Your Daily Phil: 25 years later, Joshua Venture is still shaking things up
Good Friday morning.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: Eying his legacy, Charles Bronfman commits $25 million to Birthright Israel Foundation; New study finds Employee Resource Groups offer untapped potential of young Jewish professionals; and New England Patriots scion Josh Kraft wants to be Boston’s first Jewish mayor. Print the latest edition here.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent decision not to meet the heads of American Jewish institutions during his Washington trip, we consider the legacy of the Joshua Venture and profile Greg and Jodi Perlman, who have pledged $10 million to Los Angeles wildfire relief. We feature an opinion piece by Avi Rubel with his reflections on the recent Israel Educational Travel Alliance Leaders Summit, and one by Anju Bhargava, Falguni Pandya and Rabbi Joshua Stanton about building on the commonalities between the Hindu and Jewish experience in America. Also in this newsletter: Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Tom Rose and Daniella Gilboa. Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
Later today, Hamas will notify Israeli officials of the three hostages set to be released from Gaza tomorrow.
What You Should Know
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not meet the heads of American Jewry’s main institutions during this nearly weeklong trip to Washington, according to both his office and U.S. Jewish leaders, representing a marked departure from the standard itineraries of Israeli leaders on official visits to the United States, writes eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross.
The premier, who flies home on Saturday night after Shabbat, may still meet with American Jews or even certain American Jewish leaders today, but not with the normal forum of top executives from the community’s largest organizations — communal institutions, denominations and advocacy groups — as eJP reported earlier in the week.
This comes after President Donald Trump’s bombshell announcement that the U.S. will “take control” of the Gaza Strip and relocate its inhabitants — a major shift in U.S. foreign policy that was warmly embraced by Netanyahu and other Israeli officials and that will have direct implications on the advocacy work of American Jewish groups for the foreseeable future.
The decision — not apparently a function of time restraints — may reflect the fact that Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations during its National Leadership Mission to Israel in a week and a half, Feb. 16-20.
And yet the move has rankled at least some American Jewish leaders, such as Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who called it “a disappointing missed opportunity” and noted that the premier did meet with evangelical leaders earlier in the week.
“It’s pretty clear that the [prime minister] and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer [who is largely tasked with overseeing Israel’s relationship with the U.S.] find less political value in meetings with Jewish leaders who reflect the views of the majority of American Jews and may challenge the policies of the Israeli government,” Jacobs told eJP. “Prime Minister Netanyahu likes to say he’s the prime minister for the Jewish people and not just the State of Israel but that requires a willingness to meet with the Jewish leaders of the largest segments of American Jewry. We remain ready to meet when there is an openness to have a real, honest, respectful interchange.”
NEW JEW REVIEW
25 years after launching, the now-shuttered Joshua Venture still making waves through Jewish world
The new millennium was a time of potential and panic. People worried Y2K would cause computers to crash and planes to plummet. Instead, the world just partied. Smartphones weren’t yet a thing, and the stock market was booming off dot-com innovation. Jews were integrated into American society in ways no one could have ever imagined, to the point that the 2000 Democratic vice president nominee was an Orthodox Jew. Interfaith marriage rates were skyrocketing, and assimilation was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. From this, the Joshua Venture was born, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy. Founded in 2000, the Joshua Venture: A Fellowship for Jewish Social Entrepreneurs invested in young Jewish leaders, mainly those that were culturally focused and unorthodox — the type of people who would have ordinarily struggled to obtain funding from traditional foundations. Though its first iteration lasted less than five years, the programs that it helped launch — among them JDub Records, Heeb Magazine and Storahtelling — have shaped a generation of Jews and continues influencing the Jewish world 25 years later.
Picking up the baton: Over its 13-year, off-and-on run, Joshua Venture supported 38 fellows, with many programs still running, such as Matan, Keshet, Sharsheret, Wilderness Torah and Storahtelling — now known as Lab/Shul. Matisyahu, whose career was launched by JDub Records, remains a fixture in mainstream culture. There are still programs working with artistic entrepreneurs and Jewish innovators: UpStart is still thriving; Maimonides Fund runs the Digital Storytellers Lab; Reboot, has supported many influential films, podcasts and plays, including Alex Edelman’s Emmy and Tony award-winning “Just For Us,” which was on Broadway and streams on HBO and Max, and the Oscar-shortlisted film “The Anne Frank Gift Shop.” There is a new generation of proud Jewish creatives breaking into mainstream culture, such as Lehrhaus, the Boston tavern and Jewish house of learning that was named one of Esquire Magazine’s best new restaurants in the U.S. in 2023. Heeb is even relaunching this week, albeit in a more modest form.
