Your Daily Phil: After 10 years, Aliza Kline stepping down from OneTable
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on how the Israeli anti-bullying nonprofit Matzmichim has pivoted post-Oct. 7 to support traumatized Israeli children and on the emerging controversy around a bill that would streamline the process of revoking tax exemption from groups suspected of supporting terrorism. We feature an opinion piece byAmir Elsteinabout the need to support Israel’s democratic institutions, and not just its physical reconstruction. Also in this newsletter: Joy Getnick, Oded Revivi and Al Schwimmer. We’ll start with Aliza Kline stepping down as CEO of OneTable.
A decade after helping launch the Shabbat dinner nonprofit OneTable, CEO Aliza Kline is stepping down from the role, effective Dec. 31, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Grosshas learned.
Kline said that she is leaving the position with no specific plans for her next step, but felt that, as a founding CEO, she had achieved her goals for OneTable — creating a viable, healthy organization — and felt that she was less invested in continuing the nonprofit’s flagship program — Shabbat dinners for young adults.
In 2014, the Paul E. Singer Foundation and Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life conceived of the idea for OneTable — harnessing the power of Shabbat meals to connect Jews in their 20s and 30s to each other and to their Jewish identities. They brought Kline — the founding director of the Mayyim Hayyim mikveh and education center in Boston — on board to develop the concept into an autonomous organization.
“Throughout her tenure, OneTable has reached incredible milestones in just ten years, including engaging more than 285,000 young adults at 150,000 Shabbat dinners — totaling more than 1 million seats around those Shabbat tables. OneTable has achieved exceptional success, and Aliza leaves the organization with a strong foundation poised for continued growth,” OneTable Board Chair Rob Orley said in a statement. “Her legacy of innovation, success and meaning will continue for future generations who benefit from the resources OneTable provides.”
Ahead of her departure, Kline spoke with eJP about her time at OneTable, her decision to step down and her plans for the future.
Judah Ari Gross: So after more than 10 years at OneTable, why are you stepping down now?
Aliza Kline: I was hired by a founding board of directors or founders to become the founding professional and build something. And it’s not that our work is done by any means, but we’ve hit some major milestones that indicated to me that, ‘OK, if I was hired to build this thing, there are a lot of things that have been built.’
And then, as a person who loves to build and design efforts, we have three offerings at OneTable. And I see myself really drawn to the one that’s the newest and that we’re still cultivating and developing. And I think for the CEO of an organization like this and this size, you want somebody who is fresh-eyed for all of the offerings, including the one that is now our most historic one, because it’s just a different kind of energy and perspective.
And the world is crying out for all kinds of help and resources. And I’m an all-in kind of person. So it’s hard to have been so very focused on the mission of OneTable and really supporting people through small-group connections, Shabbat and Jewish connection, specifically for young adults. So I’m kind of curious to see if I expand the aperture, what’s next.
JAG: The announcement that I saw about your departure was a bit vague about what comes next for you. So what’s your next step?
AK: The reason it’s vague is because I literally don’t have a plan. I’m not leaving OneTable for another job or another opportunity.
I haven’t really had the space to even really dive into what I could do next because, as I mentioned, I’m sort of all-in. I want to leave the organization as robust as I possibly can.
But if I imagine [my future], then there’s a few different directions. One of the worlds that OneTable really functions in is ‘tech-enabled social connection,’ which sounds very jargony… There are a lot of different organizations that are also really thinking about how to address the epidemic of loneliness that exists in the world. How might technology, which is often a source of social isolation, help alleviate it?
In the Jewish space, I’m very interested in this cross section between Jewish practice — a kind-of living wisdom — and social connection. I really think that they are totally interconnected…
I’m also having some interesting conversations in the kind of pro-democracy or anti-polarization spaces. I’m really concerned about the way humans are talking about each other, how Jews are talking about each other, and the move towards extremes.
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
Israeli anti-bullying group Matzmichim pivots post-10/7 to support traumatized kids
As some children and youth return to their communities in Israel’s north and south, the country and its educators are grappling with how to rebuild an education system that can help them recover — or at least give them the tools to face — the trauma they have experienced. In nearly every classroom, there are children and teachers who have experienced the effects of the war either directly or indirectly, with evacuations, the loss of loved ones, spouses, parents or children in the military and even children who have returned from captivity in Gaza, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky.
