDC launched its first interventions for at-risk Jewish children in the former Soviet Union. Providing food packages to children in need and their families, it was the first of many projects subsequently developed as a result of JDC’s outreach effort to the region’s Jewish communities, inviting them to design programs that would build on existing resources to address the hardships facing disadvantaged children and youth in their midst. It is now part of Moldova’s NES Jewish Family Service, and the packages have been replaced by food cards.

Life Preparatory Program - Established by Ashalim in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Social Affairs, the Kivunim Association, and the National Insurance Institute, the program was designed to help youth with special needs become part of mainstream society, preparing them to live an independent life by helping them deal with housing and employment, as well as social relationships and leisure time.

Limmud-Keshet Conference (Baltics Limmud-Keshet) - The Limmud-Keshet studyfest, which takes place in various locations in Latin America, the former Soviet Union, and Europe, is especially a highlight in the Baltics. The local program was developed by the Jewish community and Vilnius University with encouragement and support from JDC. Primarily a grassroots event, the Conference draws participants to learn and to teach about Judaism. Young families from the region’s emerging middle class predominate at this diverse array of lectures and workshops, family activities, and celebrations, and they have been joined each year by an increasing number of participants from countries outside the Baltics. In addition to this regional event, three mini-seminars are targeting the population of a single city or country each year.

Lodz Day Care Center - Recently renovated day care center for elderly Jewish seniors in Poland, open five days a week from morning to afternoon. Programming ranges from holiday craft projects and surfing the Internet to group occupational therapy and Claims Conference-supported individual physical therapy. Members keep active with assigned chores, and, as beneficiaries of the JDC-supported community welfare program, they have their lunch in the kosher community canteen across the courtyard.

Ma’avirim (Transitions) (Israel) - Operates employment centers that provide workplace skills, retraining, and job placement for individuals in the rural sector.

Machol Czechia - A cooperative Czech and Slovak Israeli dance festival that draws participants each year from throughout the region and continues to benefit from JDC’s support.

Machol Hungaria - Europe’s largest Israeli folk dance festival and seminar, it has become a powerful tool for nurturing Jewish culture. It was first held in February 1999, when it was organized in Budapest by London’s Israeli Folk Dance Institute, in cooperation with Hora Budapest and JDC, in an attempt to make the Institute’s annual program more affordable to young Jews in Central and Eastern Europe. A gateway to Judaism for many, it is now held in the Szarvas camp each spring and draws enthusiastic participants from Jewish communities throughout the region and beyond.

Madrich (s.), Madrichim (pl.) - Hebrew name for “youth leaders or counselors.” Madrichim have been playing a key role in JDC-supported Jewish renewal activities and have benefited from a wide range of JDC training programs.

MAFTEACH Employment Centers - MAFTEAH (”Key” in Hebrew) is the acronym for Employment Development Centers for Haredim, an employment initiative designed by the TEVET partnership to promote the integration of ultra-Orthodox men and women into the workforce. Using Haredi staff members, these job placement centers offer information and guidance, help with resume-writing and job searches, and a job database geared to the needs of the Haredi population; they also offer follow-up monitoring of those newly employed.

Magen - Special emergency program created to manage evacuations of disabled Israelis in the North.

Manos Bendichas - A Bulgarian mutual aid group established by three middle generation Jewish women in 1996 during the country’s prolonged economic crisis. The aim was to give retired and unemployed women an opportunity to achieve greater self-sufficiency by producing Jewish ritual handicrafts for profit. Through the creation of beautiful, hand-made ritual items, the Manos women have achieved that goal and more. For in addition to preserving the ethnic craft traditions typical of Sephardic Jews in the Balkans, they have been helping to bring the younger generations into the community and pass on to them their skills and their memories of Jewish life.

Masad Klitah - The Absorption Foundation, a joint venture of JDC and various Israeli government ministries, was established to enhance the effectiveness of Israel’s social services in promoting immigrant absorption.  Targeting underserved immigrants of all backgrounds, it aims to provide a comprehensive, strategic response to long-term barriers to absorption.

MATI (Small Business Development Centers) - MATI, the national network of small business centers, offers programs to assist unemployed and under-employed Israelis from Ethiopia, the Caucasus, Bukhara, Iran, Argentina, and the FSU.

MATOV - Developed by JDC in Israel, MATOV (the Volunteer Coordination Support System) identifies needs in a given community, maps the active local service providers, and helps them to pool resources and maximize the impact of their activities by providing coordinated, non-duplicative assistance.

Mazel Tov Early Childhood Intervention Program - JDC developed and continues to support this long-running program in the former Soviet Union, which began as an outreach effort that provided young families with various forms of material assistance and engaged them in activities designed to encourage their involvement in Jewish community life. It has now become an important vehicle for identifying at-risk Jewish families and assuring the appropriate intervention. While continuing to provide nutritional assistance and baby equipment in response to urgent needs, it also offers preschool enrichment programs and parenting workshops that help support sound early childhood development.

Meals-on-Wheels - Cooked meals are delivered to those elderly or children and their families who are homebound and immobile.

Medical Camps (India) - Term used in India to describe the monthly medical clinics sponsored by JDC in Alibag for Jews living in the Konkan villages, and the “open medical camp” that is held each year in Mumbai. Conducted by volunteer doctors, the Mumbai event is a preventive program; it focuses on health awareness and offers screening tests, treatment, and health information to all community members. The Konkan village “camps” have in the past included various cultural and educational activities tailored to the Jewish calendar.

