From Where I Sit
The good, the bad and the ugly; some random observations on the GA.
Everyone is smiling and having a good time. Jerusalem has that effect on people. But, in conversations, the story changes. Everyone is worried. They’re worried about numbers; a shrinking donor pool, endowment losses, donors extending on paying pledges. Higher costs due to higher communal need. Budget deficits. The large Federations often have mega donors and endowment funds as a fall-back (UJA-NY has already authorized some dipping into reserves). The smaller Federations generally have more limited resources. JAFI’s cutting another $45m – the Joint has not yet weighed in. Both organizations are worried about a backlash with donors feeling they need to use their resources locally. The Haredi world is already experiencing this.
The good: I attended two sessions yesterday, Educating Towards a Global Jewish Future and Social Entrepreneurship: Reinvigorating the Jewish People for the 21st Century (where I was also a facilitator). Both were excellent and easily could have been a plenary by itself; content summaries on both coming next week. Meanwhile, if the entire break-out session program was on a similar level, Kol Ha-Kavod to those who made it happen.
One People. One Destiny. Jerusalem 2008
This year’s GA opened in Jerusalem on Sunday night. With a plenary that saw a mix of lay and professional leaders from North America, communal professionals and invited guests from both Israel and the WZO, hundreds of young people from various MASA programs, KolDor, Hillel and young Israeli adults currently serving in the IDF all gathered together. And, in the view of many the musical parts of the program were the highlight of the night.
Over the past two days, long attending GA participants from North America expressed a very different take to me than Israeli’s and NextGen participants attending for the very first time. There is no question that a visitor’s perspective to this GA was colored by ‘where you are from’. But, let’s hold that thought and go back to the preceding 24 hours.
The hottest ticket in town this past weekend was the invitation only event hosted Motzei Shabbat by the Samuel Bronfman Foundation at Jerusalem’s Cinematheque theater. Renting out the entire building for most of the night, movers and shakers of the international Jewish philanthropic world gathered to hear a conversation between David Horovitz (of The Jerusalem Post) and Edgar M. Bronfman titled, Setting the Agenda: A Candid Conversation on the Critical Issues Facing the North American Jewish Community. Focused around Bronfman’s recent book, Hope, Not Fear, the dialogue was engaging, and for some controversial. And once some technical difficulties with the loudspeaker system were corrected the next hour flew by.
Strong Identity Makes for Success
The following is by Zeev Bielski, Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). It is based on his opening remarks at the JAFI Assembly this past Friday morning.
In the introduction to his autobiography, Dreams from My Father, Barack Obama writes, with some self irony, “Why should people want to vote for a person with such a funny name as ‘Obama’?”
Two and a half years ago, when I received a request from a group of Chicago Jewish community leaders to meet with a young, promising senator who was visiting Israel for his first time, I hesitated. Not only was my schedule crammed for the day, but, moreover, who in Israel at the time had heard of this unknown senator with the unusual name of Obama?
It was already Friday afternoon, yet I decided all the same to go to Jerusalem to meet Obama, who was accompanied by a select group of leaders from the JUF/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. (more…)
JFN Announces Director Of Israel Office
The Jewish Funders Network has hired Maya Natan, formerly of JAFI, to direct its initiative to expand JFN’s member network in Israel. Natan brings twelve years of experience in Jewish communal service in Israel, England and the U.S. to the role.
“Maya has a remarkable combination of experience and natural leadership ability. Her talents at fostering relationships will help Israeli donors find like-minded philanthropists in the Diaspora to compare experiences, access information and ultimately forge partnerships,” said JFN President Mark Charendoff
In her role as Director of the Jewish Experience in Israel Unit for the Jewish Agency’s Education Department, Natan served as the point person for Jewish Agency involvement with Project Masa. Prior to her current position, Natan served as the head of Regional Strategy in the Research and Strategic Planning unit of the Jewish Agency in Israel, as well as in England, where she worked with the Jewish Agency and the UJIA. Prior to her time in the UK, Natan was an Israel and Overseas Associate in Washington DC, where she was in charge of the Partnership 2000 initiative with Beit Shemesh-Adulam.
“Opening a JFN office in Israel marks a tremendous opportunity for increased collaboration and partnership between Israeli philanthropists and those around the world,” said JFN Board Chair, Murray Galinson, “we’re looking forward to the energy and leadership that Maya will bring to the operation.”
Protecxia; An Oleh’s First Word
Many years ago, on day one of Ulpan - Kitah Aleph, our excellent and high-strung Sabra instructor told us the first word we needed to learn and understand was Protecxia. As a room full of 20-somethings, with at least half planning Aliyah, we were made to understand that grasping this concept was as important as the Hebrew skills she would impart to us over the next six months if we were to have a successful klitah here in Israel.
Fast far forward to today and another one of the innovative projects to come forth from this summer’s cohort of the PresenTense Institute is
Protecxia: Immigration Integration Initiative
Founded by Erin Kopelow, a recent Olah and Jerusalem resident, whose first experience in Israel was with a one-year MASA volunteer program, Protecxia takes this long-standing concept and updates it for the 21st Century.
Protecxia’s goal is to effectively integrate immigrants as well as potential-immigrants between the age of 20 to 35 into Israeli society and culture through a network of people and activities. (more…)
