Jewish Community Resources at the JCC Indianapolis
There are a variety of resources that serve the Jewish community in central Indiana – a food pantry, counseling services, assisted living, preschool and after-school care, and more. In many cases, resources are also open to non-Jewish friends and neighbors.
We Stand With Israel
- Information resources (including news sources) from the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council and national JCC Association
- Sign up to receive daily messages from JCC Association’s senior vice president and director of Israel Engagement Leah Garber though her blog “View from Jerusalem” and/or weekly Shabbat Shalom messages from JCC Association president/CEO Doron Krakow.
- Resources for talking to children:
“Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event”
Psychological First Aid for Students and Teachers
Conversations About Difficult Topics
“How to Talk to Kids About What’s Happening in Israel Right Now”
UnPacked for Educators
Support for Classroom Discussions on the Hamas-Israel War
Insights into Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
10 Ways to Have Conscientious Conversations on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Places to donate:
Jewish Federations of North America Swords of Iron Fund
United Hatzalah
Magen David Adom (Israel Red Cross)
Jewish Agency for Israel Fund for Victims of Terror
IsrAID Emergency Fund
NATAL Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center
The resources below are intended to provide information and vetted places to donate
The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis
The JCC and other Jewish organizations benefit from support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis (JFGI), the philanthropic center of the community. The Federation connects the Jewish community, the Jewish community to the greater Indianapolis community, and the local community to Israel and Jews around the world. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis is to promote the vision of a vibrant, engaged, inclusive, and sustainable Jewish community by serving as its central philanthropic, planning, community engagement, and unifying partner.
Jewish Social Services
- A food pantry, with food and clothing drives every Fall and Spring.
- Counseling.
- Assistance to the more than 100 Holocaust survivors living in the Indianapolis area.
- Senior services to support living independently at home.
- Programs for those with special needs.
Jewish Family Services at the Albert & Sara Reuben Senior and Community Resource Center offers social services and referrals to all ages regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or income. Among the services they offer:
Jewish Community Relations Council
The Indianapolis JCRC convenes representatives from Jewish agencies, synagogues, and organizations to find consensus on issues concerning the Jewish community. Through partnerships, JCRC then communicates with the broader community, public officials, civic leaders, educators, the media, and other faith and ethnic communities. JCRC acts in coalition with interfaith and other groups to fight discrimination and advocate for human and civil rights and social and economic justice. Programs include Holocaust education and student-to-student peer group dialogue.
ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Midwest
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Its mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” ADL fights all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.
Combating Antisemitism
The JCC, JCRC, ADL and JFGI have compiled a list of resources to combat antisemitism.
See The List
Safe Indiana
The Safe Indiana security initiative’s goal is to identify and assess any potential threats to the Indiana Jewish community. This effort is in partnership with Secure Community Network (SCN), the national safety and security organization that works to implement best practice security programs on behalf of Jewish institutions and communities across the U.S. Learn more.
See something, say something! The information you provide in an incident report about suspicious activity will be submitted to your local Federation Security Director, and the SCN Duty Desk, where it will be reviewed and shared with the appropriate local, state and federal law enforcement for action and resolution.
Hooverwood Living
- Rehabilitation therapy
- Kraft Commons Assisted Living
- 24-Hour skilled nursing care
- Memory Care
- Adult Day Services
- Catering & Dining
- Wellness & Outpatient Therapy
- Senior Technology Services
Hooverwood Living provides care, treatment, and housing for all seniors. Services include:
Jewish Community Library
The BJE Maurer Jewish Community Library holds an extensive collection of Jewish books (including children’s books, textual and educational references, Holocaust books, and Yiddish and Hebrew books), ritual objects for borrowing, and programs in partnership with other community organizations like PJ Library, Hooverwood and the JCC ECE. The library is also part of the Indy Public Library Shared System, which means patrons can return any materials here or have books delivered from any library in the system.
Jewish Elementary Education
Hasten Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis is a State of Indiana-accredited school for Pre-K through 8th grade students with a mission to provide the next generation of Jewish children with an outstanding education in both Judaic and general studies. Hasten promotes growth in knowledge and identification with Jewish traditions to instill in students a spiritual bond and a strong sense of commitment to the State of Israel.
Synagogues
Beth-El Zedeck (The House of the God of Righteousness) is affiliated with both the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Reconstructing Judaism.
Congregation Beth Shalom is an intimate, evolving, inter-generational congregation located in Central Indiana. It was founded in 2010 with the goal of providing a small, warm community in which members are made to feel welcome and comfortable. Beth Shalom welcomes everyone to its Reform Jewish Family of Jews by birth and Jews by choice. The congregation is dedicated to fellowship, worship, and inclusion.
B’nai Torah is the largest Orthodox shul in the State of Indiana and is the heart of Indianapolis Yiddishkeit. They provide resources such as:
Congregation Shaarey Tefilla (CST) is a United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism affiliate, combining full egalitarianism with a commitment to traditional Judaism. They are a Conservative, family-oriented synagogue that believes in educating children and the community in Torah, bar/bat mitzvah study and more. Their mission is to sustain and engage our community in Conservative Jewish life.
Etz Chaim Sephardic Congregation describes themselves as warm, friendly, and traditional. It was founded in 1906 by men and women who were determined to create a Sephardic presence in Indianapolis that focused on maintaining Sephardic Halacha (law), customs, traditions, acts of loving kindness, and, foremost, a belief in the Almighty, G-d of Israel. Etz Chaim continues to hold true to these principles and thrives as an Orthodox Sephardic synagogue. For over a century the Kahal has maintained a strong Shabbat program with Erev Shabbat (Friday night) to Sunday morning services, an inviting and warm Oneg Shabbat Kiddush, programs and classes for men and women, along with other youth programming.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. Lubavitch appropriately means the “city of brotherly love” and is the name of the town in Russia where the movement was based for more than a century. The word “Chabad” is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmah—wisdom, binah (comprehension and da’at), and knowledge.
Today over 5,000 full-time emissary families (2,000 in the United States) apply 250-year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,500 institutions dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide.
Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (IHC), part of the Union for Reform Judaism, is an inclusive Jewish community where all congregants matter, are inspired to action through Jewish values, and experience Judaism in a meaningful way. IHC was established on November 2, 1856, the fourth synagogue to be established in the State of Indiana.
Hillels
Hillel is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, connecting with students at more than 550 colleges and universities across North America and around the world.
Hillel at Butler University is recognized as a Butler University student organization and provides social, cultural, educational, community service and religious observance in a Jewish context for Butler students. During the year, there are opportunities for Shabbat dinners, Jewish holiday celebrations, discussion groups, community participation, and other activities. Butler Hillel is open to all students and faculty.
The Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at Indiana University offers a Jewish home away from home to students. Since 1938, IU Hillel has created a warm, welcoming, caring Jewish family and community that celebrates Judaism and Jewish life dedicated to assuring that Jewish college students have opportunities to recognize and develop their leadership potential and to express their Jewishness in many traditional and creative ways.
Purdue Hillel enriches Purdue University and the Greater Lafayette community by welcoming, inspiring, and empowering each person to be proud of their connection to meaningful Jewish life and by actively creating, connecting, leading, serving, and celebrating ongoing experiences to help foster a kinder and more empathetic world.