Your Daily Phil: Enter the Dragon: Q&A with the new MetroWest federation CEO
Good Friday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we reflect on the 700 days since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and how they’ve changed the world and interview Meredith Dragon, the incoming CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest (N.J.). We report on a recent conference to boost early career Jewish professionals and on a new interfaith solidarity initiative spearheaded by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. We feature an opinion piece by Roei Friedberg calling on the Jewish community to mobilize in support of IDF veterans’ mental health as it did for their physical protection at the outset of the ongoing war. Also in this issue: Menachem Rosensaft, Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler and Jennifer Mamlet.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
- The University of Oklahoma is opening its new Hillel building, hosting a tour of the building tomorrow afternoon.
- The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame will host a virtual induction ceremony on Sunday morning honoring its “Class of 2023”: Rudi Ball, Chris Berman, David Blatt, Deena Drossin Kastor, Ilona Elek-Schacherer, John Frank, Merrill Moses, Moran Samuel, Mordechai Spiegler, Dwight Stones and Ariel “Arik” Ze’evi.
- Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and southern Israel’s Hof Ashkelon Regional Council will inaugurate on Sunday the Gvar’am Forest amphitheater, which was renovated in honor of the 68 Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war.
- American Friends of Leket Israel is holding its first-ever Boston-area dinner on Sunday in Somerville, Mass., with some 150 people expected to attend; the event will feature Israeli singer Ester Rada, Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropy CEO Rabbi Marc Baker and Leket Israel CEO Gidi Kroch.
- The Jewish Theological Seminary kicks off its inaugural storytelling festival on Sunday. Etgar Keret, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jodi Kantor, Shalom Auslander, Alex Edelman and Deborah Treisman are all slated to speak at the event, which runs through Tuesday.
What You Should Know
Today marks 700 days since the Oct. 7 terror attacks, 700 days of captivity for 47 hostages (along with Hadar Goldin, whose remains have been held since 2014), 700 days of war against the Hamas terrorist group and 700 days of increased antisemitic incidents around the world.
In Israel, the families of hostages and their supporters are marking the day with a series of protests throughout the country. The main demonstration was held this morning at Hostages’ Square in Tel Aviv, featuring an “SOS” sign and an emptying hour glass. See below.
Over the past 700 days, the Jewish world has seen a frightening rise in antisemitism, with nearly every country reporting an increase in antisemitic incidents over the past two years. As a result, there has been a major reshuffling in Jewish communal priorities, with support for Israel and security and combating antisemitism taking on far greater significance for many Jewish organizations.
But this time has also witnessed a stark increase in engagement and interest in Jewish life. This has extended to the field of philanthropy, where many Jewish nonprofits have reported gifts from new donors and larger donations from existing ones. Though there are indications that these trends of increased engagement are waning, the influence of this “Surge” and the related phenomenon of so-called “Oct. 8 Jews” will likely be with us for years to come.
These past 700 days have been among the most consequential in modern Jewish history, with Oct. 7, 2023, functioning now as a dividing line between how things were and how things are today.
ENTRANCE INTERVIEW
New CEO of MetroWest federation Meredith Dragon: ‘If we’re not at the table for interfaith dialogue… we’re on the menu’
For over 25 years, Meredith Dragon has served executive roles in local Jewish federations, first as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts and then as CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester. On Tuesday, she stepped in as CEO and executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest (N.J.), succeeding Dov Ben-Shimon, who filled the role for a decade. Dragon sat down with eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher this week to discuss her plans for her new position.
JD: What did you learn from your old positions that you hope to bring to New Jersey?
MD: When you look at the amount of money that is raised and distributed in the MetroWest area across the globe and in Israel, there is a significant amount of impact, and we have to do a much better job telling that story.
JD: Last year, when you were at the Rochester federation, you were targeted with an antisemitic letter and cartoon. Has that impacted what you’re going to bring to interfaith work or your work with other communities?
