In today’s world, no nonprofit organization would think twice about collecting, and hopefully analyzing, information about their donors. So too, with website traffic. For how else can one effectively judge site visitors’ demographics and interests?

Based on site and RSS feed analytics, here – in descending order – are the most popular posts on eJewish Philanthropy last week; the difference between the last three are statistically insignificant:

What Was B’nai B’rith Thinking?
by Dan Brown

Fortunately, it is not often that international Jewish organizations make such egregious decisions, that you sit-back, scratch your head, and wonder ‘what-ever were they thinking?’ (Be sure to also read the posted comments.)

Beit Shemesh: They Messed with the Wrong Crowd
by Allison Kaplan Sommer

Little Na’ama Margolese is not the first Israeli child to be harassed on her way to school by members of a fundamentalist ultra-Orthodox sect who resent her presence in or around their neighborhood. But the 8-year-old girl is the first to have her plight featured on Israeli television and turned into an international news story. And she is definitely the first to have a determined, organized group of politically and media savvy families behind her, a cohort made up almost entirely of Modern Orthodox immigrants from the United States.

Today on Limmud TV

Daily live-streaming of sessions from the UK’s Limmud Conference.

The Continuing Haredization of Israel

Israel’s Channel 2 documentary on intimidation of schoolgirls in Beit Shemesh is causing a media fury in Israel, and from what we hear in the U.S. too. (The original video is posted – along with English subtitles).

Hanukkah Lights Illuminate A Submerged Jewish Identity
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz

On a recent afternoon in a daycare center in suburban Chestnut Hill, just west of here, preschoolers gathered with parents and grandparents to watch Hanukkah skits, don Maccabee-like costumes, sing holiday songs, and indulge in hot latkes and sticky jelly donuts.
Ordinary, but only up to a point.

Adelsons’ Goal: “No More Wait Lists” for Birthright
by Dan Brown

What does Taglit-Birthright Israel do when Chanukah falls at the beginning of the winter trip season? They plan a mini-mega candle lighting event.

How to be a Strategic Philanthropist
by Bruce DeBoskey

This is the season when many people make charitable donations. This generosity is acutely needed and greatly appreciated. Next year, however, consider approaching your charitable giving as a strategic philanthropist, rather than as a donor.

Click the red tab above for previous weeks most popular posts.