Rumor Mongering

[eJP note: This is in response to a previous article by David Abitbol, which can be found here.]

by Aaron Bisman

While we appreciate David’s curiosity about our comings and goings, and his interest in 3rd party metrics and 990s, this article is factually unsubstantiated and incorrect on many fronts. It should be noted that, as was the case for Jacob Ner David’s “Case Study,” David made no effort to contact anyone at JDub or Jewcy before publishing accounts of what we are or are not doing. Had he, of course, he would have had no story left, because what he published is simply not true.

We appreciate the great deal of attention and scrutiny being paid to our unfortunate circumstances, which to be clear, is a failure of adaptations to a decade-old business model, not a failure of impact. Some may try to draw conclusions between mission impact and individual donations, but assuming such a simplistic causality doesn’t reflect philanthropic realities, particularly not when dealing with participants who often lack the means to fully support the content and programming with which they engage.

As we stated in our letters to supporters and participants, we will be sharing more about the need to wind down and how we got here, as well as historical documents. We will do this so that other entrepreneurs and organizational leaders may learn from our successes, challenges, and the necessary risk involved in creating, building, and sustaining an independent Jewish non-profit. When, how, and what we share is currently being determined with our board, as we continue to work through the painful steps involved in layoffs, stakeholder communication, and legal dissolution.

This leads us back to David’s article. JDub is currently discussing Jewcy’s future with a number of organizations and individuals. Its next home has not yet been determined and will most definitely not be announced by an interested third party. We look forward to sharing the news of Jewcy’s future soon.

Aaron Bisman is co-founder and CEO of JDub, a non-profit that forges vibrant connections to Judaism through music, media, and events, which recently announced it was winding down after 9 years in operation. He is also co-founder of the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists and Altshul, an egalitarian community in Park Slope, Brooklyn.