JFNA announces $35 million, 100-person initiative to combat antisemitism

Jewish federations across North America will be hiring 100 new employees focused on combating antisemitism through frontline advocacy and community relations, the Jewish Federations of North America announced on Wednesday. 

The new expansion is part of JFNA’s Frontline initiative, a $35 million venture that will provide grants to 120 local Jewish federations.

“Focused on local and state advocacy, K-12 and higher education, and interfaith and intergroup partnerships, these professionals join the experienced teams already on the ground, adding the depth and breadth of support needed to push back against the hate that is rearing its head in too many areas of civic life,” JFNA said in a statement. 

The expansion — backed by 25 funders — comes amid a global rise in antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The past three years have seen multiple deadly antisemitic attacks, including a shooting last December at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah event.

“In the aftermath of Oct. 7, our community was very disappointed to see that many people we thought were our allies stayed silent,” said Julie Platt, chair of Frontline and JFNA’s immediate past board chair. “We learned the hard lesson that our civic engagement efforts must be more focused, more targeted, and more outcomes-based, and that is exactly what Frontline is designed to do.”

While there has been broad concern in the Jewish world about the rise in antisemitism, there are also those who oppose further investment in efforts to combat Jew hatred and call instead for funds to be directed toward Jewish education and identity-building. 

Among other things, the Frontline funding will go to: JFNA’s strategic messaging initiative Project Halo; Student to Student, which connects Jewish teens with non-Jewish peers; One Mitzvah A Day, which gets Jews to thank public figures for actions that support the Jewish community; and general year-long training. 

“Federations have been deeply engaged in the work of community relations and civic engagement for decades. Today, we require new strategies and increased resources to address the dramatic rise of antisemitism that is permeating every facet of civic life,” Shira Hutt, executive vice president of JFNA, said in a statement. “Frontline is a game-changing initiative that will equip Federations with the talent, support and resources they need to confront the increasingly complex and growing challenges they face, whether in government, in educational institutions, in media or our other civic spaces.”