Time to grow west

Editorial

The expanding Valley Jewish community mirrors the seemingly boundless Valley population boom. We boast 26 congregations, 14 preschools and day schools, two Jewish community centers, and a community campus under way.

We shop at a dozen retail and synagogue Judiac shops, and choose from among numerous venues when we thirst for Jewish art, theater and learning.

If the Greater Phoenix Jewish infrastructure has been weighted toward the north and east, a new area is rapidly gaining ground. In this week's Page 1 story, Leisah Namm reports on the burgeoning Jewish community in the West Valley. For decades, the organized west-side community consisted of synagogues in retirement communities, a division of the Annual Federation Campaign and several Jewish organizations.

Almost overnight, a full-service community has begun to emerge, with new synagogues, community groups, organizations and expanding services of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.

The Jewish community of the West Valley, reflecting the experiences of its longer-established counterparts in central Phoenix, the East Valley and Scottsdale, is on track in launching basic services - prayer, religious school and selected adult programming. The pioneers are building a foundation, tailoring programs to meet the needs of participants across the age spectrum.

Augmenting this work is the growing accessibility of programs elsewhere in the Valley, thanks to the Loop 101 freeway linking us closer to one another in travel time, if not in distance - and hence nearer the rich variety of cultural, communal and academic programs our widespread community offers.

As the West Valley cities grow, dearth of Jewish services should never again be a stumbling block for families attracted by the promise of affordable housing, proximity to work, mountain views and cleaner air.

Stand up and be counted

We're the largest Jewish community in the Southwest in numbers. This Sunday, March 10, we can show we're the largest in heart and generosity.

We need only to come together from noon to 2 p.m., at Temple Beth Israel, to the "Israel Now and Forever" event sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and a dozen other caring organizations.

The communitywide gathering is part of a national fund-raising effort to help Israel meet urgent security and support needs during the horrific crisis its citizens are facing day after relentless day.

We've grown accustomed to the assurance of Israel "now." We can help make the "forever" real.

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