THE
Jewish
OBSERVER www.jewishobservernashville.org
President’s Message By ARON KARABEL
H
ope everyone had an enjoyable Pesach. I wanted to share a few important announcements and updates. First, on May 4th, we will be celebrating the graduation of several emerging leaders of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville’s program known as Leadership615.This program is an intense six-month fellowship designed to train the next generation and grow our leadership pipeline. We are grateful for our benefactors, Dr. Mark Goldfarb and Beth Levine, and extremely proud of the accomplishments of the graduates. Second, our CEO search process has been moving forward steadily. I am personally thankful for the hard work of our committee. In just a few short weeks, the process has already generated a large number of qualified candidates. Through in-depth interviews, we are now narrowing the field to a small group of semi-finalists. We remain on track to have a new CEO who will serve as both a community leader and relationship builder. Finally, I’m excited to share details about our 2025 Annual Campaign. As many of you know, our campaign goal this year is $3 million. This increased goal reflects growing needs locally and in Israel. I am thankful for the ongoing work of the Campaign Committee led by Arlene Averbuch and Jacob Kleinrock. Given our community growth and philanthropic potential, I believe this year’s campaign goal is reachable and will challenge us to find new and innovative ways of giving. The campaign’s success will serve as a catalyst to expand our reach as a Federation and enable us to provide critical funding for our most ambitious initiatives and serve as a transformative investment in our shared future for the Jewish community. I’m deeply grateful for the hard work of our board, professionals, Continued on page 3 A Publication of the
WWW.JEWISHNASHVILLE.ORG
Vol. 90 No. 5
MAY 2025 3 Iyyar - 4 Sivan 5785
Celebrating the Lions of Judah By JASON SPARKS
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he Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville is proud to celebrate the official relaunch of the Lions of Judah! On Sunday, April 6th, we celebrated and honored our Lions with a special springtime floral arranging class. #JewishNashville would not be possible without the dedication these women show to our community every day. The Lions of Judah make a minimum
gift of $5,000 to the annual campaign, and they are the most dynamic philanthropic Jewish women in the world. Consisting of women of all ages, it is an international sisterhood of thousands of global activists who care deeply about the Jewish future. Lions of Judah play a vital role in promoting social justice, aiding
the vulnerable, preserving human dignity, and building Jewish identity. Lions demonstrate dedication to the Jewish community by contributing time and resources. To learn more about the Lions of Judah, contact Jason Sparks, jason@ jewishnashville.org. •
Rule of Law: A Tradition Under Pressure By BARBARA DAB
O
ver the last several weeks President Donald Trump has taken aim at some of the country’s largest law firms through the use of executive orders. These orders include actions such as stripping the firms’ security clearancSocial Justice Seder Brings Together Friends and Neighbors, page 6
es, barring access to federal buildings, and terminating federal contracts held by the firms. According to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, the orders accuse the firms of being, “dishonest and engaging in litigation and conduct he declared was detrimental to American interests.” And May in The Galleries, page 16
the Center says some of the orders attack the firms for their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. In the wake of these orders, some of the firms have struck deals with the administration allowing them to continue their regular work in exchange for Continued on page 18 Women In Business Special Section, page 21