MD: I think interfaith work is very important, and we have to keep working at it. If people are not going to be our partners and our allies, even when they have been in the past, it means that we need to find new partners and new allies. We don’t have the luxury to stop trying, and there are great allies out there. It’s dangerous when the Jewish community isolates itself. If we’re not at the table for interfaith dialogue and for standing with other communities, then we’re on the menu.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
JFNA, M² launch Aleh Summit to prevent burnout for early-career professionals
For many young Jews, an entry-level position at a local Jewish federation is the first step towards a career in the Jewish world. But in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the ensuing rise in global antisemitism, the trek to becoming a Jewish professional has become increasingly fraught, and for many it may be too emotionally draining. That’s why Jewish Federations of North America teamed with M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education for the Aleh Summit — aleh meaning “uplift” in Hebrew — which was held from July 21-23 in Chicago, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher.
Four pillars: The work for early career federation employees is hard, and the pay is low, Mollie Andron, vice president of programs at M², said. “A lot of [these employees] have ambitions to stay within the federation system, so the question is, ‘How do you best equip them to be able to do that?’” The answer to the question, according to organizers: by building attendees’ connection, humility, authenticity and resilience, four words repeated throughout the conference, Andron said.
JOINING FORCES
Faith communities ‘stand up’ to antisemitism in new FCAS initiative
Congregants of a Hindu temple on Long Island that was vandalized last year and worshippers of a Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, who last year put on a musical production of “Fiddler on the Roof” to learn about Jewish culture, may not appear to have much in common. But this Sunday, both houses of worship — together with an expected crowd of nearly 1 million congregants around the country — will join forces for the inaugural “Stand Up Sunday,” a show of force in the fight against antisemitism and all faith-based violence, reports Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Show of solidarity: As part of the effort, spearheaded by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, founded by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, organizers said each congregation “will dedicate their services to raising awareness about the sharp increase of antisemitism and all forms of hate against religious communities in the United States by standing together on September 7.” FCAS’ Blue Square pins will be distributed to attendees “as a visible display of solidarity across faiths,” the group said. Congregational leaders will deliver remarks on antisemitism and faith-based hate in their sermons and houses of worship will place signs and posters throughout their buildings.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
INVISIBLE WOUNDS
Beyond the battlefield: Why mental health must be part of Israel’s war effort
“The grassroots donation networks that emerged during this war proved something remarkable: When the Jewish community identifies an urgent need, it can mobilize resources at an unprecedented scale and speed. Now we must apply that same innovative energy to veterans’ mental health,” writes Roei Friedberg — a reservist and company commander in the Israel Defence Force’s 890th Paratroopers Battalion and the chairman and co-founder of Healing in Nature — in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Protecting those who protect us: “This means funding research into therapeutic approaches that work specifically for combat veterans. This means supporting programs that bring entire military units together for processing and healing. This means recognizing that wilderness therapy, group counseling and long-term community support are as essential as tactical gear. Most importantly, this means ensuring that these resources serve the full spectrum of our military. … The infantry reservist deserves the same quality mental health support as the intelligence analyst. The tank crew member needs the same access to healing programs as the special forces operator.”
