Cultural Memory Activation

Co-presents and hosts public events such as film screenings, lectures, and award ceremonies to promote Greek Jewish history and culture. Examples include co-presenting short films from the Jewish Museum of Greece, hosting the Damaskinos Award ceremony in New York City, organizing a lecture by Dr. Mimis Cohen on Romaniote Jewish communities, and hosting receptions and Holocaust remembrance events in New York.

Provides financial support to preserve and perpetuate Greek Jewish history and culture by funding the operating expenses of the Jewish Museum of Greece. The organization was founded in 1982 for this purpose and provided the majority of the museum's operating funds for nearly 25 years.

Acts as the official U.S. representative of the Jewish Museum in Athens, facilitating cultural exchange, representation, and collaboration between the museum and American institutions and audiences.

Sponsors and organizes traveling exhibitions from the Jewish Museum of Greece in cities across the United States, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles. Co-organized the "Synagonistis" exhibition tour that visited Washington, DC, Tampa, FL, and Atlanta, GA, showcasing the role of Greek Jews in the resistance during World War II.

Produced free audio recordings featuring stories from the Jewish history of the Far East, making educational content accessible to a broader audience.

Provides grants and direct support for religious and communal infrastructure, including replacing a storm-damaged Torah scroll in Yangon, Myanmar; structural enhancements to the Judah Hyam Synagogue in New Delhi; supporting the Bene Ephraim Community's buffalo project in India; and funding the translation of the Encyclopedia Judaica into Chinese.

Authored and co-authored books, including "The Fugu Plan" and "Pepper, Silk & Ivory," which explore historical intersections between Jewish and Asian communities, with documented impact such as bestseller status in Japan.

Lobbied successfully to prevent the destruction of the historic Jewish cemetery in Mezhibuzh, Ukraine, which contains the gravesite of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

Constructed a guest house and mikveh at the Anipoli, Ukraine site to support and accommodate visitors visiting the Ohel of Reb Avrohom Drizin.

Provides archival research services and organizes historical expeditions to ancestral shtetlach, towns, and cemeteries in Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine, Romania, and Israel to help Jewish families trace their heritage and connect with ancestral roots.

Researches, authors, and publishes well-documented books and illustrated biographies on Hassidic leaders and dynastic lineages, including works on Rabbi Moshe Yosef Rubin, Reb Avrohom Mayorer Drizin, and the Rubin, Hager, Rokeach, and Horowitz families. Publications include footnoted, illustrated volumes such as “Celebration 75” and “A Father To So Many Chassidim”.

Undertakes major renovation and construction projects at the Ohalim of historically significant rabbis and Hassidic leaders, including the Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibuzh, Reb Avrohom Drizin in Anipoli, and Reb Yaakov Yosef and Reb Leib in Polonnoye. Projects include structural expansion, installation of lighting, heating, benches, bookcases, and other visitor amenities.

Conducts ongoing preservation, maintenance, and restoration work at Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, including sites in Mezhibuzh, Anipoli, Polonnoye, Fastiv, Hadytch, Lubavitch, Niezhin, Strashelye, Kolomyia, and Ostropol. Activities include fencing, structural improvements, and conservation of tombstones and burial grounds.

Organizes quadrennial World Conferences of JCCs and other global gatherings in locations such as Jerusalem, Mexico City, and the UK to bring together Jewish leaders for strategic planning, partnership building, and communal engagement.

Runs cohort-based online courses through the JCC Global Hubs program and organizes intensive leadership seminars, such as in Ljubljana, Slovenia, engaging hundreds of leaders from dozens of countries in areas like resource development and Jewish communal life.

Establishes and nurtures global partnerships among JCCs, including 10 long-term partnerships across 8 countries and 10 Tri-Center Projects connecting 30 communities, to foster joint programming and mutual engagement.

Operates and connects a network of over 1,000 Jewish Community Centers worldwide, serving several million Jews and strengthening Jewish Peoplehood and leadership over 50 years.

Produces the “Sunflowers: Voices of Ukraine” podcast and co-produces films featuring firsthand accounts from Ukrainians and Holocaust survivors, alongside creating Passover educational materials in collaboration with international JCC partners.