Medical Care - Medical care includes medicines, medical tests and consultations, rehabilitation treatment and equipment, hospitalization, and surgery.

Menorah - A monthly publication produced by the Havana Jewish community, with funding support from ORT, JDC's partner agency in Latin America, using the local ORT-equipped computer center, and distributed to Jewish families throughout Cuba.

Mercaz Jewish Community Center (JCC) - With support from the government’s Slovak Compensation Fund, the Jewish community in Bratislava, Slovakia, has converted one of its restituted properties into a multigenerational community center, called the Mercaz (Hebrew for “Center”). Even though work still needs to be done on various parts of the facility, the new JCC is already in operation and is giving added impetus to the expansion of communal activities and services that JDC has been encouraging in Bratislava.

Merhav - A comprehensive school-based program implemented by Ashalim to foster the development of at-risk Israeli elementary school students. The program promotes cooperation among local education, health, and welfare agencies to benefit at-risk children and their families. It works with struggling youngsters to boost their self-confidence and academic performance and enhance their personal development.

Metiv - A school lunch program initiated by JDC in partnership with AMIA during the height of the Argentine economic crisis in the early years of this decade. For many Jewish children in Buenos Aires, this program still provides their only hot meal each day.

Metsuda Jewish Young Leadership Program - Focusing especially on instilling Jewish values of communal responsibility in the next generation, this JDC initiative is helping to develop leadership skills and promoting volunteerism among young Jewish adults in Northern and Eastern Ukraine.

Middle Generation Clubs - The middle generation clubs now active throughout Romania testify to the success of the Jewish community’s effort—spearheaded by FEDROM and aided by JDC’s Jewish Service Corps volunteers—to reach out to this all-important age segment, whose members represent the future of this Jewish community. In addition to year-round programming, summer camps organized in recent years for middle generation families have proved especially popular.

Middle Generation Programs - JDC has been working with a variety of local partners to develop creative outreach activities and Jewish learning opportunities with a pluralistic bent for young adults and the middle generation. These include Poland’s own Limmud-Keshet grassroots Jewish study fest, as well as “JCC without walls” programs that take activities to the people, like the Jewish cultural programs and family activities staged at local street festivals.

MIDOT - Israel's first charity-rating initiative to assess the effectiveness of non-profits and help donors make more-informed decisions.

Milah Tovah - The Milah Tovah or “Good Word” program was developed by JDC to help Israeli immigrants from Ethiopia, Bukhara, and the Caucasus region of the former Soviet Union improve their Hebrew-language skills to facilitate their integration into the workplace and enable them to better monitor their children’s educational progress. It is one of several JDC initiatives that have addressed the language barrier many Israeli immigrants face.

Minsk Jewish Campus-Community Home - Provides a common venue for the city’s Jewish communal organizations and offers a wide range of Jewish programming and activities for all segments of the community. It continues to have a major impact on Jewish community development in Minsk and other parts of Belarus, with its community campus model now replicated in Bobruisk, Gomel, and Vitebsk.

Mitzvah Days - In a project that originated in Hungary, JDC and Budapest’s Balint Jewish Community Center assist the community in organizing special Mitzvah Days each year to encourage the involvement of community members in social welfare programs and highlight the work of adult and student volunteers. The project has included visits to community members with disabilities, as well as to homebound Jewish elderly and those living in nursing homes. Similar programs have subsequently been instituted in other European Jewish communities.

Moadon - An after school program established by the Bratislava, Slovakia, community with JDC’s help to provide Jewish content for children and youth aged 6 to 15. Its activities have expanded to include a Jewish summer camp and workshop, seminars for families and for teenagers, and a winter retreat for young children and their parents. The program has been conducted by seven volunteer youth leaders, all Szarvas alumni.

Moked l’Kashish - A volunteer-staffed response system maintained by the Hesed welfare center network in the former Soviet Union, the program helps needy elderly Jews deal with day-to-day problems, like broken eyeglasses, hearing aids, or household appliances that need repair.

Morocco Scholarship Fund - Established and maintained by JDC, the fund has been providing tuition assistance to children from poor and low income families to ensure their continued attendance at one of Casablanca’s three Jewish school networks. It is part of JDC’s ongoing effort to see that local Jewish youth receive a high quality Jewish and secular education that will serve them well in Morocco or elsewhere.

Moscow School for NGO Management and Leadership - Located at the Nikitskaya JCC, this JDC initiative is helping to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofit services in the former Soviet Union, build local professional capacity, and give communities the skills they need to implement a business management approach to program planning and operations. In partnership with Moscow State University’s prestigious Higher School of Economics, the school has instituted courses in senior management skills, public relations and fundraising, and the management of human resources, all of which incorporate a Jewish studies component.

Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute - Established in 1974, the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute is a leading center for applied social research serving Israel and the Jewish world. The Institute seeks to improve the effectiveness of social services in Israel by developing and disseminating knowledge of social needs as well as of the effectiveness of policies and programs intended to meet those needs. The Institute works closely with voluntary organizations in Israel and with national and local government, and it is engaged in a variety of cooperative projects with Jewish organizations and Jewish federations in North America.

Nahar Ha’esh - The Israeli folk dance troupe in Belgrade, Serbia, one of the region’s active local groups. With support from JDC, Israeli folk dancing continues to attract enthusiasts throughout the former Yugoslavia, with dance marathons held in various communities, an all-former Yugoslav training program, and local troupes performing at home and abroad to much acclaim.

