SCF: Helping The Community One Day At A Time

With Rosh Hashanah upon us, it is an appropriate time to look back and reflect on all that the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF), the umbrella goverment relations and public policy organization, was fortunate to accomplish on behalf of the community over the past year.

As we prepare to usher in a new year, we not only look back on a productive and fruitful 5770, but we look ahead to 5771 and all the hope and possibilities that it holds for the SCF and the entire community.

Best wishes for a Shana Tova; a happy, healthy and sweet New Year. Shtizku L’Shanim Rabot; may our community merit many more good years together. Please enjoy our look back at the year that was.

1. Education Update: Yeshivah Children Get Free Computers
This past year, the SCF worked together with TEACH NYS and several other leading Jewish organizations to secure brand new laptop computers through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for thousands of New York City yeshivah students, including many in the Sephardic community. This new program is bringing in millions of dollars worth of technological equipment to yeshivot.

According to Councilman David Greenfield, the former Executive Vice President of SCF and the Director and Counsel of TEACH NYS, the laptop computers are available for student use in yeshivot or at home.

“Providing laptops and other educational technologies to thousands of students in our yeshivot creates new and exciting educational opportunities for our children,” Greenfield said. “Laptops, e-readers, and ‘Tag Readers’ are bringing more diverse learning mediums to our children, providing them with cutting edge educational opportunities, and enabling them to maximize their potential.”

Greenfield thanked Caren Zayde Moncher, the Executive Director of the New York City’s Bureau of Non-Public Schools, and her devoted staff for overseeing this initiative.

2. Education Update: Free Tutoring For Yeshivah Students
The SCF played a pivotal role in the successful effort to secure tens of millions of dollars in new funding for Title I tutoring services to New York City yeshivah students. SCF was also intimately involved with the establishment of a new program, whereby tens of thousands of children in NYC yeshivot are now receiving free tutoring services through Title I from the federal government.

SCF, who led the comprehensive effort to obtain Title I services for yeshivah students from the New York City Department of Education, worked in collaboration with United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, and a number of other Jewish organizations, including Agudath Israel of America and the Board of Education of Greater New York.

The new tutoring services are being offered after the NYC Department of Education agreed to take the necessary steps to help thousands of yeshivah students throughout NYC get millions of dollars in valuable education services by creating a third party vendor system in conjunction with its administration of the Title I program under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

Several months ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Barkai Yeshivah to celebrate the launch of the free instructional tutoring services for nearly 10,000 yeshivah children in New York City. For the first time, these yeshivah students will receive free small group remedial instruction in the subjects of reading, writing and math.

“This is certainly a major breakthrough in our ongoing effort to get the educational services and programs that our students are entitled to under federal law,” said Councilman David Greenfield. “By working together with the Mayor’s office, the New York City Department of Education and our partner on the non-public school committee we were successful in securing the free remedial services that our children desperately need and deserve.”

3. Frontrunner for Governor Addresses Sephardic Community Leaders
On May 3rd, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is currently the Democratic candidate for Governor, was the featured guest at the Sephardic Community Federation’s Annual Board of Directors meeting in Manhattan. Cuomo addressed over 100 Sephardic community leaders and spoke in great detail about the challenges and issues facing New York State. Upon the conclusion of his remarks, he spent time taking questions from the groups. At the forefront of those questions was a discussion about what the state government can do to relieve the growing burden of yeshivah tuition on our families.

At the event, Cuomo was presented with the Sephardic Community Federation’s Jacob Barsimon Award for his efforts on behalf of the Sephardic community.  Jacob Barsimon, a Sephardic Jew, became the first Jewish immigrant to settle in New York when he emigrated from the Dutch colony of Recife in Brazil in 1654. Previous winners of the SCF’s Jacob Barsimon Award are New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

The many community leaders in attendance heard from SCF Co-Chairman Ronald Tawil and SCF President Sam Sutton, who outlined the recent accomplishments of the Sephardic Community Federation and its stellar work on behalf of the community, and explained why the  SCF’s efforts are so critical to the future of the Sephardic community.

“The Sephardic Community Federation is involved in a multitude of issues and activities, all for the betterment of our community,” said Tawil, “We are extremely fortunate and very privileged to be able to spend every day working on behalf of our community—our yeshivot, our shuls, and our many wonderful organizations.”

“We are deeply involved in the fabric of NY for one reason—to help our community,” said Sutton, “Whether it is a school, community organization or private individual, the SCF is ready, willing, and able to help whenever necessary. Our efforts on behalf of our community and our work on critical public policy issues affecting the Jewish community at large have helped the Sephardic community become one of the most vital and influential Jewish communities in New York today.”

4. Assisting The Sephardic Community – One Organization At A Time
The SCF has become the go-to organization for any community organization that needs help, advice or resources from government.

