2025 Jewish Federation Annual Meeting

The 125th Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Chicago brought together 900 members of Chicago’s Jewish community to discuss the future of Jewish life, celebrate its strength, and address rising antisemitism.

Annual Meeting Chair Deborah Schrayer Karmin presided over the Sept. 11 proceedings at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk.

“From the celebrations to the challenges, clearly we are living in deeply complicated times in Jewish history,” Karmin said. “Yet, one thing is certain. This community has not stood by helpless. We have ramped up our commitment to Jewish living and to Jewish life. The Chicago Federation is built for this and has always risen to meet the needs of our community.”

During the meeting, Donna Kahan was presented the 62nd annual Julius Rosenwald Memorial Award-JUF’s highest honor-in recognition of her transformative service to the Jewish community.

“It has been my honor to know Donna Kahan for more than 40 years and I can say this with a deep sense of surety: There are many people in this room committed to the work and the mission of the Federation, but one cannot be more committed than Donna Kahan,” shared Rabbi Michael Siegel, Senior Rabbi at Anshe Emet Synagogue. “At the heart of Donna’s success is a single Hebrew word: Kesher, or connection.”

“Donna often jokes that she is known as a troublemaker-but what she’s most known for is her astonishing generosity,” added Wendy C. Abrams, JUF/Federation Board Chair. “She is a trailblazer. An original. A community icon whose impact will be felt for generations to come.”

The Davis, Gidwitz & Glasser Young Leadership Awards, honoring extraordinary young volunteers, were presented to young leaders Lisa Gelles and Douglas H. London.

Two exemplary young Jewish communal professionals-Micah Ariel Rohr, Assistant Director of JUF’s Israel Education Center, and Tori Gruber, Senior Manager of Cognitive Services at CJE SeniorLife-were recognized with Samuel A. Goldsmith Awards.

2025 JUF Annual Campaign Chair Joshua B. Herz was thanked for his determined, continuing leadership of the campaign, and Jamie Diamond Schwartz and David Schwartz-the first couple to take on this role-were introduced as General Chairs of the 2026 Annual Campaign.

Karmin also acknowledged the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in her remarks.

“Twenty-four years ago, our nation suffered the deadliest terrorist attack in history and shook our confidence and sense of security to the core,” she said. “Nearly 3,000 people were murdered in coordinated attacks on the United States by Islamist terrorists. It is a bitter reminder of what is at stake and how important it is to stand up for freedom and against hate.”

She also extended gratitude for law enforcement’s tireless vigilance, professionalism, and protection, which has been pivotal for the community’s ability to gather and celebrate Jewish life safely.

“Our community is stronger and safer with our partnership with law enforcement,” Karmin said. “In these times with antisemitism and Jewish hate on the rise, our law enforcement has been rock solid.”

In the annual State of the Federation address, JUF President Lonnie Nasatir emphasized the importance of holding onto hope. “The most powerful response to antisemitism is to strengthen ourselves as Jews and to double down on our investment in Jewish life and that’s exactly what we have done,” he said.

“The events of October 7 did more than unleash a wave of antisemitic hate: They also unleashed a surge of Jewish pride and a new hunger for connection to community. Over the last year, the number of people coming to JUF programs and events doubled. Right now, there is a false narrative circulating in our community that we have lost the next generation. Don’t believe it.”

Nasatir also spoke about the importance of staying unified in a climate of rising political division. “We must rise above that,” he said. “There can be no ‘us’ and ‘them’ in our community-even if we disagree about a particular issue or many issues.

“We must remember that we are One People with a shared destiny.”

In their own words: Excerpts of remarks by the 2025 honorees

“My involvement was a journey. While my dad first demonstrated the importance of giving and being involved, it wasn’t until we took our first trip to Israel that I was in, heart and soul. Don, my husband, was on JFNA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet. Shortly after the Six Day War, we went on our first mission. It was then that I truly fell in love with the people and the land. I came home totally committed and with an extra gift. . .

