The North American Federation for Temple Youth or NFTY, formerly known as the National Federation for Temple Youth, is an organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North America (also known as The Reform Jewish Youth Movement). Funded and supported by the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), NFTY supplements Reform youth groups at the synagogue level.
Founded on January 15, 1939, by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now called the Union for Reform Judaism), the then-titled National Federation of Temple Youth was a program to encourage college students to engage in synagogue life.[1] NFTY was originally focused in just three regions - New York City, Chicago, and Pennsylvania, but it soon expanded to all areas of the UAHC.[2] The first national officers were Richard Bluestein (president), Bernard Sang (first vice-president), Lewis Held (second vice-president), Daniel Miller (third vice-president), and Lenore Cohn (secretary.) The executive committee of NFTY met in June 1939 in New York and discussed college activities, publications and social justice, while also confirming cooperation with the UAHC as an affiliate and to cooperate with the National Conference for Community and Justice in interfaith work.[3]
Rabbi Sam Cook organized one of the first regional Labor Day Conclaves of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) Pennsylvania State Federation, held at Pinemere Camp in 1939.[4] The February 1940 convention in Chicago featured former President Herbert Hoover as keynote speaker.[5] National conventions continued every two years until 1948 and the organization began to focus on High School aged students.
In the 1950s, NFTY began to focus on social action and mitzvah themes. Local, regional, and national social action efforts were commonplace on issues ranging from the releases of Russian Jews to the fight against poverty to hunger. Mitzvah Corps groups were established in many regions.
In 1952, NFTY began Jewish summer camping in the newly purchased facility in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, later called the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp (or OSRUI). In 1964, the Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York, became NFTY's North American leadership camp and the site of North American board meetings.[6] The successful Jewish camping movement expanded under the UAHC/URJ and NFTY to Jewish camps around the United States.[7]
In 1961, NFTY began Israel programming with the URJ Heller High School[8] (formerly Eisendrath International Exchange) semester in Israel. NFTY summer trips to Israel, often attended between sophomore and junior years of high school have been attended by thousands of Reform Jewish teenagers. Trips to Europe, mitzvah trips to locations such as Puerto Rico and Mexico, and archaeological digs have also been sponsored by NFTY in recent decades.
From 1962 to 1965, NFTY focused on innovation in international programming. The NFTY Summer Antiquities Tour brought NFTYites to see the sights and meet the Jewish youth of Europe and Israel. The NFTY Bible Institute provided a thorough touring experience in Israel. Mitzvah Corps programs sprung up in Puerto Rico, Israel, and Mexico, as well as in New York and Chicago. Today, almost every NFTY Region has a Mitzvah Corps Program.
In 1965, NFTY acquired a new summer address: its own national camp—the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. Beginning that summer, Kutz became the site for NFTY's Leadership Institutes, Board Meetings, and other national programs. It continues to be the headquarters for NFTY Leadership Training.
In 1983, NFTY reintroduced the NFTY Convention in Washington, D.C. Every other year on President's Day weekend, hundreds to thousands of Reform Jewish teenagers gather for study, prayer, music, and socializing in a major North American city. A youth advisor's professional training conference was added to run concurrently in 1999 with a youth clergy track added in 2001. Convention typically alternates between the East and West coast.
In the late 1980s at Mechina, a leadership training and policy setting gathering of the NFTY General Board, NFTY officially recognized itself as a North American movement, in response to a growing and influential Canadian population.
In February 2005, the biennial NFTY Convention in Los Angeles formalized NFTY’s role as the North American branch of Netzer Olami, the global Progressive Zionist youth movement.[9][10]
In 2020, the URJ sold the property that Kutz Camp operated on to the town of Warwick, New York.[11]
In 2014, about 750 local youth groups were affiliated, representing over 8,500 members.[12][13]
Past NFTY members and leadership[14] can be found as numerous rabbis, cantors, educators, social workers, synagogue leaders, and active Reform Jews across the world.
Mission
Throughout the 2014–2015 NFTY year, the Regional Presidents Network drafted a new mission statement to reflect the cohesive values, aspirations, and goals of the North American Federation of Temple Youth. This mission statement was formally adopted by the NFTY Board, General Board, and adult leadership after being presented at the 2015 NFTY Convention in Atlanta. The mission statement reads as follows:
NFTY is a movement that builds strong, welcoming, inspired communities through teen-powered engagement. Together, we pursue Tikkun Olam, personal growth, youth empowerment, and deep connections, all rooted in Reform Judaism.[citation needed]
Structure
NFTY is divided into three levels:[15] Temple Youth Group (TYG), Regional, and North American. At each level, authority is divided between elected youth boards and supervisors employed by the URJ or local synagogue. Boards vary widely between youth groups and regions, but typically include positions such as: President, Programming Vice-President, Social Action Vice-President, Religious & Cultural Vice-President, Membership Vice-President, Communications Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
TYG Level
TYGs, or Temple Youth Groups, are individual youth groups affiliated with Reform congregations and are the foundation of NFTY. TYGs are youth-run and offer participants educational, social, action, and religious programs. Most TYGs have a youth group board and an adult advisor appointed by the congregation. The youth group advisor or director is sometimes a volunteer in the congregation, a parent, a part-time staff person, or, in a small, but increasing number of synagogues, a full-time position. While the board structure is at the direction of each group, most are modeled after the regional or North American board.[citation needed]
Regions
NFTY is divided into nineteen regions[16] which hold events to bring together different TYGs based on geographical distribution. For example, NFTY-STR (Southern Tropical Region), the most populous region,[17] includes around 30 TYGs and over 600 members.
Relations between regions range from friendly "rivalry" to "alliance" and are subject to combinations and divisions that occur due to membership fluctuation. For example:
Until 2001, NFTY-SAR and NFTY-STR comprised one region, known as NFTY-SER (formerly known as SEFTY). The regions still work together to run certain social action projects. Additionally, until 2003/2004 NFTY-NAR (New York Area Region) comprised three regions, NFTY-NYC (New York City, formerly known as CRaFTY), NFTY-LI (Long Island, formerly known as LIFTY), and NFTY-W/F (Westchester/Fairfield and parts of Connecticut, formerly known as WooFTY). Additionally, a 21st region, NFTY-Central New York (formerly known as CNFTY) existed until 1995. In that year, the Central New York region, which included synagogues along the Hudson Valley from Rockland County, New York, north to Albany and west to Syracuse, New York, was split among the Northeast region, the Northeast Lakes region, and the New Jersey region (formerly known as JFTY).
The NFTY board[19][20] is elected each year to establish general policy and themes for the organization as a whole, as well as lead the various leadership networks. The board members are typically recent high school graduates, although there are occasional exceptions to this trend.
↑"Home". URJ Isaac and Helaine Heller High School in Israel.
↑Kaplan, Dana Evan (2015). ""Youth Movements and Reform Identity"". American Reform Judaism: An Introduction (2nded.). Rutgers University Press. pp.145–162.
↑Reich, Naomi (2012). "Youth Movements and Jewish Identity: An Analysis of NFTY Programs". Contemporary Jewry. 32 (1): 12–34. doi:10.1007/s12397-012-9067-4.
↑Smith, Jason M. (2019). "Transforming Jewish Engagement: NFTY's Role in Reform Youth Leadership". Journal of Jewish Education. 85 (3): 234–250. doi:10.1080/15244113.2019.1623456.
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