This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 - Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Jeffrey R Solomon It is often said that private philanthropy when done well, is the passing lane of society. Billions of dollars of assets are available for improving the human condition with little external oversight or intervention. Responsibility falls to the philanthropies’ board of directors. Indeed, this is a wonderful condition for attempting new ways of confronting existing societal needs. Many such foundations understand that their role should be one of trailblazing. There is a long and noble history of private philanthropy in action which has provided immeasurable benefits to society. How has this … Continue Reading
Putting the People Back in Peoplehood
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 - Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Lisa Eisen Rachel Brody, 26, always knew she was Jewish, but growing up in Houston, Texas, it did not mean much to her. She was much more focused on the parts of her identity that drove her to working with students with special needs. She never realized the connection between the two until she visited Israel in 2009 as part of the pilot cohort of our Foundation’s REALITY Israel Experience, a program that brings Teach For America corps members to Israel to explore the Jewish values that undergird their commitment to public service. “It left a profound impact on me,” said Rachel, who is now working on a … Continue Reading
Paying for Peoplehood
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Dr. Misha Galperin By now, the terminology of peoplehood has been dissected and analyzed, defined, refined and thoroughly debated. No one argues about its centrality to the future of Jewish communal organizations, indeed the future of Jewish life. In a time of economic challenge, when the bonds of peoplehood are in decline in our emerging population of young professionals, the central question is not what is peoplehood or why should you care but how we can strengthen our commitment to each other collectively while paying for the privilege? As I have said elsewhere, peoplehood is not a sexy tagline for … Continue Reading
Jewish Federations – Jewish Peoplehood in Action
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Rebecca Caspi and Lisa Friedman Throughout the generations, the great strength of the Jewish community has been its distinct ability to organize itself. In North America this found expression through securing the rights of minorities; gaining a significant political foothold; setting up a comprehensive system of Jewish charitable, defense and educational institutions; and, providing substantial support to the State of Israel and to Jews around the world. As we witness the current shifting social, demographic and economic trends that impact our long standing communal efforts, we note that the fundamentals of … Continue Reading
Counting on the Jews in Europe
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Sally Berkovic I like to play the numbers game. ‘How many Jews do you think there are in Germany, Hungary and Poland?’ I asked a group of Israeli colleagues. After a few minutes of guessing, mostly the wrong numbers, one of them observed wryly, ’The last time I did this was 30 years ago in high school when the teacher asked me ‘How many Jews died in Germany, Hungary and Poland?’ There is a smirk of recognition around the room. ‘The Poles love us now,’ chimed in another, ‘all these kids throwing their dollars at the Polish tourist industry so they can visit the concentration camps and go … Continue Reading
The Koret Taube Initiative on Jewish Peoplehood
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Shana Penn and Danielle Foreman “The Jewish people cannot survive by worrying only about survival; we survive and thrive as a people because we want to survive for something. Whether you believe that God commands it, or history commands it, or it’s right on its own terms, we survive and thrive because we want to have a purpose to our existence. That’s the essence of peoplehood.” Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary In the spirit of activating Jewish Peoplehood in our own communities and worldwide, the Koret Foundation and Taube Philanthropies have come together for a collaborative … Continue Reading
Peoplehood is the Consequence, Not the Goal: JHub as a Case Study
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Shoshana Boyd Gelfand According to Jewish tradition, the world stands on three pillars: Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Hasadim. Some would claim that these are the central principles which hold the Jewish people together. My Jewish childhood identity, however, stood on three completely different pillars. Like many others of my generation who grew up in non-religious homes, three of the core experiences which formed my Jewish identity were: the Holocaust, the State of Israel, and the Soviet Jewry movement. My early memories include: watching the series “Holocaust” on television with my family, listening to my … Continue Reading
The Role of the Mega-Organization in the Era of Micro-Philanthropy
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Steve Schwager The term “Jewish Peoplehood” surfaced in recent years as a new way to describe the biblical statement Kol Yisroel Arevim Zeh Lazeh - “All Jews are responsible one for the other.” It signifies the fact that we as a people are united - across the boundaries of language, culture, and residence. I find this latest interpretation of the biblical text an appealing term: it describes anew the maxim that was the foundation of The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) almost 100 years ago. Known then as “mutual Jewish responsibility,” it was the driving force behind the … Continue Reading
The Peoplehood Challenge: “Teach Your children Well”
This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 7 – Reinvigorating Jewish Peoplehood: The Philanthropic Perspective; published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. by Yossi Prager For AVI CHAI, Peoplehood reflects the notion that Jews are family, distant cousins from common ancestors, who share a stake in our ancient homeland and now modern state in Israel. This notion of peoplehood encompasses all Jews, whether or not they accept the covenantal destiny of the Jewish people, its sacred texts and modern literature, or Hebrew as a common language. Peoplehood is an inclusive concept, perhaps the most inclusive that Judaism has to offer because it includes every Jew regardless of ideology or religious participation. At the same time it is particularistic: it posits that Jews … Continue Reading
Jewish Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Connectors Unite at SXSW
by Yoni Sarason Yoni attended South By Southwest festival in Austin in March, 2012, and as by popular demand, he shared his thoughts in this blog below. While much of the young adult geared Jewish world is focused on TribeFest, JFNA’s NextGen get-together in Las Vegas, this past weekend, a number of young Jewish leaders took on South by Southwest (SXSW), the film, music and interactive (digital) industry convention in Austin. The young leaders are part of the ROI Community, a network of Jewish innovators, entrepreneurs, movers, shakers, and connectors. The community is formed and expanded each year by bringing 120 emerging leaders from around the world to Israel for a week of sessions, networking, and ideating. This year, as part of a pilot, ROI enabled a number of Community … Continue Reading
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