by Rabbi Daniel R. Allen Lag BaOmer is a break, a time out, a moment to recall an ancient plague that may or may not have occurred, and perhaps a moment for reflection. It comes just past the middle of the 50 days which we count from the liberation to the responsibility of law, from Pesach to Shavuot. And perhaps, it comes to remind us that every now and then one must step back to reflect on what has been accomplished in the journey. In 1983, in his book The Land of Israel, Amos Oz wrote the following: “Perhaps it was a lunatic promise: to turn, in the space of two or three generations, masses of Jews, persecuted, frightened, full of love-hate toward their countries of origin, into a nation that would be an example for the Arab community, a model of salvation for the entire … Continue Reading
What’s Missing from Real Dialogue between Israel and Diaspora Jewry?
by Rabbi Uri Regev Yonatan Ariel’s detailed response to my op-ed regarding the Global Jewish Forum’s seminar about Haredim and the Jewish Collective almost had me convinced. I might have accepted his assessment that the matter had been fairly considered, had I not had close acquaintance with the Jewish Agency’s dealing with religion and state in Israel, or had I not read Robbie Gringras’ praiseworthy post regarding the considerations which shaped the JGF seminar. But, I did have the benefit of these things, as well as the State Comptroller’s recent report, and therefore remain unconvinced. In some sense, Ariel’s reply further confirms my feeling of unease with this program and others like it; it exemplified the reluctance of broad Jewish leadership to touch this hot potato in a … Continue Reading
Game Changing Ruling On Tax Exemption?
from The NonProfit Times: Game Changing Ruling On Tax Exemption? A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling on the tax exempt status of a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Orthodox Jewish school's camp could have the potential to set precedent for future legal challenges of charities. According to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov Inc. summer camp was ruled not to be a nonprofit, despite being owned by a religious institution. This is because most of the 61-acre property surrounding the camp does not meet the criteria for charities in Pennsylvania. The ruling has some concerned that we could be returning to the times, mainly in the 1980s and 1990s, when the tax exempt status of nonprofits was regularly challenged by local governments. A spokesman for Pennsylvania … Continue Reading
Tools of the Trade
Email Service Provider Comparison Groundwire updated their report with information about the different broadcast email tools available to you, providing a baseline of information on email service providers they feel represent the "best of breed" for most nonprofit organizations from the very small to the very large. Legal Risks in Social Media Use by Nonprofits As the world has seen in the grassroots revolutions of 2011, online social media can be powerful tools for social change. Nonprofits large and small are increasingly taking advantage of such tools to advance their causes. But as with all new societal advances, social media also pose many risks if not used properly. International Giving by Public Charities This article is a guide for public charities that want to engage in … Continue Reading
Move Over TED, ELI Has Arrived
from The Jewish Week: Jewish Version Of TED Talks Launched At last, the Jewish community has its very own version of TED - sort of. TED, whose slogan is “ideas worth spreading,” began as a conference in 1984 that brought together people from the three disciplines in its acronym (Technology, Entertainment, Design), offering the best 15-to-18-minute talks and performances by experts in their profession or field of interest. ... After several years of discussions and attempts in the community to launch a Jewish TED, the Avi Chai Foundation has jumped in, getting the effort started last January with six presentations presented and filmed before a group of 200 attendees at the North American Jewish Day School conference in Atlanta. The project, dubbed “ELI talks” (for Engagement, … Continue Reading
Digging Out the Past: Quest to Uncover Jewish Harbin
by Dan Ben-Canaan Since its foundation by not only to Russians but to many foreign Its inhabitants, Russians, Jews, Poles, Czarist Russia as a strategic railway town in 1898, Harbin was in its essence a foreign domain on Chinese soil. The contract signed in Berlin on September 8, 1896 by the representative of the Qing government gave imperial Russia an opportunity to annex a wide corridor of land inside China making it a territorial possession for its ambitions of expansion. Harbin thus became home ethnic groups who came to form new future roots here. Harbin became a home to Jewish entrepreneurs, settlers and émigrés and to members of many other nationalities, ethnicities and religions. It was a space where cultures, traditions, commerce and politics converged and merged to form a unique town … Continue Reading
Helping “Lost Jews” Find the Way Home
by Gaby Wine To suggest that one man alone is able to change the course of Jewish history may sound a little far-fetched, but Michael Freund is certainly making a valiant attempt to change the future of many. Since founding the organization Shavei Israel 10 years ago, the former New Yorker has overseen the aliyah of several thousand ”Lost Jews” from India, China and South America, as well as other countries. From northeastern India alone, 1,700 Bnei Menashe, who are descended from a lost tribe of Israel, have moved to the Jewish state and are now fully integrated into Israeli society. A further 7,200 are still hoping to make aliyah. In 1997, Freund was working in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as Deputy Communications Director, when he was handed a letter from the Bnei … Continue Reading
You Tai Ren Zai Na Er? (Where are the Jews?)
by Naomi Nason I live in two separate worlds. The first involves my ingrained Jewish identity, the memories of celebrated holidays and Jewish education. My initial world has been everything to me since I was born: it was all I ever knew. The second world is a newer world, at least to me. It is filled with Asian culture and Chinese history. In my second world, I leave the restraints of my appearance as a simple white American. I surprise people. I surprise myself. As a devoted Conservative Jew who speaks Chinese, I take considerable pleasure when my two worlds happen to come together, as they have on a few occasions throughout my time in China. It is such a nice release for me to not have to contain myself to either world, but to allow the two to coincide. It was our final weekend in Beijing … Continue Reading
Free Hebrew-language Children’s Books Program Expands Across U.S.
Sifriyat Pijama B’America strengthens connections to Jewish values, the Hebrew language, in local American communities Israeli-American and Jewish-American families across the United States are participating in a new children’s program through which they are mailed monthly - for free - a quality Jewish children’s book in Hebrew. Through Sifriyat Pijama B’America (SP-BA) young Jewish children, ages three to six, will be able to receive free storybooks in Hebrew. The program is designed to strengthen participants’ Hebrew language proficiency and connections with Jewish values and culture, as well as develop a channel through which young Jewish children can spend more quality time at bedtime with their families in a positive, educational manner. Through the tradition of bedtime … Continue Reading
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