“Miss Beth” becomes the new face of fundraising for Newark Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1901). The hospital (now Newark Beth Israel Medical Center) is open to all faiths and will have many addresses in the city, as seen here, before landing at its current location.

The term “United Jewish Appeal” originates here in 1926, when the annual fundraising drives of the three major local Jewish philanthropic groups merge into one campaign.

The name later becomes famous worldwide with its adoption by the national UJA in 1939, now the best-known of all such Jewish organizations.

As early as 1904, a group of women led by Blume Hollander discussed the need for finding a place where elderly and homeless Jewish seniors could be housed. Two years later, Israel’s Daughters Home for the Aged was incorporated, becoming the first Jewish home for the elderly in New Jersey. The name was changed to Daughters of Israel Home for the Aged in 1908.

By 1928, the Daughters of Israel Home for the Aged, a Newark fixture since 1906, needs to expand to a building on High Street that Newark Beth Israel Hospital had outgrown. Today it is Daughters of Israel, an acclaimed elder-care facility and partner agency of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.

Doors open at the Elizabeth YM-YWHA’s new building on East Jersey Street.

It will move again in 1953 and be renamed Harry Lebau Jewish Center on Green Lane in Union, where it remains today. Pictured here are Harry and his wife, Mary, in front of the dedication plaque.

The community honors perhaps its most famous refugee and soon-to-be New Jerseyan, Albert Einstein (seated at lower-right), as the 20th century’s leading mind visits The Mosque Theatre (formerly a Shriners lodge, now Newark Symphony Hall).

The Community Employment Service (now Jewish Vocational Service or JVS) is founded in Newark to serve Jews facing deprivation and discrimination after the Great Depression, JVS eventually finds meaningful work for refugees during and after WWII.

Between 1939 and 1954, it would find a total of 5,000 jobs for applicants. It expands its services to non-Jews in 1957, and to this day provides career counseling, skills-building, job training, and more for a wide and diverse community.

National United Jewish Appeal is formed, and the Federation becomes a charter member in support of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI).

The Elizabeth YM-YMHA holds down the home front during WWII, serving as a U.S.O. headquarters which hosts thousands of servicemen and women for seders, dances, and other social events.

Conceived as a fund-raising tool for the 1946 UJA campaign by the Jewish Community Council of Essex County, The Jewish News is a weekly paper that discusses current events in the Jewish world. The first issue is published on March 15, 1946.

By April 30, 1946, the Jewish Community Council meets at the YM-YWHA in Newark and agrees to take a close look at how a newspaper could play a role in the local community. The newspaper is initially intended to have its production run throughout the 1946 UJA Campaign to serve as its newsletter…

… It becomes apparent that the paper will be a service to the community as it chronicles the social, religious, personal, and business developments of the community. In addition to these local issues, its pages include national and world events affecting the community; Jewish culture and the arts; and Jewish holidays, celebrations, and other topics of interest. The Council purchases the competing local paper, Jewish Times, and soon thereafter The Jewish News is incorporated on January 3, 1947. 

Jewish Family Service of MetroWest dates back to Newark in 1861 when a small group called the Young Men’s Benevolent Society formed to help needy Jewish families in the area. In 1876 it became the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society. Finally, in 1947, what is then Jewish Social Service is reorganized as Jewish Family Service of Essex County. As mergers follow, that society evolves into what is today Jewish Family Service of MetroWest.

Through its 1948 Destiny Campaign, the United Jewish Appeal sets out to raise $4.5 million to help with establishment of the State of Israel and help refugees from war-ravaged Europe build a new life there.

In 1948 Golda Meir (then Golda Myerson) comes to the U.S. to help raise immediate cash aid to meet the needs of the newborn State of Israel. The Jewish Community Council of Essex County responds generously by donating $500,000. Meir returns several times post-Statehood to secure ongoing funding. 

On January 31, 1949, the Secretary of the State of New Jersey certifies the incorporation of the Jewish Community Foundation, now one of the two largest community foundations in New Jersey and among the top ten Jewish community foundations in North America with $600 million in assets under management, and more than $100 million in future commitments.

The activist Golda Myerson (Meir) addresses the community in Newark at a pivotal time for both the area and a young Israel.