From bullying to trauma: Marking its 20th year of leading workshops in both formal and non-formal settings across the country, Matzmichim’s 85 facilitators normally work on creating more empathy in group dynamics to combat the phenomena of online aggression and social boycotts, but this year they have found themselves also having to deal with the effects of trauma in the classrooms caused by the prolonged war.
Supportive classes: “The idea is that a classroom should be a support group — not in a therapeutic sense but in the basic sense, and we are demonstrating [through our facilitation] to the teachers how that can be done through questions students can answer themselves rather than a teacher giving the advice,” Yoni Tsouna, CEO of the nonprofit, told eJP. “It allows the teachers a moment to observe someone working with their class.”
ON THE HILL
Congress to vote on bipartisan bill to revoke nonprofit status for groups supporting terror
The House is set to vote this week on legislation that would make it easier for the federal government to remove the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofits that provide support to terrorist groups. But the legislation has become politically controversial amid accusations from progressive groups and Democratic lawmakers that it would enable arbitrary crackdowns by the incoming Trump administration, reports Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
No trial necessary: The bill would streamline the procedures for revoking the nonprofit status of charities accused of providing financial or material support to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Under current law, the issue must be adjudicated at trial, and the law has rarely been invoked. Under the new legislation, the secretary of the Treasury would be able to make such determinations unilaterally, potentially without publicly releasing underlying evidence.
Open to abuse: The ACLU has been leading the charge, along with other progressive groups, against the legislation. Libertarian groups like the Cato Institute are also opposing it, though just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), voted against it. Some left-leaning Jewish groups are opposing the legislation, including Bend the Arc and the New Israel Fund, as is the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The RAC said in a letter to lawmakers that the bill “endows the Treasury Secretary with overly broad power that threatens constitutional rights” and “opens the door to potential abuse and politicization of what should be impartial policy decisions.”
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
Emergency support for Israel must also go to strengthening its democratic institutions
“The Oct. 7 tragedy must be used as an opportunity for reform, reconstruction and tikkun after the war. Yet as we look forward to the much awaited “day after,” we must recognize that Israel’s reconstruction needs are as much institutional as they are physical. Indeed, the very necessity of the vast philanthropic intervention of the past year underscores a key philanthropic priority moving forward: shoring up Israel’s fragile governing institutions,” writes Amir Elstein, chairman of the board of the Israel Democracy Institute, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
What to do: “Much needs to be done to address [the state’s failures in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks]… Here are three concrete examples: First, it is critical to devise a new constitutional framework that will codify Israel’s checks and balances and secure the rights of all Israeli citizens… Second, Israel urgently needs a practical plan to integrate Haredim into the IDF and workforce… And third, Israel needs a comprehensive blueprint for rebuilding its hollowed-out civil service so that it may once again provide outstanding service to its citizens — and minimize the need for overreliance on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.”
Teach a man to fish: “If we care about Israel’s ability to survive and prosper in the long-term, we cannot make do with provision of short-term emergency relief or funds for reconstruction, as much as these are necessary; we must make sure that the Israeli state emerges stronger from this ordeal, and vastly more capable of dealing with future challenges, which will not disappear even after this war is won.”
Worthy Reads
Unwanted Attention: In the University of Rochester’s Campus Times, Hillel Director Joy Getnick describes her experience being put on “Wanted” posters around the campus, accusing her of racism and intimidation. “Initially, it seemed only me and a few others were targeted. I immediately noticed that all the faculty and staff were Jewish. I looked at the poster of me. I looked at the language used, and the nature of the entirely untrue accusations, and I thought, ‘This can’t be happening. Am I the victim of an antisemitic crime?’… When someone targets me, they target me in my role, which targets Hillel. This impacts Jewish students and hurts the ability for Jewish student life on our campus to fully thrive. It is disgraceful, abhorrent, and harmful. But I am also a person, with a family, who lives in this community… I needed to call my children’s school and tell them that mom was on a fictitious ‘wanted’ poster with literally hundreds of thousands of views on X (formerly Twitter), and in the international press… There is also real damage right now to the Jewish community at UR. It is imperative that Jewish students feel safe — not just physically safe but emotionally safe — affiliating with and being in campus Jewish spaces. When Hillel is targeted, Jewish students who value what Hillel offers them and our campus community are harmed. We need to do better.” [CampusTimes]
Around the Web
The board of ANU-Museum of Jewish People selected Oded Revivi as the institution’s next CEO, beginning Dec. 1; Revivi, a former mayor of Efrat, will succeed Dan Tadmor, who is leaving the institution to become president and CEO of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia…
Warner Bros. and Aaron Sorkin agreed to develop a film about the life of Al Schwimmer, the U.S.-born aerospace executive and arms smuggler who is considered the “father” of the Israeli Air Force…
American Jewish University hired Jay Sanderson, the former president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, as senior advisor….
