MAY 11 • 2023 | 49

During the event, I spoke with Julie 
Platt, who currently serves as the chair of 
the Jewish Federations of North America, 
the second woman to hold that position 
after native-Detroiter Congresswoman 
Kathy Manning.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH JULIE PLATT
Jewish News: What has been the most 
meaningful part of being in Israel during 
the 75th anniversary year?
Platt: I’ve never been in Israel for Yom 
Hazikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut, though 
I’ve been here dozens of times. I’ll never 
forget this experience for the rest of my 
life. 
Jewish News: Your closing remarks 
looked toward the next quarter-century 
of Israel. How would you say the next 
quarter-century may evolve the structure 
of JFNA?
Platt: I feel passionate about the work 
we are doing. I think we will continue to 
complete our work to secure the North 
American Jewish community 
in this time of antisemitism. 
And while I think we also 
have found the right spot in 
being both supportive and 
letting our voices be heard 
on the issues that are import-

ant to us in the State of Israel and how it 
affects the diaspora, I can only hope that 
we continue to do the good work that we 
are doing in North America and around 
the world, making sure we engage all the 
generations in our work. 
Jewish News: The diversity of the lay 
leadership of JFNA and the GA was 
noticeable. How welcoming do you believe 
the community is today of diversity, and 
what more should be done?
Platt: I think in every Federation 
around the country, there are conver-
sations happening about board repre-
sentation from all communities, from 
all demographics, to make sure that we 
reflect the community in everything we 
do and particularly in leadership. I could 
not be more proud of the fact that this GA 
was diverse and also the first Jews of Color 
JEDI Leadership Cohort Mission that we 
have ever sent to Israel. We are very much 
taking stock of who we are and what we 
can do to better reflect the broader Jewish 
community.
Jewish News: What is the state of 
engagement of younger leadership, and 
what more do you think JFNA can do?
Platt: I feel wonderful about our 
engagement with young leadership. Last 
night we had a wonderful transition party 

from Yom HaZikaron to Yom 
HaAtzmaut; on the stage was 
our National Young Leadership 
Cabinet and there was a won-
derful delegation of members 
of our National Leadership 
Cabinet. I think the thing we all 
are thrilled about is something 
called Changemakers, which 
was a product of COVID to 
make sure that we didn’t lose all 
those young potential leaders 
in their early 20s. We designed 
an online program, and we 
didn’t know if it would survive 
after the pandemic. We have 
had multitudes of cohorts since 
inception, and we will soon 
have 3,000 people engaged in 
or graduated from the program. 
This young leadership program 
identifies the newest of our 
leaders and makes sure that 
they feel welcome within the 
organized Jewish community. 
Jewish News: What is JFNA
’s approach 
to non-traditional engagement?
Platt: Firstly, I don’t think we’re stuck 
at all. We’re always trying to think of new 
and innovative ways of engagement. We 
care deeply about religious pluralism and 
working in anything that promotes aliyah 
and travel and tourism. And new initia-
tives are seeded in the North American 
Jewish community all the time. 
We’re always trying to make sure that 
we are being as innovative and thoughtful 
as we can about new ways of engagement, 
while not forgetting the fact that there are 
certain things that will never go away, like 
making sure every Holocaust survivor is 
taken care. Sort of in the middle of both of 
those two comes something like Ukraine, 
which nobody could have foreseen nor 
ever thought would become the priority 
that it did. And yet, there’s no way we 
weren’t going to respond in every way pos-
sible and save every person that needed to 
be saved. So, I think we’re nimble and stay 
focused on our mission while making sure 
that we’re always thinking about what’s the 
next thing that could help and engage a 
flourishing Jewish community.
Jewish News: How would you assess 
the state of the relationship between Israel 

Julie Platt
continued on page 51

Participants of Jewish Federations of North 
America’s General Assembly spent the solemn 
day of Yom Hazikaron alongside Israelis.

