Your Daily Phil: Another kind of Birthright: A luxe exodus trip
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on a new Jewish Agency fund to support victims of Iranian attacks and on the Birthright Israel effort to get some 1,500 participants out of Israel via cruise ships to Cyprus. We interview Anna Langer, acting executive director of the Israel Educational Travel Alliance, about the state of the Israel trip field, and spotlight a new initiative by the Israeli-American Council to connect stranded Israelis with American hosts. We feature an opinion piece by Sharon S. Nazarian about the plight of the Jewish community in Iran during the ongoing war, and one by Lauren Korn highlighting the power of mentorship to foster Jewish pride and combat antisemitism. Also in this issue: Arash Azizi, Larry Blumberg and Moshe Lavi.
What We’re Watching
The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York is holding a memorial event tonight for Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
What You Should Know
The Jewish Agency for Israel launched a new emergency fund on Tuesday to provide immediate financial assistance to victims of Iranian missile attacks, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky.
Dubbed the Rising Lion Emergency Fund, it has raised $10 million from private donors and federations as of Wednesday, with the aim of raising $20 million, said JAFI’s chief development officer, Danyelle Neuman. The fund was created in partnership with Jewish Federations of North America and Keren Hayesod.
The new fund is based on the model of JAFI’s existing Fund for Victims of Terror, which was founded after the start of the Second Lebanon War and has provided immediate financial assistance to victims of terror. Neuman noted that because the mandate of the Fund for Victims of Terror is to respond to acts of terrorism — and not to acts of war — a new mechanism had to be created for the current situation.
The emergency grants will provide immediate financial assistance to bereaved families who have lost family members in the bombing attacks; people who have sustained moderate to severe injuries and were hospitalized for more than 48 hours as a result of direct hits and families whose homes were declared uninhabitable by authorities due to the missile damage. Each eligible family will receive an emergency grant of NIS 4,000 ($1,143) transferred directly to their bank account shortly after verification by the relevant authorities. JAFI also strives to have members personally visit every family receiving assistance.
“Together with big organizations like JFNA and Keren Hayesod we have the know-how and the ability to pivot quickly and to really implement the [Jewish] global mutual responsibility,” Mark Wilf, JAFI’s chairman of the Board of Governors, told eJP. “That is what it is about: to assist those who are obviously suffering the impact of the war and to galvanize Jewish communities around the world who want to help. There’s been a tremendous outpouring of a desire to help and of feeling the responsibility.”
The new fund was initiated following an emergency briefing that was convened by JAFI on June 15, in which Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, JAFI chairman of the executive, addressed leaders from 60 global Jewish communities. In a statement, Almog noted that the new fund was also meant to express “mutual care” and support national resilience.
Responding to requests by municipalities, the fund support package will include resilience workshops, group intervention programs and individual assistance. Neuman noted that the Iranian barrages have mainly been targeting the center and north of the country, areas that are not used to living under constant missile threat — unlike communities in the Gaza border area — and are therefore experiencing a new kind of trauma.
“All we want to do is transfer funds directly into people’s bank accounts to allow them to have a moment to breathe,” Neuman said. “You’re talking about people who don’t even have toothpaste anymore. So if we can do something little [to help], we want to. We understand that 4,000 shekels isn’t going to rebuild anyone’s house and it’s not meant to. It’s really simply something symbolic that we can do.”
MAKING AN EXODUS
Birthright evacuates 1,500 participants stuck in Israel due to Iran attacks — on a luxury cruise ship
After five days stranded in Israel due to the conflict between Tehran and Jerusalem, approximately 1,500 Birthright Israel participants are on their way home — via a luxury cruise ship from Israel’s Ashdod port to Larnaca, Cyprus. The Crown Iris, a Mano Maritime luxury cruise ship, carried just over half of the 2,800 participants who had yet to be repatriated. The majority of the participants are from the United States, according to a statement from Birthright Israel. Once in Cyprus, all U.S. participants will board four planes to Tampa, Fla., that were chartered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before returning to their respective cities, report eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim and Judah Ari Gross.
Complex operation: “This was a complex and emotional operation, carried out under immense pressure, and we are proud to have brought 1,500 young adults safely to Cyprus. Our team continues to work around the clock to secure solutions for the remaining participants still in Israel,” Birthright Israel’s CEO Gidi Mark said in a statement. A spokesperson for the organization, Noa Bauer, told eJP that several other Israel trip providers have asked Birthright Israel for assistance in getting their participants out of the country as well, and that the organization is willing to help where it can. “We have a lot of requests,” she said. “We are prioritizing Birthright [participants].”
