Your Daily Phil: ADL looks to find middle ground at Never Is Now summit
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on yesterday’s sessions at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now summit in New York. We examine the significance of a recent sermon by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch about his lost faith in the two-state solution and spotlight Stacy Rosenthal, the newly installed president of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators and apparently the first “Jew by choice” to lead a Reform organization. We feature an opinion piece by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi urging funders and institutions to plan ahead for climate-resilient Jewish communities, and one by Michelle W. Malkin sharing insights from the outgoing leaders of four communal organizations. Also in this newsletter: Robert Lichtman, Robert Kraft and Yardena Schwartz.
What We’re Watching
The Jewish Agency for Israel kicked off its Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem yesterday. The gathering continues today, when it will honor Dr. Miriam Adelson for her support for the Jewish Agency over the years and for her work on behalf of Israel and the hostages in Gaza over the past 16 months.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now summit, which opened yesterday, is continuing today with sessions and speeches. Read more about this below.
The Voice of the People — Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s Jewish peoplehood initiative — launched the first gathering for its 150-person council on Sunday in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. The conference, which runs through this week, will bring together all 150 members of the council for extended discussions and debate on topics related to Israel and the Jewish people.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is slated to speak at an invitation-only event at Columbia University tonight hosted by Columbia/Barnard Hillel’s Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs’ Institute of Global Politics.
What You Should Know
Just over a month into a second Trump term and two years into the spike in antisemitism that followed the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, efforts to find a middle ground in a still-shifting political landscape took center stage during the first day of the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Never Is Now summit, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim from the gathering at Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Center.
As over 1,000 Jewish professionals and delegates gathered for the two-day event, the featured speakers highlighted the ADL’s desire to tackle antisemitism alongside President Donald Trump’s new administration, as well as grapple with the White House’s own policies that the organization believes are emboldening extremists — all while pursuing bipartisan support.
In his “State of Hate” address yesterday morning, the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, outlined the ADL’s “pivot” in strategy for combating antisemitism, which includes demanding accountability through litigation, model legislation and allocating more resources to collecting data on antisemitism.
Earlier this month, the ADL faced criticism for initially minimizing a gesture made by Elon Musk at a Trump inauguration event, which was interpreted by many to be a Nazi salute and has since been copied by a number of far-right figures. The group later decried Musk for a tweet in which he repeatedly mocked the Holocaust. In his address, Greenblatt decried both right-wing extremists and “self-described progressives” for their contributions to rising antisemitism.
“We still have right-wing extremists, free from prison, emboldened here in the United States, as well as their compatriots organizing, mobilizing and gaining traction through political parties in Europe,” said Greenblatt. “We still have self-described progressives in major nonprofits, professional associations, news outlets and elected office, who see themselves as the parry police, refusing to acknowledge anti-Jewish hate on its own and gaslighting us about what is or isn’t antisemitic.”
The opening plenary also featured an address from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the Republican firebrand who gained recognition in the Jewish community for her line of questioning during a House committee hearing on antisemitism on university campuses and whom Trump has nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. During a fiery address — which was mostly well-received — Stefanik touted Trump’s stances on Israel and antisemitism, receiving applause. However, she faced booing after claiming that Oct. 7 would not have happened had Trump remained in office.
With hope for the second phase of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas waning, Israel’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, called for a commission of inquiry to investigate the Oct, 7 attacks and for the hostages to be brought back before further steps are taken to combat Hamas, a stance which contributed to Gallant’s dismissal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November. “If you will finish with Hamas before bringing the hostages, you won’t have hostages,” Gallant said at Monday’s afternoon plenary.
Gallant’s speech was received with a standing ovation and praise from Greenblatt for his “moral clarity” and “extraordinary resolve.”
As it has been for over a year, campus antisemitism was a central topic of conversation both on and off the main stage. On the main stage, University of Michigan President Santa Ono and Washington University Chancellor Andrew D. Martin discussed their approaches to spiraling anti-Israel demonstrations on their campuses last year, and the ways they’ve shifted their guidelines in response. Some sessions also focused on fighting antisemitism in K-12 education. On Monday morning, ADL released its second annual campus report card, noting slight improvements in the campus environment, though according to its statistics, 83% of Jewish students have witnessed or experienced antisemitism.