With Newark’s changing demographics, the High Street “Y” closes in 1954. After a vigorous fundraising campaign, it will reopen its doors at a new location on Chancellor Avenue in 1959. Then, as many in the community moved to the suburbs, the Y will move again in 1967 to its current location on Northfield Avenue in West Orange. 

At Israeli Airport in 1954, Golda Meir welcomes a delegation from Essex County who travelled to Israel to update Meir about the first sale of Israel Bonds in the United States. Pictured here (left to right) are Henry Montor (holding hat); Golda Meir, then Labor Minister of Israel; and Joel Gross (far right holding jacket).

Martha Silverschein, known as the “founding mother” of Rockaway, New Jersey’s White Meadow Temple, hosts Eleanor Roosevelt, a champion of human rights, people displaced by World War II, the founding of Israel, and other causes of crucial Jewish concern.

Lord Mayor Robert Briscoe, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland, was very active in Jewish causes. He was the guest speaker at the UJA Special Gifts dinner in March of 1957 as part of a fundraising tour in the U.S. to support Jewish refugees. Here he is pictured (at left) “applying the taper to the torch,” with (left to right) Samuel Klein, general chairman of the 1957 United Jewish Appeal campaign; Ralph Wechsler, president of the Jewish Community Council of Essex County; Martin Levin, UJA Special Gifts chairman; and Newark Mayor Leo P. Carlin.

The first time Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks during synagogue services, it is in our community, at Temple Sha’rey Shalom in Springfield.

Here he is pictured with community leaders (left to right) Howard Kiesel, Natalie Waldt, and Rabbi Israel Dresner. It is a milestone in the embrace between two cultures who understand one another’s struggles and recognize the need to join in common purpose. 

A group of teens from the Young Judah group of Congregation B’nai Abraham with teens from the National Council of Young Israel join more than 20 groups from Essex County who travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the national Eternal Light Vigil demonstrating against Soviet discrimination against the USSR’s 3 million Jews. 

Leaders from our Federation community join more than 200 Jewish leaders from 37 communities in 21 states, on the United Jewish Appeal’s 12th annual study mission in Israel. Participants spend 13 days surveying the extensive immigrant absorption programs established by the Jewish Agency for Israel and evaluating how our work can help further their efforts.

An interim figure of $2,544,000 (the best in 18 years) is announced at UJA Victory Night at Temple Israel of the Oranges and Maplewood where more than 200 campaign chairmen and workers gather to celebrate. Pictured (left to right) are Sidney E. Leiwant, Jerome Meier, David Slobodien, Donald H. Benjamin, and Hymen B. Mintz.

Community member and longtime public servant Sam Convissor discusses the Governor’s Select Commission for the Study of Civil Disorder in New Jersey, to which he was a significant contributor. The study, which is released in 1968, analyzes the roots of riots in Newark and other NJ cities, identifying racial, economic, and power imbalances.

In June, Jewish councils representing numerous communities within the Plainfield and Westfield areas merge with the Eastern Union County Jewish Council to create the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. It will eventually merge with the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest to become today’s formidable Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. Pictured is an excerpt from the minutes of a meeting the January before.

To accommodate the expanding Jewish population farther west, the United Jewish Federation of Morris/Sussex is established in 1973. Led by its first president, Seymour Epstein, the organization is small compared to it’s neighbor in Essex County and has very little infrastructure or overhead. Most of the money raised goes to support Israel. It merges with the Jewish Community Federation of Metropolitan New Jersey in 1983, becoming the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest.

Pictured here is Epstein (right) accepting an award from his successor, Sanford Hollander (left), at the annual meeting chaired by Pearl Schlossman (center) in 1975.

The national Federation community rallies to support Israel following the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, raising $15 million. The equivalent in purchasing power today would be $103,273,980.

Hebrew Free Loan Association is reorganized with proceeds from the sale of the Hebrew Sheltering Home in Newark. The current society is successor to one that was founded in Newark in 1870, closed in 1955, and then reopened in 1996 to serve the MetroWest community, Essex and Morris counties, and eventually Jews in need around the state.

JESPY House, an agency that enables adults with learning and developmental disabilities to lead independent lives in the community, opens. The 24-hour supervised residential program in South Orange starts with four residents and now has 35 people living in the residential facilities, as well as more than 100 out-clients living in apartments in South Orange.