Bonus: Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch examines the convoluted, expensive and questionable ways that Americans who were stuck in Israel have found to exit the country after its airspace was closed amid regular Iranian missile barrages and drone attacks.
Q&A
War with Iran strikes a major blow to the already struggling Israel educational travel
This summer was supposed to mark the start of a comeback for Israel’s summer program ecosystem, with 60,000 program participants set to visit the country — up from 35,000 last year. Instead, the educational tourism field — which was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, experienced a brief recovery in 2022, and then again dipped in 2023 and 2024 in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and resulting wars in Gaza and Lebanon — is now facing another tough year in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
Now, on Day Six of the war, with the country’s airspace closed as a result of missile strikes from Iran and tourists stranded in Israel, the summer travel season is in limbo. As program providers field questions from parents and funders alike about what’s in store, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim spoke with Anna Langer, vice president for North American Israel strategy at Jewish Federations of North America and acting executive director of the Israel Educational Travel Alliance — the umbrella organization that represents over 140 organizations that directly provide trips to Israel.
ND: Can you give me a general lay of the land, and a sense of what some of the contingency plans are for Israel travel?
AL: To the best of our estimates, there are approximately 7,500 participants on Israel educational travel programs in Israel right now, which represents almost 20% of all tourists in Israel currently, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. So we have been working directly since the moment of the announcement of the initial planned attack on Iran to coordinate for our field.
ND: What external organizations are programs coordinating and partnering with to meet additional needs while these participants are on the ground? What do those needs look like?
AL: There absolutely will be, and already there are additional incurred costs for the organizations. … What I would also call attention to is that there’s an entire field of Israel educational travel providers on the ground in Israel, tour operators and tour educators, who have largely been lacking for work since Oct. 7[, 2023]. … We are very concerned about the sustainability of the travel sector in Israel, and are trying our best to make sure also that those individuals are considered and thought about by governmental agencies and beyond, so that the infrastructure remains for Israel educational travel to continue.
BROTHERLY LOVE
Combating ‘a sense of total helplessness,’ IAC initiative opens homes to stranded Israelis
Israelis Avi Hill-Mizrachi and his wife, Beth, were on what was meant to be a three-week trip in California to celebrate their wedding anniversary when the war between Israel and Iran broke out. “We were supposed to fly back [to Israel] tomorrow,” Avi told Efrat Lachter for eJewishPhilanthropy yesterday. “But all flights were canceled. Our sons are back home — two in their 20s and one who just finished the army — and they’re in bomb shelters. We didn’t know what to do, we were so confused and worried.” Unsure of what to do, the Hill-Mizrachis — two of the more than 150,000 Israelis estimated to be stuck overseas — submitted a request for assistance through a hastily created initiative by the Israeli-American Council (IAC), dubbed Achim Me’ever LaYam (“Brothers across the sea”), which is matching stranded Israelis with local families across the United States who can host or help them.
Giving back: The Hill-Mizrachis were matched with Keren Ben Aharon, a Los Angeles resident and alum of IAC’s Gvanim leadership program who had a rental unit that had just become available. “When I called, they were surprised — how did I even know they needed help?” Ben Aharon said. “I told them the IAC reached out to me and I said, ‘Come with love.’” For Ben Aharon, this initiative is not just a gesture — it’s personal. A longtime U.S. resident, her children live in Israel. She was supposed to fly this week to visit her son who is a combat soldier near Gaza, and her daughter is a commanding officer stationed along the Egyptian border. “Hosting families is my way of staying connected and doing what I can from here,” she said.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
A captured community’s survival: Thinking of the Jews of Iran
“As we’ve all been glued to media outlets reporting on Israel’s preemptive attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, our focus has undoubtedly been on Israeli lives and Israel’s ability to successfully accomplish its mission of ending the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions and its existential threat to Israel,” writes Sharon S. Nazarian, president of the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “But perhaps this moment warrants an added dimension: concern for the safety and security of the Jewish citizens of Iran.”
A precarious position: “Being a captured community means walking the line between your multiple identities and forced allegiance to whichever power is in control at the time… Given the regime’s history of arresting Jews falsely accused of espionage for Israel and threatening to use the community as human shields in past confrontations with the Jewish state, the community is feeling especially vulnerable at this moment… It is clear that what is left of the regime’s leadership will lash out somehow, and the Jews are the easiest target. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s ban on all refugees except for white South African farmers has meant that over 700 Jewish Iranians who were already being processed by HIAS, the leading Jewish American refugee resettlement NGO, have all been put on hold. At this point, the community needs a lifeline.”
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME
What can you do about antisemitism? Start here.