OUT OF THE ASHES
L.A.’s Greg and Jodi Perlman pledge $10 million to wildfire relief, providing checks to affected families
Since 2019, Greg and Jodi Perlman have sought to lift up Los Angeles residents in need, particularly those from working-class backgrounds facing difficult times — providing grants through their nonprofit The Change Reaction to, say, families with a sick child in the hospital or a father who needs $1,600 to fix his car so he can get to work. But now, following the deadly and devastating wildfires that swept through the city, displacing nearly 200,000 people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses, the needs in the Los Angeles community have only grown. In response, the couple has launched the Wildfire Direct Giving Fund, providing thousands of families with checks to keep them going until other forms of compensation kick in, reports Ayala Or-El for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Giving oxygen: “What I wanted to do is give these people some oxygen until FEMA and their insurance will step in and start helping,” Greg Perlman told eJP. Last week, the Perlmans invited 1,000 families from the hard-hit Altadena area of L.A. to a check-giving event at Pasadena City College, where each family received a check ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. The week before, they did the same for residents of Pacific Palisades. In total, the Perlmans have committed at least $10 million of their own money toward fire relief, with a goal of reaching $50 million — ensuring that 100% of every dollar provides direct cash support to those in need. They are calling on fellow Angelenos who have the means to contribute and join the effort.
SHARING OUR PEOPLE’S STORY
The return to Israel educational travel
“Here I was, rejoicing with the IETA Leaders Summit participants and all of Israel as hostages Emily [Damari], Romi [Gonen] and Doron [Steinbrecher] were released, and also listening to the heartbreaking stories of hostages’ relatives and thinking about Hersh [Goldberg-Polin] and how I still can’t believe that we couldn’t save him,” writes Avi Rubel, who was still living in Israel on Oct. 7 and moved to the U.S. one year ago to become CEO of Honeymoon Israel, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Then it hit me in a profound way: What a daunting task we have ahead of us to bring hundreds of couples to Israel this summer, most of whom are first-timers, and to expose them in the most sophisticated way to this beautiful, complex — and, right now, completely traumatized — country.”
An important role: “I always knew that bringing young, mostly interfaith couples on Honeymoon Israel was important for the Jewish people, but now I realize that we absolutely must redouble our efforts and expose as many people as possible to Israel so that they have a first-person relationship with our homeland… More than anything, I am excited at the potential for a robust, renewed Israel educational travel ecosystem, because it will bring with it the power of global Jewish peoplehood. By enabling thousands of North American Jews and their partners to visit Israel they will explore complex realities, develop personal connections and shape a new narrative informed by where Israel is going and how the story of our people is one story that needs to merge and not be completely separate narratives based on geography.”
INTERFAITH RELATIONS
Redoubling Hindu-Jewish friendship
“Hindu-Jewish friendship dates back thousands of years — so long, in fact, that we can only make inferences about the founding of the first Jewish communities in India,” write Anju Bhargava, founder of Hindu American Seva Communities; Falguni Pandya, a Hindu American community leader and advocate; and Rabbi Joshua Stanton, associate vice president of interfaith and intergroup initiatives at the Jewish Federations of North America, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Our American tale: “Our traditions share an ethno-religious duality, which sets them apart from others and roots them in place and peoplehood. We also share similar conceptions of sacred text, belief in a higher power, community, land and people. These similarities have also brought together the American diasporas of our respective communities. Immigration from India to the U.S. opened up only after 1965, and Hindus began to develop community organizations; they reached out to those most similar to them, American Jews, who often helped their Hindu colleagues and friends create a sense of belonging in the United States… Our friendships are real and widespread across the United States. Now, so too, are our shared needs.”