Worthy Reads
Torah Reflects Life: In The Times of Israel, Ben Lazarus shares his personal struggle with the content of this week’s Torah portion, from the laws of the yifat to’ar, the beautiful woman taken captive in battle, to that of the ben sorer u’morer, the rebellious son. “This is Torah for the battlefield. Torah for the broken home. Torah for the courtroom. Torah for the world we live in, not just the one we dream of. … As we approach the Day of Judgment, we stand before God not only with our ideals, but with our contradictions, our brokenness, and our unresolved struggles. The Torah portion of Ki Teitzei reminds us that holiness is not found only in perfection, but in how we navigate the messiness of life.” [TOI]
Bad Enough Without Lying: In The Wall Street Journal, Bernard-Henri Lévy identifies three talking points about Israel and the war in Gaza he is disturbed to find circulating even among people he respects. “Foolish notions about Israel are being repeated morning and night. Relayed by high international authorities. Validated by respectable organizations, among them Action Against Hunger, which I helped found. They are echoed by one of my friends, the Israeli author David Grossman, who 30 years ago helped me launch La Règle du Jeu, a journal that supports every struggle for freedom. Yet they remain foolish notions. … One can be horrified by this war. One can find that it causes, on both sides, far too many victims. One can wonder if everything is being done to bring back the hostages. But one can’t say just anything.” [WSJ]
Be Prepared: In Blue Avocado, Amanda ReCupido advises nonprofits on “proactive planning.” “Crises aren’t necessarily what happens, but how it’s communicated — whether something is communicated poorly, or simply not at all. Having a proactive plan in place establishes a measured process to follow, including legal review to ensure timely, clear, and consistent communications to the right audiences at the right time. … I advise my clients to create a playbook that serves as a one-stop document for reference in times of need. It’s always best to go through the exercise of what to do in a given situation when you aren’t already in said situation. This way, everyone can think rationally and objectively, so that when a crisis does hit (and it will), your actions can be carried out much more smoothly than if you were starting from scratch.” [BlueAvocado]
Libelous Label: In The Times of Israel, Menachem Rosensaft, who teaches a genocide law course at Cornell Law School, rejects the International Association of Genocide Scholars’ recent resolution deeming Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. “As regards the law of genocide, the IAGS resolution studiously ignores the fact that under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, this particular crime requires the ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.’ … In other words, one cannot as a matter of applicable international law infer an intent to commit genocide from actions or even a pattern of conduct that are the result of another intention altogether, such as, in the case of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, the intention to eliminate a murderous terrorist organization – Hamas – as an existential threat to Israeli civilians.” [TOI]
Who You Gonna Call?: In The Atlantic, Zoë Schlanger explores the implications of the shifting the responsibility for disaster response in the U.S. from FEMA to private contractors. “This strategy is an inversion of what led President Jimmy Carter to create the agency in 1979: Governors, frustrated by the lack of a coordinating agency for disasters, requested it. Having 50 state agencies ready to respond to relatively rare catastrophes is inefficient; a federal disaster agency would have the advantages of standardized protocols, experience, and staff who can be deployed where needed. Now they may be largely on their own again. And most states, lacking their own cadre of expertise or manpower, will need support to fill in the gaps left by the federal government. States might lean on each other more than they already do, but they will surely also turn more to private contractors, many of which will now be staffed by former federal employees.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Pope Leo XIV for the first time yesterday in the Vatican, discussing the need to free the hostages held in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis in the Strip and the protection of Christian communities in the Holy Land; Herzog is reportedly planning to visit the United Kingdom next week…
United Airlines announced Thursday it plans to resume direct flights to Israel from Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles international airports for the first time since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
President Donald Trump hosted tech leaders, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google co-founder Sergey Brin on Thursday at the White House…
Elias Rodriguez, the Chicago man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, pleaded not guilty to a series of felony charges related to the May attack…
