Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Supply-Side Judaism

by Elie Kaunfer

The Jewish community is expert at anticipating failure, even disaster. Declining affiliation rates, rampant intermarriage, collapsing schools and synagogues – these are the problems that top the communal agenda. Judaism, it is said, is a product that»

The New Jewish Agency Approach: Peoplehood for Survival

A new emphasis on ‘Peoplehood’ reflects both the economic reality and Russian roots of The Jewish Agency.

by Gal Beckerman

Natan Sharansky knows he’s disturbing the status quo. Days before the most recent meeting of the Board of Governors, the»

And Now for Something Completely Different: Inside the Box

February 24, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under 28 Days, 28 Ideas, In Case You Missed, New on eJP

by Robert Hyfler

In order to think outside of the box you must first have a box to start from. The history of both scientific innovation and social innovation is the history of women and men who built on»

Bibi on The Loss of Identity

February 22, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under In the Media

The buzzword for the current Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting is Identity. Natan Sharansky discussed it yesterday. Today, it was Prime Minister Netanyahu’s turn and the subject of many of the discussions at the strategic planning round-tables later in»

Sharansky Suggests Training 5000 New Leaders

February 21, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under In the Media

At the opening plenary of the Jewish Agency’s board meeting, Natan Sharansky – the organization’s chairman – presented similar thoughts to those he enumerated last week at a session of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.

In»

MASA Program Reaches 9,300 Participants

February 14, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under In the Media

The number of MASA Israel participants has reached 9,300 in 2009-2010, up from 8,200 the year before.

Post-college MASA Israel participants have increased by 67%, with 1486 currently interning, volunteering or studying in Israel. 56% are Birthright Israel alumni.

MASA»

JESNA’S Pick for the Best in Jewish Education of the Decade

by Jonathan Woocher

The dawn of a new decade has brought with it a flurry of retrospectives assessing the first ten years of the 21st century. Clearly, there’s been much to cause discouragement, anxiety, and concern. But, as we at»

The Birthright Alternative Trip

January 6, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under In the Media, The American Jewish Scene

Sharon Udasin writing in The New York Jewish Week:

Funding In-Marriage Out Of His Own Pocket

Despite the seeming success of Lifshitz’s first post-Birthright trip, it remains unclear whether the Oranim free trips will continue this spring. Lifshitz is struggling»

Birthright Israel NEXT and the Invisible Doubling Effect

January 3, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under New on eJP, The American Jewish Scene

by Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner

Reading The Jerusalem Post yesterday, it occurred to me that Birthright Israel NEXT’s work has a visibility problem. Haviv Rettig Gur writes regarding Taglit-Birthright Israel “these connections are wasted if they are not»

Birthright Israel: Where’s the Follow-Up?

January 3, 2010 by eJP  
Filed under In the Media

from The Jerusalem Post:

Birthright: A wasted success?

Taglit-birthright Israe turned ten this year. From its start as the brainchild of a handful of American donors and Israeli politicians and the target of skepticism and scorn, it has grown»