Worthy Reads
Even in the Lion’s Den: In the Wall Street Journal, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik draws historical parallels to returned Israeli hostage Agam Burger’s persistence in keeping Shabbat and kosher to the best of her ability during her captivity. “Thus goes a familiar story in the history of the Jewish people: A Jew, kidnapped from the Holy Land and taken to enemy territory, refuses to eat whatever nonkosher food is provided to him… Yet the contemporary tale is, in a sense, even more astounding than the ancient ones. Daniel’s faith inspired admiration among members of the Babylonian court. God made him an object of ‘loving kindness and mercy before the minister’ of Nebuchadnezzar. This, too, obtained in Rome hundreds of years later. The plight of the priests evoked compassion from the most unlikely and surprising of people, Nero’s wife, the Empress Poppaea, who helped ensure their release. These Jews sacrificed for their faith, but the lands of their captivity featured astonishing instances of empathy. The same can’t be said of Gaza, where Ms. Berger was held in cruel captivity. It is, by all accounts, a society soaked with Jew-hate. Ms. Albag told her father that she encountered derision, and a total lack of sympathy, from every person with whom she came into contact… It is breathtaking to imagine a young woman refusing the order of terrorist thugs on her Sabbath, as well as proudly and steadfastly keeping kosher in such circumstances.” [WSJ]
Trump Whiplash: In The Times of Israel, Steven Windmueller writes about witnessing the disparate reactions within the Jewish community to the Trump administration’s actions so far. “This past weekend I experienced the dual impact of the Trump Presidency. On the one hand, I addressed a crowded synagogue sanctuary, filled with concerned Jews, uncertain and alarmed by a Second Trump Presidency, upset over the sharp rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and action, and confused and [in] some cases disconnected from Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7. Not twenty-four hours later I was in the midst of a pro-Trump Jewish community gathering. It is as if I am living in two separate worlds. Here, I encountered an audience fully embracing this President’s policies, as they applauded his pro-Israel agenda, embraced his war against illegal aliens, and supported his plans to oppose campus anti-Semitism. I was directly experiencing the two Americas that journalists frequently write about. For those that resonate with this President and by contrast, with those who struggle with 47, each community came to their moment from such different places and alternative perceptions… We need to remind ourselves that the roadmap of Jewish history offers us some extraordinary insights and examples of how our tradition and our people have managed in earlier times to be responsive to crisis and to divisions, as we observe how as a civilization we were able to reimagine our responses, our practices, and our beliefs.” [TOI]
The Next-Gen Fundraiser: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Rasheeda Childress highlights the strengths and struggles of today’s early-career fundraisers. “They are bringing their full selves to their work, and with that comes a passion for the mission that draws them to nonprofits. They constantly question what’s being done and offer new ideas about how to do things better. These up-and-comers have a chameleon-like nature that allows them to easily transition between young new donors and longtime supporters who remind them of their grandparents… Despite the energy and conviction next-generation fundraisers bring to the work, they face challenges. They struggle to find mentors, get discouraged because they set unrealistic expectations for themselves, and wrestle with finding the right work-life balance. Veteran fundraisers say nonprofits need to find ways to support these fundraisers and encourage them to stick with it because new blood and new ideas will be crucial to turn around a trend that plagues the nonprofit world: fewer donors.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
The Upside of Struggling: In The Atlantic, Arthur C. Brooks explores the benefits of doing things we’re bad at. “The reason we hate being bad at things and failing is because when goal-directed activity is inhibited or blocked (either by an outside force or our own lack of aptitude), that stimulates our dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which is part of the brain’s pain circuitry. This is the same region affected when we experience social rejection. This kind of mental pain does, however, have an evolved benefit — creating the motivation to succeed, if not at the activity at hand then at some other one… The mental pain of failure per se can also stimulate you to become better at the activity in which you lack proficiency — if you can reframe the adverse experience as an indicator of personal growth.… Employers can apply these principles as well. I like the ‘75/25 rule,’ according to which employees spend three-quarters of their time on their assigned task and one quarter helping others outside their area. The short-term cost of this is friction as people wrestle with novelty and difficulty — and bosses should take care not to make this worse by being punitive or overly critical. But I have seen the long-term benefit of better motivation in the core assignment, as well as a better flow of information and distribution of new skills across different activities within an enterprise.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump nominated Tom Rose to serve as U.S. ambassador to Poland; Rose, who served as a senior advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, was the publisher and CEO of The Jerusalem Post from 1997-2005…
William Lauder will sell two adjacent beachfront properties in Palm Beach, Fla., for just under $200 million; Lauder first listed the vacant parcels in 2023…
The “Documenta” German art exhibition adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into its code of conduct, three years after the art show, which occurs every five years, displayed an outdoor mural with antisemitic caricatures of Jews…
Dr. Miriam Adelson, co-owner of the Dallas Mavericks, reiterated the team will not move to Las Vegas after speculation following last Saturday’s contentious trade of Luka Don?i? to the Los Angeles Lakers…
A new coalition of nonprofits led by Diane Yentel, the president and CEO the National Council of Nonprofits, and Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, came together overnight to challenge the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping order for a federal funding freeze, promising a further “avalanche of litigation” against the freeze…
Lisa Klein is retiring after 30 years as managing director of Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston effective March 31…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy looks at how major private foundations have responded — and haven’t — to the Trump administration’s policy shifts affecting nonprofits…
The Annenberg Foundation, the Walter Family Foundation and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, as well as private donors including the Azoff family and Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman have banded together in disaster relief efforts for the recent wildfires in Los Angeles County; the effort has so far raised more than $200 million…
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft together with The Kraft Center for Community Health at Mass General Brigham in Boston have launched the $100,000 Kraft Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Community Health…
In an opinion piece in RNS, faith leaders, including Aaron Dorfman, executive director of A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy, speak out against Elon Musk’s false claims against Lutheran social service organizations…
Dr. Ron Avis, founding chair of the Chai Society of Wagner College on Staten Island and supporter of the college’s Holocaust Center, died Feb. 5…
Pic of the Day
Former hostage Daniella Gilboa makes the sign of a heart to supporters on Wednesday as she returns home in Petah Tikva, Israel, after being released from hospital.
