December 2023

Agudah of Colorado Meets with Members of Congress

As the war in Israel continues, Agudah of Colorado arranged a series of meetings with senators and members of Congress with the participation of local community leaders to urge Congress to support Israel and condemn the rising antisemitism.

The meetings addressed some of the current major concerns surrounding the war including emphasizing Israel's right to defend itself, requesting support for the wellbeing and immediate release of the hostages, voicing concerns about the increasing antisemitism in America, urging support for supplemental aid to Israel, and urging an increase of funding to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).

These meetings follow ongoing conversations with our elected officials since Oct. 7th as we continue our advocacy efforts and monitor policy as the situation unfolds. 

We're grateful to Senator Hickenlooper, Senator Bennet, Congresswoman DeGette, and Congressman Crow, and their staff for taking the time to speak with us and hear the concerns of the community. Thank you as well to the many Rabbonim and community leaders who joined the meetings and stood up for Israel during this difficult time.

With Senator Michael Bennet's Chief of Staff

With Senator John Hickenlooper's foreign affairs staff

With Congressman Jason Crow

With Congresswoman Diana DeGette

Colorado Businessmen Attend the H3 Summit

"It’s not just a conference about business, and it’s not just a conference about halacha. It’s a conference about purpose that's catered to frum businessmen," says Ari Aragon, referring to the annual H3 Business Halacha Summit that was held this month in Illinois.

A LinkedUp business member with AAA Lion Real Estate, Ari attended the Summit with a Colorado group together with Rabbi Yossi Kaplan, Director of Agudah of Colorado, Rabbi Moshe Heyman, Director of Denver Community Kollel, Rabbi A.Y. Wasserman, CEO of Yeshiva Toras Chaim, and Dov Ort of Peaks Healthcare Consulting.

Hosted by Agudah of Illinois, the Summit is an invaluable opportunity for frum businessmen to network with hundreds of professionals from around the country, learn about relevant halacha affecting day-to-day business, and be inspired by Rabbonim and top industry leaders. In the words of Dov Ort, the Summit is "educational, inspiring, and well-organized".

Rabbi Kaplan reflects on the importance of a conference like this. "H3 has been a tremendous source of growth for me and the Colorado group," he says. "It's a place where we hear from world-renowned Rabbonim, raise our level of Business Halacha awareness, and gain fundamental chizuk by being with hundreds of like-minded growing businessmen, who have built a life of Torah values through giving, supporting, and living a Torah-centered life. The important networking and 1-on-1 meetings we've had with community-minded businessmen from around the country are also hugely impactful.

At the Summit, we made valuable connections and discussed ideas and initiatives for both community and business growth in Colorado, including our new business networking and business-building program, LinkedUp. Today, the day after the conference, the work is just beginning."

ZT Library Chanukah Carnival Booth

At the Zichron Tzvi Denver Jewish Library booth this Chanukah, children gathered to create various library and Chanukah themed crafts while their parents learned more about the Library and other community programs offered by Agudah of Colorado. Seventeen new families signed up to the Library list, most of whom were not aware of the Library beforehand.

The booth was held in partnership with the Denver NCSY Chanukah Carnival, a family fun event that featured the world's largest and only chocolate Lego gelt, and a concert by the well-known singer Dovid Pearlman. This event served not only as an enjoyable outing for the whole family but also as a forum for partnering organizations like the ZT Library to engage with young and older readers through a fun and exciting booth.

The Library currently has over two thousand books in two different locations, providing quality Jewish reading material for the broader Jewish community of Denver. It offers adult novels, short stories, autobiographies, biographies, children’s books, and teen novels, and is managed by Rivky Kaplan and Bracha Melamed. To learn more about the Library and become a member, email [email protected].

Children enjoy activities at the ZT Library booth

Rabbi Yonatan Nuszen of Denver NCSY smashes the world's largest and only Lego gelt

KnowUs: Make Your Voice Heard for Israel

You may have seen our recent action alert urging you to contact your members of Congress to encourage them to support Israel. Through KnowUs, an Agudath Israel of America project, this campaign is ongoing and extremely important.

With the war in Israel-Gaza unfolding and the many hostages still remaining in captivity, it is incumbent upon all of us to continue our efforts by effectively voicing our positions to our representatives in Congress. We must continue to counter the throngs of anti-Israel callers with our own clear and resolute message of support for Israel at this most crucial time.

Every person should take a few minutes to contact their elected officials by phone or email several times a week, or even daily. It takes only a few minutes, and it is crucial.

In the sample letter found here, we ask three things from members of Congress:

1. To support Israel’s right and obligation to defend its citizens from terror and to eradicate Hamas so that it never has the opportunity to repeat the barbaric acts of October 7th.
2. To call for an immediate release of all the innocent hostages held by Hamas. Taking hostages is a criminal and terrorist act under the Geneva Conventions and must be condemned and combated.
3. To implement a plan for decisive action against the antisemitism in college campuses and public schools.

This month, five more local businesses joined the LinkedUp network, bringing the total of current businesses to sixteen.

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