A BRIEF HISTORY UNTIL THE LATE 1950S, THERE WERE A FEW COMMUNITY-WIDE JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND ONLY TWO SYNAGOGUES IN THE SARASOTA-MANATEE AREA. THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT WHICH ENCOMPASSED THE ENTIRE JEWISH COMMUNITY AT THAT TIME WAS THE UNITED JEWISH APPEAL (UJA) ANNUAL CAMPAIGN. Formed in January of 1939, UJA quickly became the primary American fundraising organization committed to Jewish causes outside the United States. From its outset, the UJA collaborated with regional federations to provide relief to Jewish groups in Europe, sending abroad a portion of the revenue raised by the federations. Between January and December 1939, UJA raised $14 million to help German Jews escape the Nazis. After World War II – as American Jews confronted the tragedy of the Holocaust – UJA took a central role in bringing Jewish refugees out of Europe and resettling them in the United States. In 1946, the organization collected $100 million during one campaign alone, and in 1947, it oversaw the arrival of more than 25,000 Jewish survivors to the United States. In 1948, UJA’s focus changed dramatically with the founding of the State of Israel. Instead of bringing Jewish war and Holocaust survivors to the United States, UJA raised $200 million in 1948 to resettle them in Israel.