On that mission, we decided that our four sons need to have a living Jewish experience. So, after each bar mitzvah, we had a family trip to Israel . . . But after the ’73 war, we rented an apartment from someone who was spending the summer in Chicago, and I spent the summer in Israel. Dan came for two weeks, then home for two weeks, and then back for the rest of the summer. We had a real taste of living in Israel.

A little history: The Women’s Division often asked me to speak about our experiences there. As a result, I was surprised by an invitation to be President of the Women’s Division. By virtue of the office, one had a seat on the Federation Board. At that time, Don was on the Federation Board, and it was thought that one of us would relinquish a seat. No way. So we were the first husband and wife to serve together.

Fast forward: I feel so fortunate to have spent 35 years-first coming to 1 South Franklin, and then to our new home at 30 South Wells. Some called it work, but it wasn’t work for me. It was living my commitment to the Jewish community.”

~ Julius Rosenwald Award Honoree Donna Kahan

“We talk a lot about  l’dor v’dor -from generation to generation-and I see it not just as a tradition, or something my mom instilled in me (thanks, Mom), but as a responsibility. We are each stewards of something bigger than ourselves. That sense of legacy, of continuity, of being part of an unbroken chain-that’s what keeps me motivated and inspired to do more, and to keep saying yes.

What’s struck me most in recent years is the duality of this work-how it’s both deeply local and powerfully global.

One day, I’m serving meals at the Uptown Cafe or walking through The Ark, witnessing firsthand the compassion and care we bring to people just miles from home. And the next, I’m on a flight, seeing for myself how we support Jewish communities in Azerbaijan (yes, I had to look it up on a map, too!), Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Argentina, and, of course, Israel.

These aren’t abstract ideas. These are real people-elderly Jews who feel remembered, children who feel protected, families who feel supported. And in these scary, uncertain times, it’s been a profound comfort to know that while the headlines may be dark, our collective work is creating light-in places we may never visit but still reach.”

~ Davis, Gidwitz, and Glasser YLD Award Honoree Lisa Gelles

“What fills me with the greatest pride is being part of communities that lead with purpose-and do so collectively. Both the Jewish community and the LGBTQ community have embraced me, offering a space where I can lead authentically and meaningfully. The intersection of this came to life earlier this year when I had the honor of serving as Co-Chair for the Jewish Federations of North America’s LGBTQ Mission to Israel.

The mission ended after dinner on June 12, and as some boarded their flights and others turned to celebrating Tel Aviv Pride, the conflict between Israel and Iran escalated dramatically. Many on the mission, me included, were left facing uncertainty about how-or when-we’d get home. . .

What sticks with me from the mission wasn’t the war or disruption that we faced getting home, it was the profound resilience we witnessed both during the mission and during our trek back to the States. We saw it in survivors of the October 7 attacks we met with at Nir Oz and the Nova Festival site, who continue to lead with hope despite unimaginable loss. And then I saw it in my fellow mission participants- who met adversity with unity, and a deep commitment to one another and to Israel.”

~ Davis, Gidwitz, and Glasser YLD Award Honoree Douglas London

“As Jews, we’re lucky to have instructive examples for how to navigate hard times all around us. Martin Buber, philosopher, storyteller, and professor at Hebrew University lived through upheaval and extremism. Amongst his many influential ideas, he taught that politics alone cannot change our world, so long as we are constrained by people’s prejudice, judgement, fear, and selfishness. Buber points out something that our Jewish tradition teaches many times over: That we need to prepare for the world we want to live in before we can inhabit it.

In the context of a polarized world full of very real problems, this means that we must transform the way we relate to one another in order to transform our world. We must learn to be generous and compassionate, tolerant of difference and disagreement, cognizant of shared values even when our life experiences lead us to make different choices and express ourselves in different ways. Especially when it’s hard.

Being able to see the world from a different perspective is one of the many gifts we have been given as Jews. As teachers and learners, all of us should remember that it is in the tension between ideas, the disagreement, and the respect for difference that the greatest growth and learning occurs.”

