The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona has launched “What’s Your #ish?”, an online campaign that encourages young Jews of all stripes to share what being Jewish means to them — their “ish” — while raising awareness of the work of Jewish federations.
The project, launched in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America, went online with a series of humorous rich media ads, promotional videos on YouTube, and pages on social networking sites, all intended to generate conversation on — and traffic to — the campaign’s dedicated website, whatsyour ish.com, explains Rebecca Kunsberg, JFSA director of leadership development and public relations.
On whatsyourish.com, readers are invited to post their response in three places — on the website, Facebook and Twitter — and to tag their “ish” with the hash-tag symbol (#ish.) Using this tag allows individual entries to be aggregated. Guest celebrities will also be sharing what being Jewish means to them via videos throughout the campaign.
For every response, JFNA will credit 25 cents to a $50,000 #ish fund for charity. The fund will cover the core thematic needs supported by Jewish federations’ annual campaigns, including poverty, elder care, Jewish identity and Israel solidarity.
Participants can vote on how they would allocate the fund.
Several Tucsonans have already participated in the “What’s Your #ish?” campaign.
Former Tucson City Council member and U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman says he is “working for the greater good#ish!” Young Jewish Tucson Co-chair Brandon Apsell says “Believing in Ha Shem and never bowing to pressure makes
me Macabee#ish.” His co-chair, Illana Hearshen, couldn’t narrow it down to one. Her “#ishes” are “potluck Shabbatish, making and eating kugelish, making differencish, tikun olamish, supporting Israelish, building a communityish, and sharing Jewish experiences with my friends and familyish.”
“The #ish campaign,” says Nina Isaac, JFSA Young Leadership co-chair, “is a fun, innovative way for younger Jews to learn about the life-saving work of the Jewish Federation.”
