In early July, two anti-Israel groups in Maryland hosted a free screening of “The Encampments,” a movie glorifying the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement on campuses, at a public library in Annapolis, the state’s capital.

Jews in the community were alarmed by the screening, which they felt portrayed a one-sided view of Israel’s war in Gaza. There had been interest in organizing Annapolis’ various Jewish synagogues and organizations into a unified larger body for over a decade. The screening served as the catalyst to leap into action.

“It reminded us, given what’s going on in the world, no place can be complacent,” Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, co-founder and secretary of the recently launched Jewish Federation of Annapolis and the Chesapeake, told eJewishPhilanthropy. “Every place needs to be sure people are well-educated.”

On Friday, local synagogues, representatives from the Annapolis chapter of Hadassah, the Uriah Levy Post 380 of the Jewish War Veterans and the Tradition Chapter of Jewish Women International collectively launched the Jewish Federation of Annapolis and the Chesapeake, a volunteer-run federation bringing the community together as a force for advocacy. The federation has already started organizing events and created a BBYO chapter.

“Unity is so important in the Jewish community,” Laszlo Mizrahi, who represents Temple Beth Shalom on the board, said. “We should not be making our own Shabbos. We are going to have to stand together as a people. Federation is the central address for protecting the Jewish people and our future, and we wanted to be connected to that larger mission.”

Laszlo Mizrahi sees the initiative as similar to a Jewish community relations council. Organizers debated whether to be an independent entity or join the federation system. “The synergy just made everything much faster, much stronger and more impactful,” she said.

Joining the federation system afforded them support with marketing, advocacy and creating the website, which went live on Friday and was the most daunting challenge according to organizers. It also allowed them to offer local children PJ Library programming and books. While the board skews older, Annapolis is becoming an increasingly attractive home for young Jewish families, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic allowed many to move outside the hubs of Baltimore and Washington because workplaces began offering the option to work remotely.

“Anytime that you have a Jewish community, you want to be attractive to families and not just retired folks like me,” Laszlo Mizrahi said. For the first time, the community organized a BBYO chapter through the new federation and their first gathering, an open house held Nov. 2, drew 35 attendees.

Working together as a team also allows leaders to share a community calendar and co-promote events, which is important because, prior to this, the community was splintered, Jody Goldsmith, president of Congregation Kneseth Israel and vice commander of the Commodore Uriah Levy Jewish War Veterans Post 380, told eJP.

Goldsmith was a leader in the United Jewish Council of Anne Arundel County, a similar organization that served the community from the 1980s until it went dormant in 2008 due to a lack of volunteers. After attending the movie screening, Goldsmith realized “we need to rekindle this now,” and he partnered with Laszlo Mizrahi as co-founder of the new organization.

Goldsmith, who identifies as “a community guy,” has been dismayed that Annapolis Jews stayed siloed in their own synagogues, never attending other organizations’ programming, even when the events were open to the public.

“We can’t afford that now,” he said. “Not only do we need to work together, but we need to have a friendlier tent because if we’re not friendly with each other, then those who don’t like us certainly won’t feel like they need to be friendly with us.”

According to Laszlo Mizrahi, the Annapolis community has been a relatively calm one, without much of the turmoil that has rocked other parts of the country.

“This is really the Goldilocks community for Jews,” she said. “You don’t have some of the high prices or drama of some cities.”

The Jewish Federations of North America had personally reached out to Goldsmith many times over the years, he said, hoping he’d help launch a community federation for Annapolis and the Chesapeake. The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore and Jewish Federation of Greater Washington also reached out, trying to incorporate them, but Goldsmith felt it was more of an offer of “what we can do for them versus what they can do for us.”

The new federation is “a moment to celebrate,” Edward Finkel, managing director, network of independent communities for JFNA, told eJP. The larger federation organization has worked with many of the organizations and temples involved in the new federation for over 20 years, he said, considering them “part of our family, whether or not they are formally constituted as one or not.”

By joining the federation system, the new entity can better “come together as one community,” Finkel said. “The issues and the opportunities that we face as a Jewish community are many, and when we come together as one, with lots of volunteers and lots of clergy, all working in a common purpose, you get to the finish line sooner.”

Across the United States, the federation system has nearly 300 volunteer-led affiliates serving small communities. Being a volunteer-led federation isn’t overwhelming, Laszlo Mizrahi said, because most of the leaders of the new federation have been Jewish organizers all their lives.

Laszlo Mizrahi has a degree in Judaic studies, worked at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., and was founder and president of The Israel Project for over a decade. She’s also co-founder and director of the Mizrahi Family Charitable Fund. “I’ve been a Lion of Judah with the federation system for more than three decades,” she said. “So it’s not hard for me to be a volunteer because now I’m a retired person. I’m 61. I have time to give.”

Government officials are excited there is now a community voice to communicate with, Laszlo Mizrahi said. “Today, I spoke to one of our delegates to the statehouse and updated her on what we’re doing, and they were just thrilled because now there’ll be a united voice and a place for them to go, where they can meet with all the groups at the same time. This is important for funding for security issues. This is important for how we face a better future.”

Today, the new federation, in partnership with the Anne Arundel County Hate Crimes Prevention Program, is holding an online forum addressing rising antisemitism. 

Both Laszlo Mizrahi and Goldsmith will attend the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly, which begins on Sunday in Washington. They look forward to connecting to and learning from other volunteer-led federations. 

The new federation is excited for an event it is holding on Dec. 3, a movie screening at the same public library where the movie that prompted its creation was screened. This time, they will be showing a different documentary: “October 7: Bearing Witness to the Massacre.”