Dear Seattle Community,

A few weeks ago, at our Passover seders, we read the words: “In every generation, one must see oneself as if they had personally come out of Egypt.” This teaching reminds us that our history is not just something to passively retell but rather something that we must be personally engaged in. We must learn from it, embrace it, and share it with our children and grandchildren.

Since 1981, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society (WSJHS) has fulfilled exactly that charge. Through carefully gathering and preserving our community’s history and creating meaningful exhibitions and programs for Jews and non-Jews across our state, WSJHS has ensured that the unique history of Jewish Washington State, this special place we call home, is protected.

We are excited to share that later this summer, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society will be integrated into the Federation’s portfolio of meaningful engagement programs we offer to the community. The WSJHS board approached us over a year ago with the idea of integrating, and since then our two boards have been working together in a deliberative and cooperative process to make this exciting transition.

While the Federation did not initiate these conversations about integration, the more we engaged in thoughtful conversations over the last year, the more it became apparent that this is truly a “win-win” for both of our organizations and the community.

The Federation is committed to ensuring a thriving and vibrant Jewish community today and tomorrow, and we believe that a thriving community is one that honors, protects, and learns from its history. We take seriously the responsibility to do that as stewards of the WSJHS moving forward.

For the WSJHS, it became clear that the infrastructure and overhead of running a small organization were taking away from its core mission. Joining a larger organization, like the Federation, would allow WSJHS to leverage the Federation’s infrastructure and reach and spend more time doing the core work focused on our community’s history.

We know news like this brings many questions and a range of emotions. Below our letter, you can see a short note from the Washington State Jewish Historical Society leadership.

There are many in our community who are involved in and support the work of both the Federation and WSJHS. And there are also many people involved with only one of our organizations. We look forward to introducing our respective communities and donors to the work of both organizations in the months ahead. We are also appreciative of the WSJHS board, many of whom will serve on a soon-to-be-formed advisory committee as part  of the Federation’s lay leadership structure to help continue to shape and guide the work.

And, we look forward to the leadership of Hannah Peters, the Jon and Bobbe Bridge Director of WSJHS, as she continues in that role, leading the day-to-day work of the Historical Society as part of the Federation staff.

We invite you to be in touch with us with any questions, and we look forward to sharing additional information as we move forward from strength to strength.

L’shalom,