The global Jewish media, including eJewish Philanthropy, has recently been somewhat pre-occupied with both the new strategic direction of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the very public discussion of how declining overseas dollars are allocated by the Jewish federation system, including the percentage split between JAFI and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). As to the latter, while on the one hand all three organizations bemoan the … [Read more...] about Allocating Federation Money: The Continuing Saga
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Something Odd Happened on the Way to Reviving Jewish Identity
by Gary Aidekman Sometime after the publication of the National Jewish Population Survey of 1990, a sense of dread spread over many American Jews. The survey revealed a steep increase in intermarriage, and Jewish leadership grew fearful that Jewish identity would weaken and with each new generation American Jewish continuity would be at increasing risk. Perhaps without sufficient urgency or resources, the organized Jewish community, … [Read more...] about Something Odd Happened on the Way to Reviving Jewish Identity
A Game of Irrelevant Semantics
Innovation Is Not A Synonym For ‘New’ excerpts from an opinion piece by Aaron Bisman and Rochelle Shoretz In late 2002, when our Joshua Venture Group (JVG) cohort was announced, the term “Jewish social entrepreneur” did not yet roll easily off the tongue. There was no “innovation ecosystem” to speak of, few incubators interested in helping us grow our ventures, and little confidence that Jewish life could or should blossom outside of … [Read more...] about A Game of Irrelevant Semantics
What About Our Future?
by Lee Wunsch What is “community”? This is a difficult question to ask and, today, for many Jewish Federations, it is an existential one as well. Since the dawn of the Jewish Federation system we have led the Jewish people through their darkest hours and brightest moments. We helped build the State of Israel. We rescued Jews in peril around the world. We developed local infrastructures of social services and educational institutions … [Read more...] about What About Our Future?
Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone
The challenge is the same the world over - whether one is in London, Tel Aviv or Moscow - how do we get people involved in the religious, cultural and social lives of our community? Sure, each city, and country, has its own unique flavor and flow, but the over-riding challenge does not change. And everyplace I travel, the discussion appears to revolve around two words, Jewish education. Or, more specifically, the need for stronger and more … [Read more...] about Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone
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