Net Scholarship Program - Established by JDC in Argentina during the height of that country’s economic crisis and now receiving strong local community support, the program continues to give Jewish students attending tuition-free state universities much-needed help with their transportation, meal, and book expenses. It also offers these young adults summertime English courses and access to training and counseling at the Ariel Foundation’s Job and Business Center, and it encourages them to get involved in volunteer efforts on behalf of the community.

Nikitskaya Jewish Community Center (JCC) - Situated on Moscow’s Nikitskaya Street, this JCC, which was established in 2002 as part of JDC’s Capital Cities Initiative, reopened in the fall of 2007 after undergoing extensive renovations. Today, it is serving the Jewish community with a range of new and expanded cultural and educational activities for children and adults, with a reputation for quality and excellence.

Ofek - Hebrew for “horizon,” and the name for programs developed by JDC both in the former Soviet Union and in Israel.

Ofek Jewish Book Festivals - have become a major fixture on the Jewish community calendar in the former Soviet Union. Operated initially by JDC, the festivals are now run by the local communities and include new book releases, concerts, and plays on Jewish themes. They draw enthusiastic participants of all ages, while the mobile Ofek-on-Wheels program reaches Jews in hundreds of smaller communities.

Ofek l'Bagrut - This JDC program in Israel is helping to boost immigrant high school students' success in their matriculation (Bagrut) exams by reinforcing their belief in their own abilities and providing them with tutoring in difficult subjects.

Ogen - To combat high dropout rates among Ethiopian-Israeli and Kavkazi teens, JDC-Israel developed the Ogen program, which targets youth who have all but officially dropped out of school. The program finds extracurricular activities that engage them, reconnects them to their educational framework, and helps them overcome the behavioral and social difficulties that contribute to underachievement and frequent absenteeism.

Ohel David Jewish Home for the Aged - A 35-bed Jewish community facility located in Bratislava, Slovakia.  Income from restituted communal property has enabled the community to assume full operating responsibility for the Home, whose maintenance is also supported by the Slovak Compensation Fund.

Olameinu (“Our World”) Baltic Summer Camp - Adding a new dimension to programming for the younger generation in this region, this JDC-initiated camp gives hundreds of Jewish children from all three Baltic countries a chance each summer to strengthen their Jewish identities and experience Judaism on a daily basis. Both youngsters new to Jewish life and those already involved in their communities are benefiting from this experience. The camp’s session are now planned and run by local counselors, graduates of the Kadima School.

Olami (“My World”) - A cozily designed learning and activity center for youngsters aged 7 to 15 that was opened at the Balint Jewish Community Center in Budapest, Hungary, in 2003. Established with JDC’s help, the center uses a variety of informal methods to give children an opportunity to develop their skills, add to their Jewish knowledge, and strengthen their Jewish identity. It also provides a safe alternative to after school play in dark alleyways or on the city’s busy streets.

Operation Atzmaut (“Independence”) - Developed by JDC to aid the absorption process in Israeli cities with smaller Ethiopian-Israeli populations, Atzmaut works with families as a unit, preparing parents for employment, bridging parent-child communication gaps, and boosting children’s academic achievements.

Operation Moses - The first mass rescue effort for Ethiopian Jewry. Over a period of months beginning in mid-1984, 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were flown from Khartoum [Sudan] to Europe and from there to Israel. News of the rescue leaked out to the foreign media in November 1985, with the result that President Numeiri of Sudan halted the operation for fear of hostile reaction from the Arab states. After mediation by the US administration, Numeiri allowed six American Hercules planes to airlift the last of the Ethiopian Jews from Sudan.

Operation Promise - A special campaign launched by the UJC/Federation system in September 2005 with the goal of raising $160 million over three years to finance the immigration to Israel of some 17,000 Felas Mora (Ethiopians of Jewish descent), advance the absorption of Ethiopian-Israelis, and help meet the needs of impoverished Jewish elderly in the former Soviet Union while strengthening the identity of that region’s Jewish youth.

Operation Solomon - The second mass evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry, it consisted of a massive, continuous airlift of over 14,000 people to Israel (including seven newborns) on May 24 and 25, 1991. JDC assisted in the negotiation and planning of this miraculous rescue, which coincided with the Shavuot festival. The operation capped the comprehensive health and welfare program that JDC had mounted in Addis Ababa over the previous 12 months for those seeking to make aliyah.

Or Chaim - The Slovakia Jewish community’s medical and social service program for Holocaust survivors, which, with grants from the Slovak Compensation Fund and other restitution-related  sources, provides medicine and a variety of health and home care services, including a new Hazzalah program offering 24-hour nursing care.

Organization for Jewish Youth in Romania (OTER) - Romania’s national Jewish youth organization, whose nine local youth clubs and activities are financed by the local community (through FEDROM) and JDC. Its two-week camp and Jewish study sessions are now led by local youth leaders, and through its Adopt-a-Grandparent program, club members have been helping to brighten the lives of lonely elderly survivors.

OSE - Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants - OSE is the primary health care provider in Morocco for needy and elderly Jews, as well as for an increasing number of middle income Jewish families who lack health insurance and can no longer afford the cost of private care. JDC helps finance OSE’s activities and has encouraged it to upgrade medical services at its Casablanca clinic and initiate new screening programs and preventive efforts. JDC works with OSE to address the needs of elderly Jews in the provinces, and, together with the Casablanca community, to provide new home care services for welfare clients in Casablanca and funding for an emergency medical treatment program. OSE provides health services—including vaccinations—for children in the Jewish schools, and it furnishes residents of the Jewish old age home in Casablanca with 24-hour medical care at an in-house facility set up with JDC’s support.