Groundbreaking takes place for the Jewish Federation Plaza, which becomes one of the first facilities in northern New Jersey to offer independent senior living. Today it is one of four Jewish Community Housing Corporation (JCHC) sites, along with Village Apartments of Jewish Federation in South Orange, South Orange B’nai B’rith Federation House, and Lester Senior Living in Whippany.

In the early 80s, three families who recognize the need for an Orthodox education for their sons with special needs start making phone calls. In 1982, a program is launched by Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene who was the head of the Hebrew Youth Academy (now Kushner Academy) then in West Caldwell. There are five boys in that first class. One of the core principles of the program is to integrate the students into the rest of the school. Sinai Schools continues to thrive and expand over the years.

In an effort to reduce duplication of social services, the Jewish Community Federation of Metropolitan New Jersey (Essex County) and the United Federation of Morris-Sussex merge on October 1, 1983 to form United Jewish Communities (UJC) of MetroWest NJ. This is the origin of the word MetroWest. 

The Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD) begins in 1984 with the formation of the Commission on Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (a committee for United Jewish Federation of MetroWest). In 1989, the Commission purchases, renovates, and occupies its first group home in Millburn, NJ. Since then, an additional 14 homes are added, including three supervised apartments. In 1996, JSDD becomes an independent agency. Today, community-based, supervised, supportive living arrangements provide 24-hour assistance, with the capacity to serve 50 men and women in Essex, Morris, and Union Counties. Pictured here is an article about the group home in West Caldwell which opens in 1998.

Jackie Levine (center) leads the quarter-million marchers, including busloads from our own community, who came to Washington, D.C. for the rally to free Jews endangered and trapped in the Soviet Union, for which she was the national organizer.

MetroWest High School is founded in the MetroWest partner community of Ra’anana, exemplifying a commitment to education and pluralism in Israel. It becomes a model for the rest of the country.

Inauguration ceremony takes place on Sunday, May 3. The new building houses the JCC of Greater Morris, the Frances and Herbert Brody Early Childhood Center, the offices of the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest, the Dr. M.W. Weinstein and Family Jewish Education Association of MetroWest, the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest, the MetroWest Jewish News, the Waldor Memorial Library, the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest NJ, the Harry Wilf Holocaust Memorial, and the MetroWest Conference Center. 

The Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest NJ is created to archive records of administrative, legal, fiscal, and historical value, including artifacts, books, oral histories, and manuscript collections. The mission of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater MetroWest NJ is to serve as the archival repository of the Jewish community of the Greater MetroWest region. The Society serves the Jewish and general communities as a research center, exhibit center, producer of public forums, and publisher of books and papers on topics of historical Jewish interest.

This campus, located on the grounds of the JCC in Scotch Plains, will serve as the central address for the Jewish community which stretches from Elizabeth to Basking Ridge, encompassing Union and northern Somerset Counties. Pictured here breaking ground on May 14 are Central community leaders (left to right) Toby Goldberger, Joseph Wilf, Gerald Cantor, Sandra Friedland, Joan Schiffer Levinson, Fran Brody, Richard Corman, and Stanley Stone.

Jewish Family Service of Central NJ receives a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims to assist Holocaust survivors applying for social services.

Prompted by phone calls from local Jewish victims of domestic violence, the Jewish Family Service of MetroWest works with several agencies to raise funds to create a safe house for those within the community in need of shelter. With the seed money from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and fundraising campaigns coordinated by the Women’s Department of the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest, the Rachel Coalition is established.

These are the shovels used at the dedication ceremonies for two new senior living centers run by Jewish Community Housing Corporation (JCHC), Federation Plaza in West Orange (1978) and Lester Housing in Whippany (1997). These two facilities bring the total number of senior housing sites to five.

United Jewish Federation of MetroWest establishes a new department of volunteer and leadership development to attract newcomers through volunteer opportunities and to help people already involved reach their potential. The Center for Volunteerism now provides year-round service opportunities for volunteers of all ages and abilities. 

The Friendship Circle opens in Livingston, offering activities and programs for children and teens with special needs and connecting teen volunteers with children with special needs and their families to provide support, respite, and friendships.

In 2016, The Friendship Circle breaks ground on a new 53,000 square foot fully inclusive facility, LifeTown, which offers a myriad of opportunities for recreation, education, and therapeutic play aimed at providing a comprehensive slate of programming for individuals with special abilities and their families.