In The Times of Israel, Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler raises concerns about Israel’s digital sovereignty after Microsoft’s announcement of another investigation into the Israeli military’s use of its technologies…
Israel’s national basketball team fell short in its matchup against Slovenia in the EuroBasket tournament; the team, led by Deni Avdija, will next face Italy or Greece…
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh announced that it raised $14.2 million through its annual community campaign, which ended on June 30; this is the highest total in the organization’s history…
Embattled Northwestern University President Michael Schill announced yesterday that he is stepping down, remaining in an interim role until his successor is chosen…
Columbia University’s Kalaniyot program, which aims to bring Israeli postdoctoral fellows and visiting faculty to the school, launched yesterday…
The Times of Israel spotlights Partners of Fallen IDF Soldiers Association, which seeks to provide a support system to the non-married partners of fallen soldiers, who are typically not recognized by Israeli authorities…
A viral accusation that the IDF killed Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, an 8-year-old Palestinian boy, at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site in May was proven false when the boy was found to be alive and safely extracted from the Gaza Strip…
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County (Fla.) is cutting ties with MorseLife Health Systems, a senior health-care provider that it has supported for decades, after a Palm Beach Post investigation raised concerns about executive salaries…
Joshua Abram, a co-founder of the NeueHouse coworking space, died last month at 62…
Philanthropist Harold Matzner, the longtime chair of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, died yesterday at 88…
Jack Herman Schuster, a longtime professor at Claremont Graduate University who served on the board of his local Jewish federation and Hillel, died last Wednesday at 88…
Holocaust survivor David Schaecter, a co-founder of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, died yesterday at 96…
Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, whose most well-known work was a deep dive into Nazi doctors during the Holocaust, died yesterday at 99…
Major Gifts
The Wynn family donated $5 million to Toronto’s Leo Baeck Day School; in recognition of the gift, the school’s building will be named the Phil and Cees Wynn Centre for Jewish Education…
Transitions
Jennifer Mamlet, the former interim CEO of the JCC Association of North America (whose birthday is tomorrow), was hired as chief development officer of the Ad Council…
Michael Elchoness was elected board chair and president of Rutgers Hillel…
Pic of the Day
Activists create a display this morning in Tel Aviv Hostages Square in honor of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza as a clock in the background approaches 700 days since the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Birthdays
Acting president and CEO of the JCC Association of North America until this past July, earlier this week she was named chief development officer at the Ad Council, Jennifer Mamlet, celebrates her birthday on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Author, educator, and activist, Jonathan Kozol turns 89… Rabbi emeritus of Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, N.J., and rosh yeshiva of the Torah Academy of Bergen County, Rabbi Yosef Adler turns 74… Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, JoAnne Fishman Kloppenburg turns 72… COO of The New York Public Library, she has been married to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) since 1980, Iris Weinshall turns 72… Principal at Watershed Associates, he is a negotiation consultant, Stuart Shlossman… Heidi Beth Massey… New York-based real estate developer, Jacob Frydman turns 68… Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, for the Southern District of Florida, Laurel Myerson Isicoff turns 68… Investigative journalist, Yevgenia Albats turns 67… Member of the Knesset until 2023, she is the first woman in the IDF promoted to major general (the IDF’s second highest rank), Orna Barbivai turns 63… Canadian lawyer, investor and business executive, he is the co-founder and chairman of Israeli AI company Aiola, Mitch Garber turns 61… Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and a senior editor at Reason magazine, Jacob Z. Sullum turns 60… Chief assistant district attorney in Manhattan until 2021, now a criminal defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo turns 59… Entrepreneur and investor, he is the chairman of Mentored, an education technology platform, Eric Aroesty… Managing editor for politics and legal affairs at USA Today, Holly Rosenkrantz… Senior rabbi of Temple Sholom in Vancouver, B.C., and past chair of Reform Rabbis of Canada, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz turns 55… Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Ari Devon Sandel turns 51… Member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Yulia Malinovsky turns 50… Payroll specialist at Topaz Financial Services, Jeremy C. Frankel… Voice actor for English versions of anime, animation and video games, Maxwell Braden Mittelman turns 35… Director in the D.C. office of Baron Public Affairs LLC, Jeremy Furchtgott… Founder of Bangalore-based Catoff, Anthony (Tony) Klor… New York City-based director of strategic initiatives and director of IPF Atid, both at Israel Policy Forum, Shanie Reichman turns 30… Shoshanna Liebman…