Ozar Hatorah - One of the three remaining Jewish school networks in Casablanca, Morocco, all of which have been helping to maintain the vibrancy of this community. To ensure that Jewish children in Morocco receive a high quality Jewish and secular education, JDC continues to furnish financial support and professional assistance, helping to enhance computer literacy programs and introducing tutorial classes in secular subjects that have improved the students’ preparation for high school.

PACT (Parents and Children Together) Program - A comprehensive initiative addressing Ethiopian-Israeli preschoolers' educational and developmental needs. JDC's partnerships with American and Israeli communities have made PACT a pioneer among efforts aimed at closing immigration-related social gaps, and its success has spurred the development of PACT Plus and Birth-to-Bagrut, which have extended the program's benefits to older children.

Parent-Child Centers - An intervention model developed by Ashalim in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Social Affairs, the centers approach material and emotional needs holistically, assisting children and parents individually and as a family. Some 30 centers are now part of a community-based service network that is improving parenting skills and family functionality among dysfunctional, abusive or neglectful families with children aged 5 to 12.

Parnassa b’Chavod - A vocational training program designed specifically for the ultra-Orthodox community, offering courses leading to employment opportunities in hi-tech industries, financial services, and other sectors suited to their cultural and religious needs. It is now part of the TEVET employment initiative.

Patronato Pharmacy - A small community pharmacy that JDC helped establish at the Patronato Synagogue and Community Center in Havana, Cuba. Medications shipped by JDC or brought by mission participants and other visitors are distributed through the pharmacy to Jewish community members who need them throughout the island.

Perspektiva Initiative - Responds to unemployment needs of adult members of the Sarajevo community and outlying communities.  

Pesach Project - See Hillel Pesach Project.

Polish Union of Jewish Students (PUSZ) - In partnership with the World Union of Jewish Students, JDC helps finance the Polish Union of Jewish Students’ camps and other activities, which have become important vehicles for informal Jewish education and socialization. The recent inclusion of students from Israel and North America in these programs has given the members of PUSZ an opportunity to establish valuable ties with their contemporaries and add to their understanding of worldwide Jewish life.

Preparatory for an Independent Life - See Life Preparatory Program

Program for Children with Special Needs in Tashkent - The IFCJ-JDC Partnership aims to further the achievement and progress of a wide spectrum of special needs children and to help their parents overcome the sense of isolation that many experience. Partnership-supported day care centers provide a nurturing environment conducive to healthy growth and development, and they give parents the opportunity to seek employment and enhance their parenting skills. Since 2007, the program has incorporated an element of volunteerism, with Hillel student volunteers reaching out to special needs families.

Project Tochelet - Part of JDC’s Masad Klita partnership with the Israeli government, Tochelet provides younger immigrants with the basic job skills and cultural knowledge they need to overcome barriers to higher education and help them secure gainful employment in a career of their choice.

Project Vision - An Atlanta-based voluntary organization of Jewish ophthalmologists that has been working with JDC and FEDROM in Romania. It uses visiting American and Israeli doctors and high-tech equipment to help restore or significantly improve the sight of elderly Romanians, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Raduga - A Jewish organization for mentally disabled individuals aged 18 to 23 in Minsk, Belarus, Raduga is assisted by the community’s Hesed Rachamim.

Ralph I. Goldman Fellowship in International Jewish Communal Service - The Fellowship was established in 1987 by the Board of Directors of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee as a tribute to the lifelong achievements of Ralph I. Goldman, Honorary Executive Vice-President of JDC and a man who, for five decades, has been committed to his people’s well-being in Israel and around the world. Its purpose is to enable future leaders of the Jewish community to have a significant experience in international Jewish communal service. One Goldman Fellow is selected each year and participates in a one-year work-study program. The Fellowship provides an insider’s perspective on JDC’s global programs and a range of unique assignments that respond to the changing needs of Jewish communities overseas. Each Fellowship is distinct—shaped by timely and critical situations identified by JDC while considering the special qualifications of the individual Fellow.

Regional Property Training Seminars - JDC has organized training seminars for Jewish community leaders in Central and Eastern Europe to help them move property management to a more professional level. This should enable them to maximize their community’s potential income from restituted communal properties and ensure that they do not become a financial burden. Seminars have recently been held in Romania, Poland, and Serbia (for all of former Yugoslavia).

Reshet - JDC's Reshet Employment Incubator offers a yearlong continuum of vocational services to help hard-to-employ members of vulnerable population groups enter the Israeli workforce.

Richman Family Foundation MBA Plus Program - Intended for directors of large Jewish organizations and for those identified as having the potential to fill such positions, the program allows students to specialize in the management of nonprofit organizations and take extracurricular Jewish studies courses as they pursue their MBA studies at the State University of Management-Institute of New Economy-Moscow.  The university offers both the MBA and the course in nonprofit management.