In 2002, longtime community member Sidney Schwarz reminisces about life in Newark as part of JHS’s Oral History Program. He recounts studying at University of Newark (now Rutgers), flying reconnaissance in WWII, marrying his wife Ethel during a 27-inch snowstorm, starting a furniture business in an old grocery store, and their survival of the 1967 riots and second act in MetroWest; keeping both history and a sense of humor alive. 

Keren Dicastro and Yotam Guetta arrive at the end of the summer from our partner community of Rishon LeZion as our first cohort of rishonim! The Jewish Agency for Israel’s ShinShinim program was designed as a “year of service” that offers Israeli high school graduates an opportunity to delay mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces and serve Diaspora communities for up to 10 months. The program allows communities to meet young Israeli ambassadors who perform meaningful service prior to entering the army. We have had a Greater MetroWest cohort every year since!

In October 2004, the Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD) opens the doors of the WAE (Wellness, Arts & Enrichment) Center, an alternative learning program which provides opportunities for people with developmental and acquired disabilities to develop skills and cultivate self-esteem while tapping unknown talents and creating new possibilities for artistic pursuits, wellness endeavors, and enrichment activities. Opportunities at the Center are all developed embracing the belief that learning, creativity, and spirituality are a lifelong journey which is different and unique for everyone. The WAE Center currently serves approximately 150 people per year.

Bridging several worlds of Jewish life, members of a leadership mission by the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey pose with Ethiopian children and youth participating in Federation-funded arts programs at a center in Arad, Israel.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker observes the 150th year of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, tracing the agency from its roots as the Hebrew Benevolent Orphan Society through its present as a premier provider of professional help for the health and wellbeing of a wide community.

The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life sponsors a Great Shofar Blowout on September 21 at the Alex Aidekman Jewish Community Campus, attracted more than 1,000 people all blasting their shofars in unison and setting a Guiness World Record.

Staff Sergeant Matan Gotlib z”l is tragically killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge on July 30, 2014. The entire Greater MetroWest community, in Israel and here in New Jersey, mourns his loss.

Matan, the son of Shmulik and Ruchama, was a born leader. Admired by many, he was active in local community projects and his Tzofim Youth Group, helping disadvantaged children. He had been a Diller Teen Fellow in 2009. And his ties to our community are still very much alive.

The resettlement of Yemeni Jews is considered complete as 19 Jews from Yemen are rescued and brought to live in Israel, the culmination of a long-term mission coordinated covertly by our Federation partner, the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Jewish Federation announces the creation and launch of the Greater MetroWest Multi-Campus Hillel in partnership with Rutgers Hillel. The mission of GMW Hillel is to provide outreach and engagement to the Jewish student populations at Montclair State University, Kean University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rutgers-Newark, and NJIT-Newark. Together these campuses host approximately 2,000 Jewish students.

A large part of their role is to work with campus professionals, Jewish communal and higher education leaders, anti-hate organizations, and of course students to address antisemitic activity through a variety of initiatives and programs.

Federation presents the 300,000^th local PJ Library book to 6-year-old Nathaniel Melville of Scotch Plains in a ceremonious event. PJ Library, an initiative of our Federation in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, has been delivering free Jewish children’s books and music CDs to Greater MetroWest families for almost ten years. The ceremonial 300,000th book is presented by Maxine Murnick, a major supporter of the Greater MetroWest PJ Library program and a member of the Federation Board of Trustees; Federation’s Vice President of Jewish Learning and Life Jody Hurwitz Caplan; and Federation professionals.

Teens who survived the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, join with Greater MetroWest at a rally we host for common sense gun legislation, attended by more than 2,000 community members. Shortly after, we provide buses to attend the March for Our Lives in Newark, with lunch and discussion sessions afterward, as well as a lobbying trip to bring our CRC Teen Task Force to Trenton to lobby for gun legislation at the state level.

On October 27, 11 people were killed and six were wounded as a gunman opened fire during Shabbat morning services at Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation in The Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history. This tragic incident triggered a massive increase in security preparedness in Jewish institutions.

It took longer than expected because of the COVID pandemic, but in 2021 Federation and our partners at Brandeis University released the 2020 Greater MetroWest Jewish Community Study which provides a snapshot of a strong and vibrant Jewish community that continues to evolve.

The data yielded by the study will serve as a roadmap for priorities as we enter our next century.