SATURDAY: Retired 36-year member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) turns 94… Co-founder and chairman of Murray Hill Properties in New York City, Norman Sturner turns 85… Madelon “Madi” Portugal… Member of the New York State Assembly from 1981 until the end of 2024, Helene Weinstein turns 73… Oncologist and bioethicist, he is the older brother of Rahm and Ari, Ezekiel Jonathan “Zeke” Emanuel turns 68… Co-founder in 2008 of Kol HaNeshamah: The Center for Jewish Life and Enrichment and co-author of a siddur, Dr. Adena Karen Berkowitz… Founding managing director at Olympus Capital, Daniel R. Mintz… Former governor of New Jersey from 2010 until 2018, and two-time candidate for president of the U.S., Chris Christie turns 63… Toronto-based publisher and entrepreneur, she serves on the board of governors of Shalem College, Elisa Morton Palter… Rabbi of Temple Shalom in Louisville, Kentucky since 2016, Beth Jacowitz Chottiner turns 61… City Treasurer of Southfield, Mich., Irv “Moishe” Lowenberg… Chess Master since age 14, now a FIDE Grandmaster, Ben Finegold turns 56… National director at AIPAC, Joseph S. Richards… Chief communications officer at Bloomberg LP, Jason Schechter… Israeli film, television and stage actor, Amos Tamam turns 48… Author, he won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel “The Netanyahus,” Joshua Cohen turns 45… Former rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis for 14 years, now a consultant, Avi S. Olitzky… Senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, he is a veteran of the IDF and an AIPAC alum, Daniel Flesch… Communications director at the William F. Buckley, Jr. Institute at Yale University, Ari Schaffer… Australian born entrepreneur, now living in NYC, he is the co-founder of two start-ups, Ben Pasternak turns 26… Actor whose career started at 8-years old, Asher Dov Angel turns 23…
SUNDAY: Palm Beach, Fla., resident, the school at the Westchester (NY) Jewish Center bears her name, Beverly Cannold turns 100… Considered one of the “Founding Mothers” of NPR, she is now a special correspondent on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Susan Stamberg turns 87… Member of the U.K.’s House of Lords, Baron Andrew Zelig Stone turns 83… Longtime political columnist for Time magazine and author of the novel Primary Colors, Joe Klein turns 79… Color commentator for New York Yankees radio broadcasts since 2005, Suzyn Waldman turns 79… Former national political editor at the Washington Post, Maralee Schwartz… Owner and CEO of Gristedes Foods, John Catsimatidis turns 77… Pulitzer Prize-winning former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, now director of literary journalism at UC-Irvine, Barry E. Siegel turns 76… Minneapolis area school counselor and language arts teacher, Sandra Sevig… Russian-born mathematician, he is a professor emeritus at UCSD, he was formerly a professor at both Yale and University of Chicago, Efim Zelmanov turns 70… Chief rabbi of the U.K., he was knighted by King Charles III as part of the 2023 New Year Honours, Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis turns 69… 2023 Nobel Prize laureate in medicine, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Drew Weissman turns 66… Global co-chair of the Israel practice at Latham & Watkins until his retirement in 2023, Stuart Kurlander… President of Hofstra University since 2021, the first woman to hold this position, Susan Poser turns 62… Bahraini ambassador to the U.S. from 2008 until 2013, after the prior four years in the Bahraini Parliament, both firsts for a Jewish woman, Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo turns 61… Personal finance journalist and CEO of the multimedia company HerMoney, Jean Sherman Chatzky turns 61… Vice provost at Yeshiva University, she is the author or co-author of 15 books on leadership, the Torah and spirituality, Erica Brown turns 59… Award-winning special writer at The Wall Street Journal and author of six best-selling books, Gregory Zuckerman turns 59… Part-owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’s Cleveland Guardians, David S. Blitzer turns 56… Tax partner with RSM US LLP, where he serves as the national family office enterprise markets leader, Benjamin Berger… Screenwriter, producer and director of many successful films and TV shows, Alex Kurtzman turns 52… Author of three New York Times bestsellers and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon turns 52… Rabbi of Baltimore’s Congregation Shomrei Emunah since 2009, Rabbi Binyamin Y. Marwick… Deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), Eric B. Kanter…