Ronald S. Lauder Foundation-JDC International Summer Camp at Szarvas, Hungary - Playing host each summer to approximately 1,350 Jewish campers and counselors from more than 20 countries, the camp has secured its reputation as a premier and much sought-after informal Jewish educational venue for children from all parts of the Jewish world. Since its opening in 1990, Szarvas has also succeeded in nurturing a generation of potential Jewish community leaders comfortable with the idea of working together across national borders. Now a year-round facility, the camp has become the venue for Machol Hungaria and for many of the training seminars for madrichim (youth leaders) organized by JDC’s international community development team, and different segments of the Hungarian community have also begun to avail themselves of the legendary “Szarvas experience.”

Rosen Home for the Aged - Situated in Bucharest, Romania, this 100-bed-plus Jewish home for the elderly is supported in part by JDC. With the help of various donors, its facilities continue to be upgraded, and a management reorganization and professional staff training effort is helping to ensure that residents receive a high level of care.

Roslyn Z. Wolf Cleveland-JDC International Fellows Program - A memorial tribute to the late Roslyn Zehman Wolf, the program was established in partnership with the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland through the generosity of the late Ambassador Milton A. Wolf and his children. It began in 2004, when the first Fellow began working overseas. In addition to contributing to the growth and development of Jewish communities abroad, the program was designed to give members of the Cleveland Jewish community—from schoolchildren and young leadership to communal professionals and lay leaders—added exposure to the needs and issues facing a contemporary Jewish community overseas.

SAVEZ - The Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia. With extensive support from various funding partners, JDC works through SAVEZ and the local communities to help maintain a range of welfare services and community development activities.

Scholet - A festive countrywide social and cultural gathering that has been organized each year by the Jewish community in Novi Sad, Serbia, with encouragement and support from JDC.

School for NGO Management and Leadership - See Moscow School for NGO Management and Leadership.

Sefer - The Moscow Center for University Teaching of Jewish Education, Sefer was established by JDC in 1994 to further opportunities for those involved in university-level Jewish studies in the former Soviet Union. Sefer’s recent activities included seven summer school programs, a winter Judaica School, a joint program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a youth conference on Jewish studies, and its annual Winter Academic Conference, which regularly draws some 500 academics from throughout the region and abroad.

Sela Home for the Disabled - Situated in Budapest, Hungary, the Sela Home was established in 2003 by the community’s Ujpest Home for the Aged in an adjacent facility and offers special services for the developmentally disabled. It provides its 35 residents, aged 35 to 60, with a safe Jewish environment and a warm haven where they can stay for the rest of their lives.

SELF - See Strategic European Loan Fund

Self-Employment Initiative for Young People (IDBelieve program) - Now part of the comprehensive TEVET employment initiative in Israel, the program provides young adults with training, mentoring, and start-up funding to open their own businesses.

Shabbat Chicken Dinners (Cuba) - In Cuba, over 400 Shabbat chicken dinners are provided each week to community members attending Friday night services at any of the island’s synagogues, thanks to the generous contributions made by participants in visiting missions, who have funded this program since its inception in 1998.

Shalom, the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria - The Bulgarian Jewish community’s national umbrella organization, which operates an extensive network of social services as well as cultural and educational programs. JDC provides financial and technical assistance for many of these efforts. Shalom has also established key partnerships with various North American federations, which are providing important support for both social welfare and community development initiatives.

Shlavim Program - Implemented by Ashalim, the program gives young Israelis with disabilities an opportunity to perform National Service, thus helping to transform their self-image and prepare them for entering the workforce.

Simcha Camp - A weeklong gathering of fun and Jewish learning for Jewish elderly from across Cuba.

Singer Festival - Jewish culture is celebrated each year in Warsaw, Poland, at the weeklong Singer Festival, usually held in September and named for the Polish-born, Nobel Prize-winning author, Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Slovak Union of Jewish Students - With a membership of 150, the Union organizes activities and special programs that attract many additional participants, including popular Hanukkah celebrations and a Purim Ball. It also runs seminars, workshops, and summer camps, and it continues to benefit from JDC support.

Small Business Bureau - One of the economic recovery tools that JDC helped the Jewish community develop in Argentina, the Small Business Bureau is part of the Ariel Foundation’s Job and Business Center. It has furnished new and ailing small businesses with consultative services, short-term loans, and help in developing business plans, thereby fostering the creation of new microenterprises with their attendant job opportunities.

Social Assistance Centers (Argentina) - A network of Social Assistance Centers was established by JDC and local Jewish organizations in Argentina in 2002 to aid community members devastated by the country’s economic crisis. The comprehensive relief effort mounted by the 75 centers in operation at the height of the crisis included the provision of food (first through meals and food packages, then through supermarket debit cards), clothing, medicines, subsidies for rent and utilities, and help with mortgage payments to just over 36,500 Jews.

Sofia Day Care Center - Hot lunches, exercise programs, medical consultations by volunteer doctors, counseling services, and social and cultural activities are offered to Jewish community seniors at this day care center in Sofia, Bulgaria. The center’s location in the Beit Ha'am Jewish community center gives these often isolated elderly a chance to participate in community events and interact with other age groups.

Sofia Old Age Home - This 24-bed Bulgarian Jewish community facility has been operating at maximum capacity in recent years. World Jewish Relief (UK) subsidizes the home’s operating costs, while JDC provides staff training and technical support.

SOS Program - SOS Emergency Funds maintained by Hesed welfare centers in the former Soviet Union offer prompt help for urgent medical and other one-time special needs, including pressing home repairs. While elderly welfare clients are the primary  beneficiaries, any member of the Jewish community, regardless of age or pension status, may apply to the Hesed’s Emergency Assistance Committee for help up to three times per year.