According to Miriam Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, which will be partnering with ADL to expand its resources and empower Jewish and Zionist faculty impacted by campus antisemitism, AEN has also seen the improved climate on campuses.
Elman attributes the shift to the anticipation of tougher responses from the Trump administration, the involvement of Jewish organizations in the sector and administrators having interest in and time to hammer out their guidelines and stances prior to the start of this school year.
“Things are definitely looking better,” Elman told eJP. “I think what this shows is that when there’s a will, there’s a way. There definitely are actionable steps that university leaders can take and it will make a big difference.”
PARADIGM SHIFT
Citing the ‘pure evil’ that befell the Bibas family, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch says he’s lost faith in the two-state solution
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of New York City’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and a former head of the Association of Reform Zionists of America, declared on Friday night that he no longer believed in the two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at least not in his lifetime, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. Speaking at his synagogue, Hirsch said he reached this conclusion after witnessing Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas’ remains be returned to Israel and buried. “This was the week that finally ended the hope — at least in my lifetime — for a Palestinian state and a Jewish state existing side by side. The Palestinians themselves strangled this fragile hope in its crib. I am deeply saddened because I am committed to peace and coexistence. I have been my entire life,” he said.
Time to rethink: In publicly abandoning the two-state solution — at least for now — Hirsch distances himself from the Reform movement, which still officially supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish one. He also breaks with most mainstream Jewish groups, which have maintained their support for the two-state solution over the past 16 months. Rabbi Josh Weinberg, executive director of the ARZA and vice president of the URJ for Israel and Reform Zionism, told eJP that he understands the profound impact that the Oct. 7 attacks, the past 16 months of war and the recent weeks of hostages being released have had on the Jewish community. “There’s no question that the events of Oct. 7 have left a massive impact not only on Israel but also on Diaspora Jewry and caused many people to rethink their positions, on all sides of the spectrum,” he said.
JEW BY CHOICE
Stacy Rosenthal believed to be first person to convert to lead Reform group — is that news?
The speech began in a routine way, other than the first line, which was directed to the audience, but also to the speaker herself. “All of you are welcome here,” Stacy Rosenthal told attendees at January’s Association of Reform Jewish Educators and Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism conference. “As I stand here today, I am humbled and deeply honored to step into the role of president of this extraordinary organization.” Rosenthal officially took office as president of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators on Sunday, and was about to reveal — for the first time in a public forum — that she had converted to Judaism. She is believed to be the first person to have done so who has served as president of a major Reform organization. Some see this as something to celebrate, while others debate if it is news at all, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy.
No second-class Jews: There is no way to actually be sure if she is the first Jew by choice in such a high position, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of Union for Reform Judaism, told eJP. “We don’t actually ask people [their] Jewish background, can I see your birth certificate, naming certificate, can you bring witnesses? So on that level, it wasn’t clear to me that anecdotally we would actually know.” There has been an explosion of conversions post-Oct. 7, Jacobs said, yet the stigma persists. Celebrating Rosenthal “says to the Jewish world, ‘there’s not a two-tiered membership of the Jewish people. [Whether you’re] born Jewish, [or] you choose to be Jewish, you’re Jewish,” Jacobs said.
CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Trump’s climate policies and disaster-response cuts must be a wake-up call for Jewish communities
“President Donald Trump’s rollbacks on climate protections and FEMA cuts have weakened our ability to respond to disasters, leaving Jewish communities with a stark choice: Prepare for the worst where we are, or start thinking about strategic relocation,” writes funder and activist Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Our role: “Jewish philanthropy has always been about ensuring our people’s survival. Now, we must apply that same urgency to climate adaptation. This means funding resilience efforts in at-risk Jewish hubs, strengthening Jewish infrastructure in climate-stable regions and providing support for Jewish communities forced to relocate post-disaster. But it also means advocacy: Our federations, synagogues and JCCs must push for policies that protect our communities from worsening climate threats. This includes disaster preparedness, wastewater system upgrades and stronger climate-resilience measures.”
LESSONS FROM LEADERS
Leading, creating impact and moving forward: Reflections from four pioneering Jewish community executives
“Shortly after hearing that Idit Klein was stepping down from her role at Keshet, I found myself reflecting on similar announcements from other remarkable leaders in the Jewish communal world,” writes Michelle W. Malkin, creator and host of “It’s Who You Know! The Podcast,” in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Jodi Bromberg had recently left 18Doors; soon after, Aliza Klein announced her departure from OneTable, followed by Dori Frumin Kirshner stepping down from Matan… Their decisions piqued my curiosity. What drives such accomplished leaders to move on when they’re at the pinnacle of their success?”
