Written by Yisrael (Stephen) Donshik (PLS ’15, ’16, ’17, ’19, hourly for many years) – Many people have wanted to know more about the development of the organized Jewish community in the United States and how the Jewish federation became a one-stop address for raising funds, providing local services, and meeting overseas needs. Yet, it has been difficult to obtain detailed information about the functioning of the national system and about how local communities developed the resources to simultaneously participate in local, national, and international projects and to offer programs aimed at meeting the needs of Jewish communities regardless of location. Dr. Berman, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, approaches the organization of U.S. Jewish communities by framing it in terms of the “military industrial complex,” first described by President Eisenhower in the 1950s.
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