Jewish Federation of Palm Springs and Desert Area

10/02/2026

Bruce Feil­er will be dis­cussing his newest book A Time to Gath­er. Since time immemo­r­i­al, humans have turned to rit­u­al to con­nect us in peri­ods of change. Birth rit­u­als and com­ing-of-age rit­u­als have plum­met­ed; few­er than half of Amer­i­cans are mar­ried; only one in three is buried. “It took us ten thou­sand years to estab­lish cul­tur­al norms around how we mark col­lec­tive life tran­si­tions,” writes Bruce Feil­er. “It took us fifty years to dis­man­tle them.” Can this threat to soci­ety be reversed?

Angela Buch­dahl is the author of Heart of a Stranger: An Unlike­ly Rab­bi’s Sto­ry of Faith, Iden­ti­ty, and Belong­ing and serves as the Senior Rab­bi of Cen­tral Syn­a­gogue in New York City. She was the first woman to lead this flag­ship con­gre­ga­tion and is the first Asian-Amer­i­­can to be ordained as a rab­bi in North Amer­i­ca. Rab­bi Buch­dahl was invit­ed in 2014 and 2023 to share bless­ings for the White House Hanukkah Par­ty and has been fea­tured in dozens of news out­lets — includ­ing Newsweek’s Most Influ­en­tial Rab­bis.

RSVP: Leslie Pepper, 760-324-4737, or [email protected].

09/30/2026

Jewish Federation of the Desert is relieved that the passengers and crew of the FlyDubai flight bound for Israel are safely home, following an apparent attempt to bring down the aircraft mid-flight.

We are deeply grateful to the pilot who, while injured, managed to open the cockpit door, to the crew members and passengers who acted swiftly to bring the plane to safety, and to the Saudi authorities for shepherding the passengers home. Their courage prevented what could have been an unspeakable tragedy. We wish the captain, and all those injured, a full and speedy recovery.

While the full details of what occurred are still emerging, what is clear is that in a moment of crisis, people came together to protect one another. That instinct — to stand up, to help, to refuse to let terror define the outcome — reflects the very best of the human spirit, and stands in stark contrast to whatever motivated this attack.

Jewish Federation of the Desert will continue to monitor the situation closely and stand with our community and our partners across the region as more information becomes available.

09/28/2026

Har-El hosted a Sukkot Program at Villa Portofino on Saturday to raise funds for those less fortunate. JFED CEO Danny Labin introduced 2-time Tony Award winning producer Scott Mauro and led a Q&A session discussing his amazing career producing Broadway shows, TV specials and working as a publicist for A list celebrities. Har-El collected funds to give to the Jewish Federation for the Tzedakah Fund, which assists those in need throughout the Coachella Valley.

09/20/2026

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from the board of directors and staff of the Jewish Federation of the Desert.

08/24/2026

Dear LGBTQ Community Members and Allies,

I am so proud of what we accomplished together last year as a community, and I am hopeful that we will continue to come together as LGBTQ+ Jews to celebrate, learn, and connect in new ways! Jewish Federation of the Desert is honored to carry on the Shalom Group’s legacy of community building, and I’d like to extend a hug of gratitude to Bill Amplo for his many years of commitment.

Federation will be convening a meeting on Wednesday, September 9th at 4 pm for everyone interested in having some form of leadership role (dreaming big, planning the details, making things happen!) in the future. The only requirement is having a sense of dedication to what the inclusiveness of the LGBTQ+ Jewish community of the Desert can be!

Wednesday, September 9th
4:00 pm (Pacific Time)
Jewish Federation of the Desert
69710 Highway 111
Rancho Mirage 92270

Looking forward to doing great things,

Danny Labin, CEO
Jewish Federation of the Desert

PS: The Sept. 9th meeting will be hybrid. Participation in-person at the Federation is welcome, and a Zoom option will also be available. In either case, advance registration is required, send e-mail to [email protected] or call Federation at (760) 324-4737. And please feel to reach out to me directly with any questions: [email protected].