News & Impact

Rywka’s Diary: The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Lodz Ghetto—first published by the JFCS Holocaust Center—has been awarded this year’s Historical Award by Polityka, Poland’s top newsmagazine. The handwritten diary—miraculously discovered intact amidst the rubble at Auschwitz—is a moving account of the life and dreams of 14-year-old Polish girl Rywka Lipszyc. After more than 70 years in obscurity, the diary was finally published in 2014 and soon after became a worldwide success. The diary has gone on to be translated and published in 15 countries, including Poland. The award, initiated in 1959, is the oldest award in Poland… Read More

The wildfires that swept through the North Bay last October are out, but the scar on the community is one that will last a generation. Since Day One JFCS has collaborated with many integral organizations in the North Bay to make sure disaster victims are able to access all the help available to them. Last month JFCS honored first responders and survivors at the JFCS Fammy Gala after the deadliest wildfire disaster in California history. First Responders and Victims of the North Bay Wildfires JFCS Fammy Video During the initial days and weeks after the fires JFCS helped people with… Read More

While the road to equality for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) has been a long one, for over 30 years JFCS has been breaking ground by supporting families of all kinds to grow their families by adoption. JFCS continues to work and advocate for LGBTQ+ adoptive families’ legal rights—both in the United States and in Israel. JFCS’ Adoption Connection Receives Prestigious Award from Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Back in the 80s, while the public and elected officials were busy debating the merits of adoptions by queer families, JFCS’ Executive Director Dr. Anita Friedman began… Read More

Moving from Emergency Response to Long-Term Recovery Two months have passed since fires swept through the North Bay, leaving in their wake incredible destruction and thousands homeless, jobless, and emotionally scarred. JFCS hit the ground running, working to support the community. Thanks to generous donations from supporters like you, our Sonoma County office has become a community hub where individuals and families are receiving the services they need to re-build their lives and heal. Thank you for your help! Emergency Response and Ramping Up In the initial weeks after the fires JFCS staff witnessed survivors in shock. Over 250 families… Read More

Plucked from the ashes of Auschwitz and published in 2014 by the JFCS Holocaust Center, Rywka’s Diary: The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Lodz Ghetto has been an international sensation, sold alongside The Diary of Anne Frank. The tattered school diary written in Polish by 14-year-old Rywka Lipszyc has captivated readers around the world and has been translated into 15 languages. It is now being published in its native Polish tongue. This month Rywka’s powerful words became available throughout Poland. The new and beautifully designed edition was published in partnership with Austeria Publishing House in collaboration with the… Read More

When the JFCS Holocaust Center first received an old and tattered school notebook written in Polish and pulled from the ashes of Auschwitz, JFCS Executive Director Dr. Anita Friedman suspected the power the mysterious volume contained as she turned each carefully penned page. Since the manuscript’s publication in 2014 Rywka’s Diary: The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Lodz Ghetto has been an international sensation, sold alongside The Diary of Anne Frank and, at last count, translated into 15 languages worldwide. This summer Krakow’s Galicia Jewish Museum has a new exhibit titled, The Girl In The Diary, In Search… Read More