It was with great surprise and a heavy heart that I read of the unplanned departure of Rob Jacobs as the local Executive Director of the ADL. I want to publicly thank Rob for his devoted community work during his tenure at ADL. It was impossible not to feel Rob’s passion and commitment to the Jewish community and, although not always agreeing with him on every issue, I considered his combination of professionalism and menschlikeit a great addition to the cadre of local Jewish professionals. Hopefully some other worthy organization in Seattle will be wise enough to retain his employment in the near future. At this traditional time of introspection and evaluation I wish him, his family and all of our community a supportive, good, healthy and sweet New Year.