When the timing is right: “Unlike traditional career trajectories, where leadership roles are often seen as end-of-career capstones lasting decades, these women made conscious decisions to step aside, for both their own health and that of their organizations. One recurring theme in our discussion was the lack of role models for such transitions. In the Jewish communal world, long tenures are common, making these leaders’ decisions both courageous and groundbreaking. They demonstrated that leadership isn’t just about building an organization — it’s also about knowing when to let go.”
Worthy Reads
Their Problem to Solve: In The Times of Israel, Robert Lichtman responds to Mitchell D. Silber’s call the previous week for a more systematic, better coordinated security apparatus to protect the American Jewish community. “Let’s agree that there are people who want to kill us. The threat is obviously real. There is not a Jewish institution of any size or type that does not require vigilant around-the clock-protection… The author’s appeal for increased funding seems to be a common-sense suggestion that Jewish philanthropists, organizations, and Federations should foot the bill. This is the dangerous flaw in his presentation and a critical mistake that perpetuates the way we all have been absurdly conditioned to think about how we address this persistent threat. The raison d’être of government is protecting its citizens. On the national, state and local levels, every constitution and charter contains pronouncements and provisions undertaking the responsibility to protect their own citizens, to provide for domestic tranquility, to safeguard life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The impassioned case for increased funding is aimed right back at the Jewish community itself and that is exactly the wrong direction. It would be irresponsible for Jewish leadership not to seek communal protection. It does not follow that it is the Jewish community itself that should pay for it.” [TOI]
Freeze Fears: Nonprofits focused on victims of domestic and sexual violence in the U.S. are concerned about how long they will be able to continue providing critical emergency services, primarily utilized by women and children, if the freeze on federal grant funding is successful, Amanda Friedman reports for Politico. “[T]he Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women wiped information about open funding opportunities from its website in February, directing applicants to not finalize any grant applications. Advocates warn that the prolonged uncertainty and potential cuts could destabilize lifesaving services across the country. ‘This is a matter of life for survivors,’ Teresa Stafford-Wright, chief executive officer of Ohio’s Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center, said. ‘Oftentimes, when you’re talking about leaving these situations, they become even more deadly.’ Stafford-Wright said federal grants make up 75% of her organization’s operating budget… OVW allocated over $684 million in grants for the 2024 fiscal year, and no group that spoke to POLITICO said that previously allocated funds have been shut off due to the since-paused freeze. The programs are theoretically protected into the future, too; the office operates under statutory provisions of the Violence Against Women Act. But the nonprofits that rely on the office remain rattled about the future of grant making — particularly as President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to institute sweeping cuts across the government.” [Politico]
Line in the Sand: Laura Ann Rosenbury, president of Barnard College, writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education that the recent antisemitic events at Barnard are her “line in the sand” and said the school will “vigorously pursue discipline” against those involved. “Over the last year and a half, an unauthorized group of anonymous individuals calling themselves Columbia University Apartheid Divest have exploited the conflict in the Middle East to try to tear our campus community — our Barnard home — apart. They operate in the shadows, hiding behind masks and Instagram posts with Molotov cocktails aimed at Barnard buildings, antisemitic tropes about wealth, influence, and ‘Zionist billionaires,’ and calls for violence and disruption at any cost. They claim Columbia University’s name, but the truth is, because their members wear masks, no one really knows whose interests they serve. … Even when under enormous pressure from outside groups, we will ensure our community is safe and free from discrimination and intimidation, while also supporting students as they grow, learn, and make mistakes. We will stand strong and act thoughtfully, even while being criticized for being both too punitive and not punitive enough. Disrupting classes and defacing buildings to intimidate and divide our community is not academic exploration. It is a betrayal of the goals and sanctity of higher education.” [ChronicleofHigherEducation]
Word on the Street
New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft gave a vote of confidence to Harvard President Alan M. Garber at the annual Harvard Business School Shabbat Dinner on Friday, saying in a keynote address that he believed Garber “personally is committed to eradicating antisemitism from this campus”…
