The “National Menorah,” erected by Chabad-Lubavitch in front of the White House in Washington, Dec. 2, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Washington, D.C.’s Jewish federation is allocating $180,000 to help laid-off federal workers, the latest way the Trump administration’s slashing of the federal government is rippling out to Jewish organizations.

The sum is a multiple of 18, which signifies life in Judaism, and will be split: $100,000 will be distributed via local synagogue rabbis, and $80,000 will go to social service agencies that partner with the federation.

“Federation is stepping up to ensure that no one in our community has to navigate this hardship alone,” Jewish Federation of Greater Washington CEO Gil Preuss said in a press release. “In moments of uncertainty, we must depend on the strength of our Jewish community to provide the foundation we need to rebuild.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

More than 100,000 federal workers have been laid off in the government downsizing of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE agency, according to a CNN analysis. Approximately 20% of the federal workforce lives in the D.C. area.

Preuss said in an interview that local rabbis could provide financial assistance of up to $1,500 per family at their discretion to community members impacted by the layoffs, and that the federation’s fund would reimburse them. “We trust them to make the decision,” he said.

Trump and Musk’s funding cuts have already put the Jewish organizational world on alert, impacting several of their priorities:

• Jewish groups across the country were briefly thrown into crisis mode when the administration announced a short-lived, sweeping freeze on federal funding in January.
• Cuts to USAID have stopped the flow of government money to Israeli-Palestinian peace-building efforts.
• Cuts to FEMA have frozen federal funding for synagogue security.
• Trump also suspended funding for refugee resettlement, though that decision was recently blocked by a judge in a lawsuit brought by several refugee aid groups, including the Jewish group HIAS.

Other Jewish institutions in the D.C. area, including day schools, are feeling the effects of the layoff spree. Half of the parents of students at the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School in Washington, D.C. are employed in some capacity by the federal government, according to Jewish Insider.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount