PAST EVENTS


Celebrate75-IMG_6465Celebrate SEVENTY-FIVE Salutes Past, Present  and Future - Jan 2011

For 75 years, Federation has been a catalyst for growth and helped create a more vibrant Jewish community in San Diego, Israel and around the world. On January 15, over 750 members of San Diego’s Jewish community came together to celebrate community, people-hood and the 75th anniversary of the Jewish  Federation of San Diego County. “Celebrate Seventy-Five” focused on honoring  Federation’s past, celebrating the present and strengthening the future.

The fundraising event was chaired by Claire & David Ellman, Sylvia & David Geffen, Ashley & Ryan Stone and Laura & Brian Tauber. Honorees for this special evening included past Federation Board Chairs and Women's Division Presidents. Milton Roberts, 97, a past Board Chair and key figure in erasing La Jolla’s anti-Semitic residency laws in 1957, received momentous applause in recognition of his status as the oldest living Federation leader.

For photos from Celebrate SEVENTY-FIVE, click here

Yom Ha’atzmaut - Sunday, May 15, 2011 

Yom Ha'atzmaut is the national Israeli Independence Day, commemorating the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948.It falls on the 5th of the Jewish lunar month Iyar, celebrating the declaration of the state of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar, 5708), and the end of the British Mandate of Palestine.  It is always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, the Israel fallen soldiers Remembrance Day on the 4th of Iyar.An official ceremony is held every year on Mount Herzl on the evening of Yom Ha'atzmaut. The ceremony includes a speech by the speaker of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), a dramatic presentation, a ritual march of soldiers carrying the Flag of Israel, forming elaborate structures (such as a Menorah, Magen David and a number which represents the age of Israel) and the lighting of twelve torches (one for each of the Tribes of Israel). Every year a dozen Israeli citizens, who made a significant contribution in a selected area, are invited to light the torches.