Jed Margolis, president of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, has appointed Stephen Berliner as chair of the election committee and Debbie Adams as chair of the events committee ahead of the 2025 induction ceremony, which will take place in Israel on July 8 before the Maccabiah Games…
Every Jewish House Democrat wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday urging the company to restore the default listings for International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Jewish American Heritage month to the company’s Google Calendar service…
An annual report on New York City poverty by Robin Hood found that roughly a quarter of all New Yorkers are living in poverty…
Inside Philanthropy spotlights the Neubauer Family Foundation, through which Joseph Neubauer and his wife, Jeanette, support education, the arts and Jewish causes…
The Trump administration announced yesterday that it was conducting a multiagency review of the federal government’s $51.4 million in contracts with Columbia University, citing the academic institution’s “ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students”…
JTeen, a British helpline for Jewish teenagers in crisis, will open a new hotline, JStudent, for Jewish students offering confidential personal, emotional or mental health support…
Russian authorities claimed that they foiled a terror attack yesterday, shooting and killing a Central Asian man who they said was planning to detonate improvised explosive devices at a Jewish institution in the Moscow region and at a Moscow metro station…
Democratic political consulting firm SKDK registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act on Friday to work on behalf of the Israeli government, reportedly focusing on media relations around the Bibas family tragedy…
Journalist Yardena Schwartz announced that she will start a new position as executive editor of Ark Media, publisher of Dan Senor’s “Call Me Back” podcast…
After their conference championship win on Sunday evening, the Yeshiva University Maccabees will advance to the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship, which kicks off on Friday when the team plays Tufts…
The New York Times “Renters” section spotlights Rabbi Yanky Bell and his wife, Shternie, who run a Chabad House in El Cerrito in the San Francisco Bay Area…
Pic of the Day
A group of Jewish children from the United States who are dealing with a variety of health issues present a Havdalah candle to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday in his office in Jerusalem that they made at Camp Simcha, as part of a trip organized by the nonprofit Chai Lifeline.
During the trip, known as “Wish at the Wall,” the children also visited injured soldiers and met with Knesset members and other Israeli officials. Tomorrow, they are scheduled to meet with freed Israeli hostage Luis Har in Tel Aviv.
Birthdays
Israeli-born basketball player who starred at Wichita State and then played for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, Gal Mekel…
Composer, conductor, author and music professor, Samuel Adler… Broadcast journalist and author, she is best known as a correspondent for the ABC news magazine “20/20” for almost 30 years, Lynn Sherr… Board member emeritus at New York City Center, the arts center at Brown University bears her name, Perry B. Granoff… British promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts and television broadcasts, Harvey Goldsmith… North American representative of World ORT for 20 years, Harry Nadler… Screenwriter and director, she is the mother of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal… CEO of LCH Clearnet LLC, a clearing house affiliated with the London Stock Exchange, David A. Weisbrod… Director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Avi Shafran… Founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools and a former City Council member for the Upper East Side, both in New York City, Eva Moskowitz… President of the New England Patriots, Jonathan A. Kraft… French art historian, she manages the Louvre’s restitution investigations of art looted from Jewish families during the Nazi and Vichy regimes, Emmanuelle Polack… Former member of both the New York City Council and the New York State Assembly, now at the Brandeis Center, Rory I. Lancman… Evan L. Presser… Staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and a senior fellow at Yale Law School, she is the author of a 2019 book criticizing mass incarceration, Emily Bazelon… Chief of staff at Goldman Sachs, Russell Horwitz… First Jewish player to be selected in the top round of the NHL Draft (1998), his career lasted 20 seasons in North America and Europe, Michael Henrich… Member of the Knesset for the New Hope party, Sharren Haskel… Vice president of public policy at the International Council of Shopping Centers, Abigail Goldstein “Abby” Jagoda… Brazilian entrepreneur and software engineer who co-founded Instagram in 2010, Michel “Mike” Krieger… Singer, music producer and composer, Aryeh Kunstler… Chief of staff for New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Victoria “Tori” Burhans Kelly… Model and actress, Erin Heatherton (born as Erin Heather Bubley)… Foreign policy advisor for U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Jennifer Miller… Ice hockey goaltender with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League, he made his NHL debut in 2024, Yaniv Perets…
