by Nanette Fridman As we embark upon 2010, Jewish communities across the country continue to work diligently to retool their organizations to allow for sustainable operations. If you spend time in many Jewish communal organizational board rooms or communal gathering places these days, you are bound to hear sentiments like, “We have cut everything that we can cut.” Now it is time for even harder decisions as priorities, agencies, core missions and tactics are re-examined. As tempting as it may be, blaming Bernie Madoff and the economic downturn for the current state of Jewish communal organizational affairs is overly simplistic and inaccurate. The nefarious Mr. Madoff and the recession may have blown over the house of cards, but many of the failing or failed Jewish organizations had weak … Continue Reading
The Aughts and Us
As the new year approaches, the first decade of the 21st century is drawing to a close. The Forward invited a dozen thinkers to weigh in on some moments, developments and trends of Jewish significance from the past 10 years. The Aughts and Us 2000-2009: A Look Back at What a Decade Brought American Jewry in Second Place by Jonathan D. Sarna Amid ongoing, year-long commemorations of 350 years of American Jewish life, a news item of immense historical significance passed practically unnoticed. On May 10, 2005, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the country’s population of self-identifying Jews had reached a grand total of 5,550,000. The closest parallel number for Jews in the United States (where the figures are admittedly less precise and more controversial) is … Continue Reading
The Famous Birthright Fingerprint
This morning, Taglit-Birthright Israel celebrated 10 years - and its fingerprint on Jewish history. Following the landing of a special plane at Ben Gurion airport, 400 Taglit-Birthright participants joined Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein, major donors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, founding philanthropist Charles Bronfman and others. A Birthright Israel 'Star of David' fingerprint flag was inaugurated at the ceremony, entering the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest collective work of art. This special flag was designed with 28,267 fingerprints from Taglit participants. Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni from a host of countries joined the Program's alumni who live in Israel for a tour in the "Decade Bus" - to reconstruct for them the special experiences that have transformed … Continue Reading
Limmud UK: The Mother of All Conferences
by Adam Rattner Some 2,000 people checked into the halls of residence at Warwick University, West Midlands, yesterday morning, joining the 500 participants who had already spent the Christmas weekend away from festivities and in a Shabbat atmosphere instead. Long unsure about what to do with themselves as the rest the country celebrates Christmas, Britain's Jews have found an unlikely answer - go to university for a week. The Limmud conference, the world's biggest Jewish educational get-together, offers the chance to sleep in university dorms and spend the day in lecture theaters listening to academics, rabbis and lay people presenting on just about every Jewish topic conceivable. Participants were still arriving on Sunday, weather conditions permitting, from all over the world. Since its … Continue Reading
No More Relying on ‘The Rich Uncle From America’
by Stacey Shaham and Itzik Platek Over the last several months, three new schools in Israel have sprouted that are of particular interest. All were established by businessmen and wealthy individuals. They are The Hamama, a school for children at risk in Or Yehuda; A School in Nature, for children with learning difficulties in Rehovot; and Hevruta, a private school for leadership development and excellence, located on the Ruppin Campus, in the Sharon region. In recent years. 140 foundations and nonprofit organizations have been established by affluent persons who wish to give back to society. "If there is something close to my heart I don't say, 'Here is a check with five figures.' That's not me. If there is something close to my heart I want it to happen and I want to be a part of it, to … Continue Reading
Culture, Media and the Jewish Future
It’s no accident that the words “communicate” and “community” come from the same root, which means “to share.” Culture, which grows from the collective experience of a group, needs to be communicated in order to become common property. Strikingly, the most ancient media - oral traditions, the written word, song, dance, and images - are still the basis of art and creativity today. The main difference is that they are now radically more accessible, thanks to mechanical and electronic means from the printing press to the Internet. Beginning with Gutenberg it has been possible for a written or visual work to be widely and more easily disseminated, and Edison and Emile Berliner did the same for sound. Those were the first mass media. Now that you can carry thousands of songs in … Continue Reading
Aliyah Numbers Up in 2009
from Haartez: Immigration to Israel hits 16,244, highest jump in 10 years For the first time in 10 years the number of immigrants to Israel has risen this year, according to Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky and Immigration and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver. In 2009, 16,244 people immigrated - a 17 percent jump over last year's 13,859. The number of immigrants from English-speaking countries has also increased by 17 percent this year, from 4,511 to 5,294... The largest number of new immigrants still comes from the former Soviet Union, where the numbers increased by 21 percent from 5,867 to 7,120. … Continue Reading
Hillel Launches Partnership With City Year
First ever first large-scale partnership between a Jewish and secular national service organization launches January 3rd in Los Angeles Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is partnering with City Year, the national service organization, to engage 200 Jewish college students in 5,000 hours of hands-on service. The students, from more than 25 campuses across the United States, are providing assistance in at-risk communities in Miami, Los Angeles and New York. The Urban Alternative Break represents the first large-scale partnership between a Jewish and secular national service organization. The first Urban Alternative Break experience will take place January 3-10 in Los Angeles with seven participating campuses. Additional experiences will be held in Miami, March 7-14, including … Continue Reading
Doing Good by Paying Forward
from The New York Times: Doing Good by Paying Forward Nonprofits of all sorts receive a flood of traffic to their Web sites in the last week of the year from people moved by the spirit of the season (or the race to lock in a tax deduction for donations before midnight on Dec. 31). Perhaps the fastest-growing way to act on these altruistic instincts is participating in microfinancing. You take a relatively small amount of money and, through an online marketplace of sorts, give or lend it to a specific person or project whose story moves you. (Not all microfinancing organizations are nonprofits, however, so be aware of the differences.) This fall, Kiva, one of the leading organizations in a niche that includes others like DonorsChoose and the eBay-owned MicroPlace, came under fire in a … Continue Reading
Moshe Vigdor Resigns from Jewish Agency
Moshe Vigdor, Director General of the Jewish Agency for Israel, is leaving his position. Vigdor has accepted the same position with the Council for Higher Education and the Education Ministry's council on planning and budget. According to Richard Pearlstone, the Jewish Agency's Board chair, "We are sorry to lose him; he was great for the agency . We will all miss him and wish him luck in his new challenge to help the State of Israel." Moshe Vigdor has been the Director General of the Jewish Agency since January 2005 following a 12 year career as the Vice-President and Director General of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Here's Vigdor's letter to the Board of Governors: December 24, 2009 To: Members of the Board of Governors Dear Friends, I write to tell you that I have … Continue Reading
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