El Al reported a 260% increase in its third-quarter profits in light of its near-monopoly as most international carriers have halted flights to and from Israel…
The Associated Press interviews former President Bill Clinton about his pivot to philanthropy after leaving office as he publishes a new book, Citizen: My Life After the White House…
A new study by Brian Mittendorf and Helen Flannery found that noncash giving represents more than 16% of donor-advised funds’ revenue, compared to 3% for overall charitable giving…
The British Jewish nonprofit Knightland Foundation is operating under new management after the U.K.’s Charity Commission watchdog identified “serious mismanagement” from its former trustees…
Police in Pittsburgh are investigating the origins of hundreds of racist and antisemitic stickers posted around the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill…
Authorities in Rochester, N.Y., charged four University of Rochester students with felony criminal mischief for their alleged roles in posting antisemitic posters targeting the school’s Jewish employees; a fifth individual is still being investigated…
Robert Naftaly, a former president of the Jewish Federation of Detroit and board member for a number of local and national Jewish nonprofits, died earlier this month at 86…
Pic of the Day
Doron Markel, chief scientist of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, speaks this week about solar energy and agro-voltaic technologies in the Israeli Pavilion at the COP 29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Birthdays
Vice chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a trustee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Heidi Monkarsh…
Art dealer and former owner of MLB’s Miami Marlins, Jeffrey Loria… Professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Southern California, he won the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Arieh Warshel… President of the United States, Joe Biden… Singer and songwriter, known for writing and performing the song “Spirit in the Sky,” Norman Greenbaum… Short-story writer and actress, she is a professor of writing at Columbia University and was a winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship, Deborah Eisenberg… Former national security advisor in the Trump 45 administration, John R. Bolton… Character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Richard Masur… Maj. Gen. (res.) in the IDF, he is a former combat pilot and head of Aman (the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate), Amos Yadlin… Longtime spokesman (now emeritus) to the foreign press at the Jewish Agency for Israel, Michael Jankelowitz… Pulitzer Prize-winning national affairs writer for The Wall Street Journal during the 1990s, he is the author of six well-regarded books, Ronald Steven “Ron” Suskind… White House official in both the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Jay P. Lefkowitz… Pianist, composer and author, Robin Spielberg… Fashion designer, hotelier and real estate developer, Alan Faena… Deputy assistant director at the National Science Foundation, Graciela Narcho… American-born former member of Knesset for the Likud party, he campaigned for expanding Jewish access to the Temple Mount, Yehudah Glick… Rapper and founding member of the hip hop group the Beastie Boys, he is known as “Mike D,” Michael Louis Diamond… Hedge fund manager, founder and president of Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn… Boston-based real estate attorney at Goulston & Storrs, Zev D. Gewurz… Anchor for Yahoo Finance, Julie Hyman… Opposition research specialist and founder of Beehive Research, Devorah Adler… Executive director at Aish HaTorah since 2020, Rabbi Benjamin Gonsher… U.S. senator-elect from Arizona, Ruben Gallego… Outfielder for four MLB teams over eight years, he played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies until ten days ago, Sam Fuld… Director for North America at the Saban Family Foundation and the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls, Jesse Bronner… Actress and writer, her decision to convert to Judaism was the subject of a 2006 article in The Sunday Times of London, Margo Stilley… Actress and playwright, Halley Feiffer… Deputy health care editor for Politico, Dan Goldberg… Alexis Weiss…