Three more hostages are scheduled to be released tomorrow.
Birthdays
Singer-songwriter, she wrote 118 songs that made it to the Top 100 between 1955 and 1999 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Carole King (born Carol Klein), celebrates her birthday on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Director of training for the Bulfinch Group, Michel R. Scheinmann… Senior rabbi (now emeritus) of Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto, Baruch Frydman-Kohl… U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)… Majority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, Robyn Gabel… Senior PFAS program manager at the GSI Family of Companies and part-time instructor at Carnegie Mellon University, Rick Wice… American businessman and investor arrested in Bolivia in July 2011 and held for 18 months without charges, freed through public outcry and the efforts of Sean Penn, Jacob Ostreicher… Actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his “Saturday Night Live TV Funhouse” cartoon shorts, Robert Smigel… President of The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, Dr. David L. Reich… Baseball columnist for the New York Post and a baseball insider for MLB Network, Jon Heyman… Director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2023, Alon Ushpiz… Professional hockey player who played in 418 regular and postseason games in the NHL spanning 13 seasons, Mike Hartman… Rabbi at Beth Chai Congregation in Bethesda, Md., and author of nine Jewish children’s books and teen novels, Deborah Bodin Cohen… Principal consultant at Saxon Strategies, Jennifer Diamond Haber… Author of 24 fiction and nonfiction books, some of which have been made into feature films, Ben Mezrich… Executive director of UJA-Federation of New York and JCRC-NY’s Community Security Initiative, Mitch Silber… Israeli actor, model and musician, he played Yonatan Netanyahu in the 2018 film “Entebbe,” Angel Bonanni… Executive director of the Aviv Foundation, Adam Simon… Senior vice president at Material+, Jonathan Weiss… Chassidic singer and recording artist, Shloime Daskal… Former member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Mark Ifraimov… MLB pitcher from 2005 until 2017, he played for the Rangers, Cubs, Orioles, Astros, Blue Jays and Reds, he is now an angel investor in the San Francisco area, Scott Feldman… Former professional basketball player in Germany, Italy and Israel, he is now a vice president at Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo Park, Calif., Dan Grunfeld… NFL player for six seasons until 2015, he is now the safeties coach for the Washington Huskies, Taylor Mays… Senior director of advancement field services for Hillel International, Rachael Fenton… David Israel… Michael Harris…
SATURDAY: Boston attorney, author and podcast host, his 2013 book on Jews and baseball was turned into the 2016 play “Swing, Schmendrick, Swing,” Larry Ruttman… Winner of 25 Emmy Awards as a broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor of ABC’s “Nightline” from its inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005, Ted Koppel… Stage, television and film actor, stand-up comedian and singer, Robert Klein… Chair of the Morris A. Hazan Family Foundation, Lovee Arum… Therapist and life coach based in Wake County, N.C., Sheila Kay… Columbus, Ohio-born attorney and president of Schottenstein Legal Services, James Mark Schottenstein… Former CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York (Albany), now an executive coach and nonprofit consultant in Venice, Florida, Rodney Margolis… Village Justice in Red Hook, N.Y., Judge Jonah Triebwasser… CEO of New York City-based Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, owner of more than 12 million square feet of office space and design centers, he also produces films and owns theaters, Charles S. Cohen… Active private investor and business operator, he is on the board of Tel Aviv University, Marc Lauren Abramowitz… President of New York City-based BlackRock and past Chair of the Board of UJA-Federation of New York, Robert S. Kapito… Chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, Brig. Gen. Rabbi Eyal Moshe Karim… Senior director of synagogue affiliations and operations for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Barry S. Mael… Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hudson Institute, Sarah May Stern… British businessman and chairman of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur since 2001, Daniel Levy… Former member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home and