Top Stories

Nearly 30 years after Kansas City first hosted the JCC Maccabi Games, organizers have announced that the largest organized Jewish sports event in North America will return to Kansas City in 2026.

Jewish advocate David Harris will be participating in a discussion at a community program titled, “An Urgent Call to Action: In Conversation with David Harris.”

A Jewish Kansas City native is among the biggest movers and shakers in Hollywood, working on the “Iron Man,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises while getting to know film icons like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

Barry Birkmeyer, longtime manager of The J’s camp and school-age services department, has been promoted to the program’s new director.

Friends Ethan Hobbs and David Wasserman have turned their shared passion for video production and photography into Mitzvah Memories, a media company serving the Kansas City Jewish community.

Over the past few years, a combination of the pandemic and changing needs in the local Jewish community inspired the Kansas City Community Kollel’s board to develop a new vision and strategy.

Jews across the world marked the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, and Kansas City’s Jewish community organized a commemoration and a temporary art installation for the victims.

Shira Brudoley, Kansas City’s new NCSY and Jewish Student Union (JSU) director, already feels like she is at home after just two months on the job. Her passion to help middle and high school students “experience, explore and be empowered by their Judaism” is a driving force behind her work, and she expressed sincere gratitude to the many students, parents and donors who have already shown an incredible amount of support to her and the local organization.  

For many, school is a stepping stone. For some, it’s a place to return home. At Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA), four alumni have found their way back — this time as teachers and mentors. Three new teachers join the faculty, and one longtime teacher is celebrating 12 years in the classroom, marking 24 years at HBHA as both a student and educator. 

For weeks after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, Neta Meltzer of Overland Park, Kansas, struggled to sleep, eat and cope with the images flashing across her TV: Footage of young Jews massacred at a music festival, bloodied rape victims being carried off by Hamas terrorists, and photos of once-joyful families who’d been murdered in their homes.