Soup Kitchen - In Novi Sad, home to Serbia’s second largest Jewish community, a soup kitchen in the community building continues to serve 75 free meals a day to exceptionally needy people from all ethnic backgrounds. It first began operating in the fall and winter of 1999-2000, when it was set up in response to the country’s disastrous economic situation following the Kosovo crisis.

Springboard - Designed in cooperation with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and two government ministries, the program provides training and guidance to young adults from the Ethiopian and Kavkazi communities before, during, and after their army service. It seeks to increase their participation in advanced army tracks and helps educate their families about military life so that they can serve as a source of support for their children. The program also works with IDF officers to help them become aware of the diverse needs of immigrant soldiers.

Strategic European Loan Fund (SELF) - This JDC initiative provides interest-free loans to Jewish communities to help them renovate or improve restituted communal properties (which are often returned in poor condition) in order to achieve the maximum income and value. These loans enable communities to secure greater financial benefits from their assets and use the income generated for vital community needs.

STRIVE - Part of the TEVET employment initiative in Israel, STRIVE is an intensive work readiness program designed to help hard-to-employ individuals develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Centers in Tel Aviv and Haifa are currently in operation, and planning is under way for a third center, in Jerusalem. Job placement and retention figures for those who have completed the program are encouraging, standing at 88 and 85 percent, respectively.

Subsidized Employment Program (PES) - To help welfare clients aged 18 to 55 reenter the job market or find better paying jobs, PES was established in Argentina in 2003 as a joint undertaking of JDC and AMIA, in collaboration with the Tzedakah Foundation and various local institutions. The program assesses clients’ skills, gives them a personalized plan of action to upgrade their qualifications, and encourages companies to hire them by offering a temporary 30 percent salary subsidy.

Supportive Communities - A linchpin of JDC-ESHEL’s successful effort to expand community-based assistance for Israel’s senior citizens, each Supportive Community is run by a local coordinator and provides a basket of essential services. These include practical assistance with day-to-day needs and domestic concerns and social activities that improve the quality of life. Supportive Communities bolster their members' sense of security, thereby helping Israeli seniors to maintain their independence and remain living safely and confidently in their own homes for as long as possible. The model has subsequently been adapted to meet the needs of Israel’s disabled citizens.

Supportive Communities for the Disabled - Launched by JDC in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Insurance Institute, and local authorities, these communities provide a range of services for people with disabilities, from responding to day-to-day concerns to helping them deal with emergency situations, thereby enhancing their ability to live independently. Current expansion plans will enable the program to focus on the disabled populations affected by the security situation in border areas.

Swiss Banks Settlement - An international restitution agreement that followed litigation by Holocaust survivors against Swiss banks and other entities. Important grants issued to JDC and the Claims Conference by the Hon. Edward R. Korman, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, who is overseeing the $1.25 billion settlement fund, are financing life-sustaining humanitarian aid through the Hesed program to destitute Jewish Nazi victims in the former Soviet Union and emergency assistance grants to needy Holocaust survivors who live elsewhere.

Szarvas - See Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/JDC International Summer Camp at Szarvas, Hungary.

Szarvas Empowerment Initiative - A three-year training cycle for young leaders committed to the Szarvas camp and their local Jewish communities.

Talmud Torahs - Hebrew schools for children and adolescents, with sessions usually conducted after the regular school day and/or on Sundays. The Talmud Torah program in Romania offers informal Jewish educational activities for children and young adults aged 5 to 20, and is an important means of expanding their knowledge of Jewish history and traditions.

Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel (TCSPS) - Established in 1982 under the leadership and vision of the late Herbert M. Singer, Henry Taub, and JDC, the Taub Center functions as the public policy research arm of JDC in Israel. With a staff that includes some of the country’s most widely respected professionals and academics, the center is devoted to monitoring social and economic developments in Israel and providing viable policy recommendations to decisionmakers that will enhance the formulation of social policy to the benefit of all Israelis.

TEVET: Employment & Entrepreneurship - A partnership effort of JDC and the Israeli government that was launched in 2005, TEVET is a comprehensive employment initiative that seeks to fight poverty by promoting employment among the estimated half-million Israelis who are not in the workforce. It focuses on overcoming the social, cultural, and educational obstacles facing many of the long-term jobless and the under-employed, targeting hard-to-absorb immigrants, the ultra-Orthodox, people with disabilities, Israeli Arabs, and young adults.

The Hungarian Jewish Community Forum - A coalition of some 20 organizations that JDC helped create as a component of its community building work in Hungary, the Forum organized Hungary’s first countrywide General Assembly, which brought over 2,000 people from various segments of the community together in November 2005.

The International Fellowship for Christians and Jews (IFCJ)-JDC Partnership for Children in the FSU - The International Fellowship for Christians and Jews (IFCJ)-JDC partnership is helping to ensure the material and social well-being of tens of thousands of Jewish children at risk in the former Soviet Union. The partnership was established to provide a long-term response to the intense unmet needs facing Jewish children throughout the region.

Tikva Program - Provides day center programming and other services for special needs children and their families in four localities in Eastern Ukraine.  In Kharkov, for example, Tikva established a day center for severely disabled children, from toddlers to teenagers. The youngsters are transported to the accessible facility in specially designed vehicles, and the full-day program includes meals, medications, and age-appropriate educational and enrichment activities.

