Touching the world of Jewish philanthropy, here are two items appearing in the Israeli press this morning.

from The Jerusalem Post:

Federations in trouble

We once thought of federations as a way of bonding with Israel, and as the single address for donating dollars to an array of Jewish causes at home and abroad. Some saw federation fund-raising as an exercise in Jewish community building, a means of affiliating people who otherwise were disengaged from Jewish life. (Some say that affiliation-by-checkbook is not really much of an affinity, but that is a discussion for another time.)

Now we have alternative choices and pet interests; we have become accustomed to “boutique” and direct giving, either for projects in Israel or the United States. We tend to think of federations for emergencies.

from Haaretz:

Study: U.S. Jews less willing than Israelis to strengthen ties

Although American Jews and Israelis share a strong and mutual feeling of solidarity, U.S. coreligionists have a very low willingness to strengthen the relationship, according to a new study.

“The emotional attachment that U.S. Jews have to Israel does not translate itself into willingness to act to strengthen this bond,” the research paper states.