Federation’s Community Security Director Awarded “White Rose”

Yesterday, Bill Ganley, the Community Security Director for Jewish Federation of San Diego, was presented with a White Rose from The White Rose Society. The White Rose honors non-Jewish individuals for standing with the Jewish community and who have made significant efforts to do so.

The White Rose Society was founded as an homage to the “Weiße Rose” (White Rose) movement in Nazi Germany, a non-Jewish resistance group founded by University of Munich students in 1942. At the height of WWII and the Holocaust, the original White Rose heroically opposed the efforts of the Nazi regime to destroy the Jewish people. The organization pressured fellow students and the German public to not turn a blind eye to the regime’s atrocities, to condemn the action of the Nazi state, and to oppose it.  

The Society today calls upon the legacy of that group to shine a light on those who resist the urge of anonymity and silence and instead take a stand for the Jewish people. The organization honors and gives thanks to the individuals who stand with the Jewish community, especially in times of duress, by awarding them with a glass White Rose.  

Bill was nominated for his outstanding commitment and dedication to combating antisemitism and ensuring Jewish safety and joy. He stands among other decorated White Rose recipients such as:  

• Former NFL linebacker Emanuel Acho 
• Representative Leslie Herod 
• Interfaith Activist Anila Ali 
• Representative Shannon Bird 
• Bishop Keith and Pastor Deborah Butler 

Read The White Rose Society’s award for Bill here.