Tkuma Center for Holocaust Studies - Based in Dnepropetrovsk and named for the Hebrew word for “revival or resurrection,” the center, which was established by local entrepreneurs to increase Holocaust awareness, runs a variety of educational programs for Jewish and non-Jewish students throughout Ukraine. JDC's support for this initiative included securing the guidance of Israel’s Yad Vashem and the museum at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot; it also developed enrichment programs for the center’s staff.

Tnufah Program - A JDC-Hungary program conducted in cooperation with Central European University and the Buncher Community Leadership Program, it has enabled local Jewish communal leaders to enhance their knowledge of Judaism along with their organizational skills.

Tochelot Program - A three-year evening vocational training and education program in the former Soviet Union that serves young people who work on a non-permanent basis.  Ineligible for regular student aid, the participants face hurdles that hinder their advancement.

Torah v’Hinukh Schools - This vital network of Jewish schools on the Tunisian island of Djerba, created nearly 60 years ago by David and Tsevia Kidouchim, the principals, is funded primarily by JDC. It includes a Jewish kindergarten for boys and girls, a girls’ school, and a program for boys that provides them with instruction in secular subjects to supplement their yeshiva education. School activities are conducted in Hebrew, and the top-notch curriculum has enabled students to excel in various international exams.  Generous donors have enabled JDC to inaugurate a nursery for preschoolers and to renovate and re-equip the computer center in order to launch a new program promoting Jewish learning via the Internet.

Transit Relief (Ethiopia) -  JDC continues to provide all Felas Mora who are accepted by Israel for aliyah (immigration) with care and maintenance immediately prior to their departure, and it furnishes them with new clothing and shoes.

TSKZ - The Jewish Cultural Association of Poland. JDC funds programs and activities, including holiday and cultural events for seniors, organized by TSKZ and the local clubs that operate under its aegis, along with the Srodborow-Akiva Kohane community campsite.

UJC-Federation Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC) - The IEC is a continentwide effort of United Jewish Communities and the Federations of North America that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for Israel during its most recent crises. It helped Israel respond to its most vulnerable populations’ needs during the 2006 conflict; it has been helping those living in the North recover, rebuild, and achieve new economic growth; it is funding efforts to expand the capacity of local governments and voluntary agencies; and it is working in a variety of ways to bolster the citizens of Sderot and those living in other parts of the southern conflict zone who have been under constant rocket attack.

UJC-IEC Keep the Children Safe Day Camps - See Keep the Children Safe Day Camps.

Union of Jewish Religious Communities of Poland (JRCP) - A national Polish Jewish community entity and longtime beneficiary of JDC’s support. It operates the community’s kosher kitchens, which serve free meals to the needy, and it has been increasing its share of support for the communal welfare program. It maintains synagogues and other institutions, coordinates religious services and holiday celebrations, and recently began helping to support local summer and winter camps for children and older youth.

University Mahon Project - Initiated in 2004 by the local community of Bahia Blanca with additional support from JDC and the Argentine Jewish community, the Mahon is a residence for Jewish students studying at one of the town’s several institutions of higher learning. The project aims to stem the flight of potential young leaders in the Interior to the larger cities by providing Jewish students from smaller communities like Bahia Blanca and its neighbors with an attractive “home away from home” while they study at university and an active menu of programs that involve them in local Jewish life.

UZZNO - The Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia, through which JDC channels both financial support and technical assistance for a range of social welfare programs as well as for Jewish renewal and community development activities.

Via Baltica Region - One of the “regional clusters” developed by JDC in association with the local communities, the Via Baltica Region spans from Helsinki through the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, to Poland and Northern Germany. It links together Jewish communities that have a common geographic, cultural, language, and/or historic base, creating a kind of regional Jewish common market, with programs that encourage networking and exchange among particular segments of each community.

VNPS - The Association of the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector in Israel.  JDC founded and continues to assist this umbrella organization for Israeli NGOs. It worked with VNPS to develop a code of professional standards for the nonprofit sector as well as a leadership training program.

VPL-ELKA - The Association for the Development and Advancement of Manpower in the Social Services in Israel. It was founded by JDC to enhance the effectiveness of public sector social services by training senior policymakers and managers, and it is now working to strengthen Israel’s voluntary sector, as well.

Warburg Family Estate - Located outside Hamburg, Germany, it provided a pastoral setting for the Blankenese Children’s Home, which was operated by JDC after World War II with United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) support. Some 400 child survivors at a time stayed at the home for several months to regain their health and energy. Nearly all were orphans, and most went on to new lives in Israel. The Warburg family's connection to JDC dates back to 1914. Felix Warburg was a JDC founder and Edward Warburg served as JDC Chairman for some 25 years. 

Warm Homes - The program was developed by JDC in the former Soviet Union to aid and help alleviate the loneliness plaguing so many Jewish elderly. Throughout the region, small groups of elderly Hesed clients are regularly hosted by those who have volunteered their homes, with participants benefiting from nutritious meals as well as much-needed social contact. Special activities for the Jewish holidays and other programs with Jewish content reinforce the clients’ sense of belonging to a caring Jewish community. The program has been adopted by ESHEL in Israel, where it is of special help to non-Hebrew speaking immigrants; it has also been implemented in Jewish communities in Romania and the Baltic countries.

Warm Rooms - Professionally staffed frameworks within Israeli schools where students can find refuge at times of intense emotional or post-traumatic stress. The Warm Rooms program was launched by JDC with the Israel Trauma Coalition and other partners to address the increased needs of children living in the conflict zones for therapy, counseling or emotional and educational support.