New Right parties, Shulamit “Shuli” Mualem-Rafaeli… Chairman of Andell Inc. and co-founder and trustee of the Charles Bronfman Prize, Andrew Hauptman… Chess grandmaster, then derivatives trader, now a retirement planner, Ilya Mark Gurevich… Attorney, rabbi and New Jersey political consultant, Benjamin G. Kelsen… Popular Israeli musician, singer and songwriter, Eviatar Banai… Actor and filmmaker, Seth Benjamin Green… Member of the Knesset for the Labor party until 2021, he is now director-general of the Israeli office of UJA-Federation of New York, Itzik Shmuli… Founder of DC-based JTR Strategies, she is the former head of aviation and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation under President Obama, Jenny Thalheimer Rosenberg… Senior advisor in the office of the Inspector General at USAID, Adam Kaplan… Partner at Sidley Austin, he was previously chief of staff to then-Attorney General Bill Barr, William Ranney Levi… Retired professional ice hockey center for five NHL teams, now a real estate executive, Trevor Smith… Synchronized swimmer on behalf of Israel at the three Olympic games: 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London), Inna Yoffe… Yale Law School graduate, she clerked for Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the Ninth Circuit and is now a senior attorney at Public Justice, Alexandra Brodsky… Deputy director of policy and government affairs for AIPAC, Celia Glassman… Canadian jazz-pop singer-songwriter, who performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Nicole “Nikki” Rachel Yanofsky… Pitcher for Team Israel in the 2020 Olympics as well as the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, Jake Layton Fishman… Associate attorney in the NYC office of Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, Samantha Grosinger… Director of global brand and marketing at Olami, Michal Nordmann…
SUNDAY: Grammy Award-winning songwriter of over 150 hits including Somewhere Out There from the movie An American Tail, in partnership with his late wife Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman)… Professor of economics at Columbia University, Nobel laureate in 2001, former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz… Three-time Tony Award and three-time Emmy Award-winning actress, Judith Light… Professor of history and modern Jewish studies at UCSD, Deborah Hertz… Israeli singer Shimi Tavori (born Shimshon Tawili)… Former governor of Virginia, chair of the DNC, chair of two Clinton presidential campaigns (Bill’s in 1996, Hillary’s in 2008), Terry McAuliffe, a/k/a “the Macher,”… Creator of the HBO series “The Wire” and NBC’s series “Homicide: Life on the Street,” winner of a 2010 MacArthur genius fellowship, David Simon… Theoretical physics professor at Columbia University since 1996, author of multiple books written for the general public such as Icarus at the Edge of Time, Brian Greene… Isaac Lieberman… Managing director with the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, he was the lieutenant governor and then attorney general of Delaware, Matthew P. Denn… Play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s men’s college basketball and for the Toronto Blue Jays, Dan Shulman… British broadcasting executive who is currently chief content officer at the UK’s Channel 4, Ian Katz… President of the U.S. Education portfolio at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Julie Mikuta… Sports announcer for NBA, NFL and college basketball games on CBS, TNT and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network, Ian Eagle… Assistant adjunct professor of journalism at UCLA, she was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the LA Times for 16 years, Abigail Helaine (“Abbe”) Goldman… Managing director of AlTi Tiedemann Global, Jeffrey L. Zlot… Charleston, S.C., resident, Ellen Miriam Brandwein… Television and film actress, Margarita Levieva… Member of the Minnesota State Senate since 2011, Jeremy R. Miller… Director of public policy and strategy for Christians United for Israel Action Fund, Boris Zilberman… Director of development for Ben-Gurion University, Jason Pressberg… Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (D-182) since 2023, Benjamin R. Waxman… Managing partner of Precision Infrastructure Management, Thomas Szold… Brazilian chess grandmaster, André Diamant… Associate director at Merck Research Laboratories, Carly Abenstein Myar… Israeli judoka, he competed for Israel at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, Baruch Shmailov… Offensive tackle for the NFL’s Chicago Bears, Jake Curhan…
