ABOUT US

We want to win the war now and every day into the future. We believe the best way to do this is to increase friendship at each synagogue. The explanation below explains the “why”. We call ourselves “The Organization for Jewish Friendship (OJF)”.

Director

Bruce Newman MD

Bruce and his late wife, Rose, were born in 1954 to Holocaust Survivors, and both grew up in the Chicago area. Bruce, a pathologist by training, specialized in Transfusion Medicine and practiced in Chicago and then Metropolitan Detroit, serving as the Medical Director of the American Red Cross Blood Services for over two decades. Rose was an Occupational Therapist and homemaker and passed away in 2022 after a ten-year battle against cancer. They moved to Stamford CT in 2015 to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Both Bruce and Rose spent decades volunteering their time for the Jewish community, serving as Shul Board members, Shul President, Dinner Coordinator, Facility Manager, Rabbi’s right-hand woman, running blood drives, and staying active on the PTA.

Smiling grandfather holding his granddaughter

Membership & Fees

Honorary Member

Any person who agrees with our philosophy is an honorary member.

Active Member

Any person who actively participates or promotes friendship in their Synagogue is an active member.

Fees

There are no membership fees.

Defending Ourselves

How did I develop this concept?

Israel should always try to avoid war because war is harmful to both sides. However, if Israel is forced to fight, there are three approaches. The third approach is the best approach.

What do we need to do to get God to act on our behalf. Our traditions state that we need to behave better. This is the central question that I have tried to answer.

I am setting up a system that will not only please God but will also please each synagogue’s leadership team, and will please each member within its membership. While we can state our desire to behave better, it is insufficient. We need to show and prove that we will behave better, now and in the future. We can only do this if every synagogue puts itself on a self-improvement program to increase friendship within its synagogue and tries it best. This is a forever project, and it changes one’s attitudes and behaviors. It should be available for all Jews. The present website is designed to provide direction and to support this concept.

And I will sell the concept to synagogues.

Fight a conventional war, as Israel is currently doing. This is associated with deaths, many-fold more wounded, property damage and negative psychological effects.

Fight a nuclear war. This leads to harm to people who like us (most Iranians like Israel). It also causes property damage, and the country that sends a nuclear bomb is very likely to receive one back. It is a poor choice.

Have God fight the War. This is what happened when God fought Pharoah and the Egyptians. Thousands or tens of thousands of Egyptians were killed in a single night in the last plague. And there were no Jewish casualties and no public relations issues. This plague was outside the laws of nature.