Weinberg Black Sea Gesher Region - Comprised of Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and Macedonia, this is one of the most active of the “regional clusters” developed by JDC as part of its community development efforts in Europe and beyond.  It began with cross-border seminars for Jewish students and programs for young families, followed by outreach efforts to Jewish business people through the Gesher Business Forum. A recently organized Hevruta conference brought community members together to explore Jewish texts, discuss issues like communal responsibility, and develop program proposals for the middle generation and new educational activities.

Weinberg Black Sea Gesher Students and Young Adults Institute - The premier annual event staged by this JDC “regional cluster,” the Institute aims to educate, connect, and empower young Jews from communities throughout the region.

Weinberg Danube Region - Comprised of Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Weinberg Danube Region is one of the “regional clusters” developed by JDC in association with the local communities. It links together Jewish communities that have a common geographic, cultural, language, and/or historic base, with programming that encourages networking among different age groups and segments of each community as well as a sharing of ideas and resources.

Welfare Programs for Holocaust Survivors in Europe - Varying from country to country, the welfare services provided by JDC in partnership with local Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe may include any or all of the following elements: regular cash assistance payments; SOS emergency funds; supplemental holiday aid; food packages; hot meals at kosher canteens, day care centers, and old age homes; meals-on-wheels and home care for the homebound; medicines, medical care, and medical consultations; a Bayit Cham or Warm Home initiative; day care center activities; and winter relief.

William S. Rosenwald Institute for Communal and Welfare Workers in St. Petersburg - JDC’s central vehicle for training Jewish community welfare workers, volunteers, and lay leaders in the fundamentals of community work, the Rosenwald Institute’s programs are supplemented by regional centers throughout the former Soviet Union. The Institute’s comprehensive program continues to evolve, with JDC developing new social work, leadership development, and administrative training workshops and coupling them with seminars that foster an appreciation of the Jewish heritage.

Winter Relief - An important part of Jewish community welfare services in various countries in Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, and Asia, the winter relief program helps beneficiaries—mostly elderly Jewish Holocaust survivors and also impoverished children—purchase warm clothing, blankets, and non-perishable foods and pay their home heating and utility bills.

Women’s Health Empowerment program (WHEP) - In partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and with support from the Marcia Presky Memorial Fund and other donors, JDC’s WHEP program works with local agencies in various countries to establish or expand psychosocial support services for women with breast cancer and their families, as well as public education programs that encourage early detection. Modeled after the U.S.-based self-help SHARE Program, WHEP fosters the development of peer support groups that transcend cultural and religious boundaries, with women who have had breast cancer trained to provide information and support to others similarly diagnosed.

YESOD Jewish Community Home - St. Petersburg’s multipurpose new Jewish community center, whose striking, award-winning design and wide range of activities have made it a hub and a source of pride for the city’s thriving Jewish community. The centrally located 75,000-square-foot facility houses both welfare and renewal activities, providing a venue for special events, cultural performances, and Shabbat and holiday celebrations as well as a home for a range of local organizations geared to different age groups and interests. YESOD (Hebrew for “Foundation” or “Base”) has been attracting a steady clientele to its ongoing programs and large numbers to its communitywide events. It has also served as a catalyst for new initiatives aimed at deepening Jewish knowledge among adults of all ages and affiliations.

YESOD Visitors Center - The center hosts Federation missions and other Western and local visitors, providing them with tours of the building and entrée to community events and programs. A new trilingual Web site will give overseas visitors a taste of Russian Jewish life and provide a convenient, high-tech entryway to the community for local Jews.

Young Adult Centers - See Centers for Young Adults.

Young Community Professional Group - A joint project of JDC and the Belarus Jewish community, the Group provides training for a new generation of leaders through management courses held in cooperation with Belarus State University.

Young Professionals Program - An international initiative aimed at grooming young community leaders, which has had some 70 participants from the Baltic countries.

Youth Clubs (Serbia) - The Belgrade Youth Club in Serbia continues to be the primary venue for a variety of activities for Jewish students and youth.

Youth Command program (Youth Civil Guard) - Part of the AMEN program in Israel, this JDC project, developed in partnership with Israel’s Civil Guard, has volunteer youth patrolling the streets of various localities in an effort to prevent vandalism. Among other activities, members of the Youth Command talk to peers who are at-risk or already engaging in vandalism; they give presentations in schools and educate their neighbors about drug and alcohol abuse; and they organize and participate in activities to clean up neighborhoods.

Zarsis Jewish Schools - In Zarzis, which is located on the Tunisian mainland just south of Djerba, JDC helps the small Jewish community maintain a Jewish nursery/kindergarten and separate Jewish supplementary schools for girls and boys. The total enrollment has been growing, and JDC will be undertaking renovations at the boys’ school in 2008.

Zusman Center for Haredi Employment - Located in Jerusalem, the Zusman Center was the first of the MAFTEAH Centers established as part of the TEVET employment initiative. Designed to promote the integration of the ultra-Orthodox into the Israeli workforce, these job placement centers offer information and guidance from Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) staff members and a job database geared to the needs of the Haredi population; they also offer follow-up monitoring of those newly employed.

ZWST - The Central Welfare Organization of the Jews in Germany. Since 1998, JDC has worked in partnership with ZWST. As part of this cooperative effort, special leadership training  sessions have been organized to help community leaders cope with the needs of Europe’s fastest growing Jewish population and expand  communal services and activities; they are also aimed at preparing the new generation of Jewish leaders.