~ Goldsmith Award Honoree Micah Ariel-Rohr

“I remember a question on my Moishe House resident application, which asked: ‘Have you engaged in Jewish experiences?’ I, very simply but genuinely, answered: ‘Every experience I have is a Jewish experience!’ My Jewish identity is woven into everything I do and the values I hold dearest, including the value that resonates most for me: kehillah -community. Community is inextricably linked to the human experience and becomes more important as we age.

My passion for working with older adults began during a volunteer trip to Israel, where I was assigned to an adult day program in Haifa. We sang, played bingo, and danced. I saw how connection and compassion could light up someone’s day.

That early spark led me to pursue social work with a focus in aging studies and eventually to this work, which I cherish. We are reimagining our Adult Day Services program as a Center for Cognitive Services, where we hope to offer holistic care and community for those who are asking the question “What’s next?” after a diagnosis. Our Adult Day, cognitive, early stage, and care partner services all aim to restore confidence and connection. We have accomplished so much that I am proud of, and we are eager to do more.”

~ Goldsmith Award Honoree Tori Gruber

From the 2025 State of the Federation Address

“The most powerful response to antisemitism is to strengthen ourselves as Jews and to double down on our investment in Jewish life.

And that’s exactly what we have done.

Because the events of October 7 did more than unleash a wave of antisemitic hate: They also unleashed a surge of Jewish pride and a new hunger for connection to community.

Over the last year, the number of people coming to JUF programs and events doubled.

Most significant of all, this wonderful surge in Jewish engagement included thousands of young adults-many of whom were participating in a JUF program or event for the first time.

Right now, there is a false narrative circulating in our community that we have lost the next generation.

Don’t believe it.

This year, young Jews showed up, and JUF helped connect them to Jewish life-and to one another. 

Young Chicago Jews enjoyed hundreds of opportunities for connection offered through our Young Leadership Division, JUF Young Families, Russian-speaking Jewish Division and our four amazing Silverstein Base locations.

They did hands-on volunteer work with TOV Volunteer Network and made business connections with the Jewish Professionals Network.

We brought them together for holiday celebrations, cocktail hours and current events briefings. For softball leagues and summer nights out. For Tot Shabbats, Taco Tuesdays, and Torah study.

And then, we went a step beyond.

Fueled by the success of last year’s JUF annual campaign, JUF expanded our Young Adult Engagement grant pool for 2025, enabling us to fund 14 new community initiatives-involving 30 organizations-that created even more ways for young Jews to connect . . . 

We are one People. We have one destiny-and one heart.

That’s why when Israel suffers, we suffer-and when the Israeli people bleed, we bleed with them. 

Israelis have endured unfathomable losses over the last two years-and during that time, JUF has invested well over $100 million to help the nation heal.

Fueled by both the JUF Annual Campaign and the Israel Emergency Fund, JUF has been there, 24/7, helping meet needs on the ground.

We have delivered emergency relief to victims of terror, displaced families, and first responders; provided multi-faceted services to devastated kibbutzim; and sent special assistance to homebound elderly, people with disabilities, new immigrants, and other vulnerable populations.

Perhaps most importantly, we have funded emotional support and trauma relief programs.

The cruel reality is that Israel has been ravaged by trauma. 

Most agonizing of all: There are survivors of the October 7 attacks, IDF soldiers and reservists who died by suicide this year. With such widespread PTSD, providing trauma relief for Israelis has continued to be a top priority. To date, JUF has helped deliver mental health support to over 400,000 Israelis-including Nova Festival survivors, spouses of army reservists called up for duty, and first responders-and also families whose loved ones were-or are still-hostages in Gaza.

JUF also has helped Israelis heal from the war’s economic devastation, assisting 62,000 Israelis through economic relief and recovery programs. Recovering from the longest, most intense war Israel has fought since its War for Independence 77 years ago, will itself take years. JUF’s support will not falter.”

~JUF/Federation President Lonnie Nasatir