NEW YORK – July 3, 2006 – Thousands of Jewish community leaders from throughout North America and around the world will convene for the United Jewish Communities (UJC) 2006 General Assembly (GA), Nov. 12 – 15 in Los Angeles.

 

The 75th Annual General Assembly, the theme of which is “Be with the Stars,” will highlight individuals who are moving the Jewish federation and communal movement ahead through innovative thinking, action and community building. Approximately 4,000 participants are expected to attend the 2006 GA, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

 

The GA is the largest annual gathering of Jewish leadership, with participants representing Jewish federations, communities and organizations across North America, and from Israel and elsewhere overseas. Programming will provide attendees with the inspiration and tools needed to foster leadership and strengthen Jewish community, and will include explorations of major issues and challenges confronting the Jewish world.

 

On-line registration is available now at www.ujc.org/ga. Programming information is posted at the same site, and will be updated continuously.

 

“The 2006 GA will showcase our dynamic, energetic and innovative Jewish community, full of good ideas, accomplishments and vision for the future,” said Linda Selig, North American chair of the 2006 GA and immediate past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

 

“Delegates will experience a truly different type of GA that showcases the stars of our system and includes discussion of the leading issues of our day, and cutting edge, provocative programming. All of us will return home with new approaches, tools and inspiration for engagement and community building.”

 

True to the star qualities of the host city, the GA will honor its theme by showcasing personalities and leaders who are models of creativity, initiative and inspiration across a wide spectrum of disciplines, including politics, business, culture, philanthropy, religion, film and entertainment and volunteerism.

 

Among them:  Dr. Rick Hodes, who has practiced medicine in the developing world for more than two decades, and has been providing critical medical services for the Jewish population in Ethiopia; and Erin Gruwell, a young, idealistic high school teacher in Long Beach, CA, who took a group of severely at-risk students and dramatically altered their lives through exposure to the spoken and written word, and who inspired the upcoming film, “Freedom Writers,” to star actress Hilary Swank.

 

Dr. Warren Bennis of the University of Southern California, one of the nation’s foremost authorities and authors on the issues of organizational development, leadership and change, has been invited to speak, as has Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa. Also, some of Hollywood’s biggest-name celebrities will be at the GA to discuss their own personal Jewish journeys.

 

While most programming will take place in the main GA venue, the Los Angeles Convention Center, some special events and substantive programming will occur elsewhere in the city, at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance as well as the Skirball Cultural Center.

 

And the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jewish Community Foundation invites GA delegates on Monday evening, Nov. 13, as internationally renowned conductor Gerard Schwarz leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a presentation of selections from the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music in a concert at the world famous Walt Disney Concert Hall, a monumental venue designed by Frank Gehry.  Special guest soloists will also perform in a celebration of Yiddish theater.

 

“We will be gathering by the thousands in one of the most exciting and energetic cities in the country to meet the extraordinary people who make our community strong, to address the most pressing issues we face, and to absorb the rich Jewish culture existing there,” said Selig.  “This anniversary GA, the 75th, will be one that stands out.”

 

Serving with Selig are GA International Chairs Les Bider, former chairman and chief executive officer of Warner Chappell Music and board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, and Richard Ziman, a real estate developer and investor and co-chair of the Construction Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; GA Host Community Chairs Cheryl Flapan Lewis, major gifts chair of the Jewish Federation Valley Alliance, and Terri Smooke, board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and executive director of the Holocaust Era Insurance Claims Oversight Committee; and GA Israel Chair Galia Maor, chief executive of Bank Leumi, Israel’s second largest bank.