Dear South Florida community,

As summer approaches and the school year ends, it's time to relax, enjoy, and take it easy. We sure hope you are doing that. At Agudah, our work continues year-round. Here is a quick update on some exciting Florida happenings, as well as an action alert that you can sign to help out Israel.

Governor Signs Two Exciting Bills

Two exciting bills were signed by the Florida Governor recently, and you may be interested in hearing about them. We’ve sent out emails in the past about them, but we are excited to let you know that both bills were signed into law and will be going into effect shortly.

HB121 expands the eligibility for Florida KidCare insurance. Starting January 1^st 2024, families making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, will be able to enroll and qualify for a reduced health premium coverage. This is Baruch Hashem great news for our community!

SB881 expands the My Safe Florida Home program. The bills adds more funding towards the program, and it additionally opens the program to home owners that did not qualify previously. If you need hurricane shutters, or a new roof, this is great news!

YahalomFL Coming Soon

We are excited to announce that Agudah of Florida is opening a brand new YahalomFL office. Yahalom is an Agudah initiative, geared towards helping parents and families of children with special needs. Yahalom provides resources and expert knowledge, helping these families navigate complex issues and questions. We are excited to announce that Mrs. Tzippy Richmond will be joining our team as Director of the YahalomFL office.

This week, we were fortunate to have the YahalomNY founder & visionary, Mrs. Ellen Wolfson, as well as the director, Ms. Tova Wacholder, visit our office. We had meetings & discussions, strategizing for the official launch of our office, as well as sharing resources and helpful knowledge. We will be opening up the office to the general public in the coming months.

Meeting with Miami Dade Police Director

Agudath Israel’s Florida office arranged for a meeting with the Miami Dade police director, Alfredo “Freddy” Ramiraz III, along with other top ranking police members. The meeting was joined by Mark Rosenberg from FHP, Rabbi Harayl Askotzky from Yeshiva Toras Emes Toras Chaim, and Daniel Well from Miami Dade Office of Management and Budget. The meeting was to address safety and security concerns in our school campuses.

County Donating Minibus

We have been working for a few months together with Palm Beach County to arrange for a donation of unused Palm Trans minibuses to our schools. Following lots of paperwork, and a lot of waiting, this past week, Rabbi Avrohom Luban & Rabbi Deon Nathan went to see the minibuses and chose one for Katz Hillel Day School. B’ezras Hashem they will be receiving the bus in the coming weeks.

Help Israel Join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program

There are currently 40 countries that participate in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. If you travel from these countries to the U.S., all you have to do is get on a plane, and you are here. However, if you are traveling from Israel, you need to apply for a visa and it is more complicated.

The US and Israeli governments are working right now to allow Israel to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. However, there is a deadline that is looming. Please take a moment, go to our action alert, and ask your senators to join Senators Jacky Rosen and Rick Scott in a letter urging the US government to make sure that Israel is able to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Thank you.

Go to Action Alert

Rabbi Moshe Matz

Rabbi Avrohom Luban