Over the past several years the following organizations have benefited from SCF’s leadership: the Sephardic Community Center, Sephardic Bikur Holim, IMAGINE Academy, Reach for the Stars, SAFE, Angel Fund, Medstar, as well many other
worthy social service organizations and just about every yeshivah in our community.

5. Making A Difference For Our Community’s Future by Voting in Elections
As the SCF continues to encourage civic and political involvement among members of the community, it has focused on increasing voter registration in the Sephardic community. The SCF has literally doubled the amount of registered voters in the community. However, there are still thousands who have not yet registered to vote.

As part of the continuing effort to make certain that our voices are heard by our elected officials, SCF formed a new organization called SCF VOTE, through which they are working to ensure that all eligible members of the Sephardic community are registered to vote and make certain that they actually go out and vote on Election Day.

The results of the new voter registration initiative were evident this past March, as David Greenfield won a hotly contested race to succeed Simcha Felder in the City Council. Greenfield’s decisive 18-point victory earned him the privilege of representing the diverse 44th Council District, which is comprised of Midwood, Boro Park, and Bensonhurst, and includes most of the Sephardic community.

In the aftermath of his more than 2,200 vote victory, Greenfield acknowledged the remarkable voter turnout in the Sephardic community that helped propel him to the City Council. Nearly 2,000 Sephardic voters cast votes in the special election.  
“Voting gives the community the opportunity to make a difference in the political process and enables them to have a voice in government,” said Greenfield. “The community has the strength to influence elections at every level of government. This year there are many important elections where the community can make a difference. We need everyone to vote on Tuesday, November 2nd.”

SCF Executive Director Jeffrey Leb noted that there are a number of important races on the ballot, including Governor, Attorney General, State Senate, and State Assembly. Leb stressed the importance of the Sephardic community making their voices heard at the polls. “Elected officials know exactly who votes and who doesn’t vote,” explained Leb. “We amazed the political establishment by our massive turnout in the March Special Election. We need an even larger turnout on Tuesday, November 2nd, so that our politicians see how important the Sephardic community is in local elections.”

To learn more about the Sephardic Community Federation’s voter registration drive or to request a voter registration form, call the SCF office at (718) 336-0880.

6. Keeping Our Yeshivot Safe and Secure
As the memory of the tragic events of 9/11 continues to live on and the threat of new acts of terror consistently looms large, educational institutions and non-profit organizations throughout the five boroughs regularly compete with one another to secure coveted homeland security grants in order to enhance their security measures.

The SCF has worked vigorously over the past several years to help organizations and yeshivot throughout the Sephardic community successfully obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in security grants from the city, state, and federal government. As a result of the SCF’s efforts, more than a half-dozen not-for-profits were able to access homeland security funding and implement various security upgrades for their institutions.

7. New Leadership At SCF: Introducing Executive Director Jeff Leb
With his election to the New York City Council, David Greenfield stepped down as Executive Vice President of the Sephardic Community Federation in order to focus on his new duties. Greenfield, who led SCF since its inception, did an outstanding job representing the community in political and governmental circles. He will continue to be an advocate for the community as a member of the City Council. However, a new organizational director was needed to run the day-to-day operations of the SCF. Fortunately, the SCF had someone who was ready, willing, and able to step into a leadership role and help guide the organization into the future—Jeff Leb.

Jeff Leb, who served as Policy Director of the SCF for the past several years under Greenfield’s leadership, was named the new Executive Director. Leb came to the SCF after a 4-year term as Chief of Staff to New York City Councilman James Gennaro and prior experience at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget. With his political and governmental experience, Leb is in a unique position to help the community succeed in New York’s civic and political arenas.

“I am excited at the opportunity to advocate for this extraordinary community,” said Leb. “I look forward to working together with the SCF leadership and the entire community to help propel the community to even greater heights.”

8. SCF Stops Millions of Dollars In Cuts To Yeshivot
When the New York State Legislature voted several months ago on a multi-billion dollar deficit reduction plan that rejected significant cuts to education including yeshivot, it was a big moment for New York’s Jewish community and a crowning achievement for the SCF. Jeff Leb spent a great deal of time in Albany prior to the vote and was a leader in the fight to stop potentially devastating cuts to yeshivot.

Specifically, Governor Paterson proposed a 10% mid-year cut to private schools which Jewish community leaders estimated would cost yeshivot $2.5 million this year.

“This is a monumental victory and a significant accomplishment for our yeshivot,” said Leb. “In today’s difficult economic climate, there was simply no way that yeshivot could have taken this financial hit.”

Leb lauded the leadership of the Senate and Assembly, and in particular, he thanked Senate Leader John Sampson and Senate Finance Chairman Carl Kruger for their efforts in stopping the cuts. He also praised Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez for their leadership on this important issue.