Recently, two of the largest Jewish philanthropies in Los Angeles changed their names so as to remove the word “Jewish.” Michael Barclay writes:
The Los Angeles Jewish Home, known for over a century as just “the Jewish Home” was founded in 1912 to give shelter to five Jewish men. With an annual budget of more than $50 million, this nonprofit is home to 1,500 Jewish seniors and serves another 2,500 through health and community services. As should be expected, the vast majority of donors to this non-profit organization are Jews and Jewish organizations who want to help [their aged coreligionists] in the last years of their lives.
The organization has now become “LAJHealth,” a change its CEO described as “an evolution in our brand.” Barclay observes:
It’s not just that the leaders of Jewish Home are turning their backs on a tradition of taking pride in their commitment to the Jewish community. It is that they are not alone, . . . as Jews on the boards of non-profit organizations seek to “reach out,” be “inclusive” and “diversify” rather than focus on the Jewish community.
Can any of us imagine other groups changing the names of their institutions and removing their cultural affiliation? Would the NAACP become the National Association of People? Does anyone foresee BLM changing its name to All Lives Matter? . . . Of course not. None of these organizations would ever remove their identity from their names. It seems that only 21st-century American Jews are willing to sabotage their identities, their purpose, and themselves in their quest for inclusiveness.
Read more on JNS: https://www.jns.org/opinion/jewish-institutions-must-not-give-up-their-jewish-names/