“None of us can solve antisemitism alone, but we can choose how we show up in this moment. One way is quiet and personal. It can help someone feel proud, less afraid and less alone. That is the power of mentorship,” writes Lauren Korn, president and CEO of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Since the Oct. 7 attacks, more families are reaching out to Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters — and not just for mentorship or friendship, but for something more urgent. They are searching for safety. For identity. For a way to help their children stay proud in a world that often tells them not to be.”
An overlooked tool: “When a Jewish child has a mentor who helps them embrace their Jewish identity with confidence, they grow up knowing who they are. They enter college and adulthood with the clarity to speak up — not from fear, but from strength. When a non-Jewish child receives services from a Jewish agency, supported by Jewish donors and rooted in Jewish values, they grow up with a deeper understanding of who we are… They learn that being Jewish means being part of a community that shows up, that cares, that gives. And when they become adults, they stand beside us — not because they are told to, but because they care. When a Jewish volunteer gets involved, they reconnect with their own identity. They become part of a living chain of support and strength. And when a non-Jewish volunteer joins us, they become part of the Jewish story. They build meaningful relationships. They carry what they have seen and felt into the rest of their lives. They are no longer bystanders.”
Worthy Reads
Resist Appeasement: In The Tines of Israel, Nikoo Pajoom, an Iranian currently studying at McGill University in Montreal, sees Israel’s war with Iran as a positive development as long as it leads to regime change. “I would argue that regime change is the only policy that would make this war worthwhile… If the Mullahs survive these attacks, their victory will only serve to embolden them and make them feel invincible. Terrorism will continue to be the hallmark of the region unless the Iranian regime is dismantled and elections free of terrorist candidates are held. In the Middle East, we all have our fights with religious fanatics as they are a persistent fixture of our histories, but I genuinely hope that we will overcome Iran’s murderous fanatics with the help of Israel’s targeted operations in Iran and an unequivocal support for regime change. So, to anyone who cares to ask this Iranian, I say that I’m hopeful. I hope that both Israel and the US see the benefit of regime change in Iran and do not let the Islamic Republic linger for another 50 years. Appeasement with terrorism begets terrorism. It’s time to have peace.” [TOI]
Don’t Hold Your Breath: In The Atlantic, Arash Azizi interviews anti-regime activists living in Tehran about their hopes and concerns about the ongoing war. “For years, the debate outside Iran was theoretical: Would a military strike on the country help its people topple a hated regime, or would it cause even oppositionists to rally ’round the flag in their nation’s defense?… Most of the activists I spoke with — about a dozen — blamed the war largely on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and evinced no political support for his regime. Nor were they supportive of Iran’s attacks on Israel, which have already killed at least 23 Israeli civilians, injured hundreds more, and sent thousands of people to bomb shelters every night. But they in no way welcomed the Israeli strikes on their country… [T]he notion that air strikes will lead to a popular uprising, or that Iranian activists for freedom will support a devastating war on their homeland, appears to be little more than a fantasy.” [TheAtlantic]
Eye on the Prize: Nonprofits looking to secure six-figure grants should dedicate resources specifically to that goal — that is one of several tips M.J. Prest shares in The Chronicle of Philanthropy for grant-seekers looking to score big in today’s competitive environment. “‘Dollars and Change,’ a 2024 report from Candid, GivingTuesday, and Network for Good, found that just 0.1% of foundations give out more than $100 million annually, yet they account for 35% of all the grant dollars awarded in a year. For nonprofits of every size, ‘There’s a place for the $10,000 grant, and then there needs to be a whole other strategy for a major-grants portfolio,’ [consultant Susan Schaefer] says. Many nonprofits have fundraisers dedicated to securing major gifts from wealthy individuals. Schaefer recommends hiring fundraisers to chase down large grants, too. Those who do can build stronger relationships with foundations and corporate grant makers — and land heftier grants as a result. ‘Nonprofits rarely discuss the largest foundations as a category. In my experience, the teams that think strategically about major grants have more success,’ she says.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has partnered with Pepperdine University to create a new, fully accredited, tuition-free master’s program in Middle East policy studies, which the think tank says is meant to serve as an antidote to the “dysfunctional ‘elite’ universities”…
Zohran Mamdani, a leading candidate in next Tuesday’s New York City mayoral primary, explained how he believes the expression “globalize the intifada” is an expression of Palestinian rights, not something condemnable, during a new podcast interview with The Bulwark released yesterday, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…
Colorado’s two Democratic senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, wrote to Senate leaders on Tuesday calling for funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to be increased to as much as $500 million following the antisemitic attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports; they also urged lawmakers to ensure that the funding can be used to “pay permanent security guards and other critical personnel”…
An advanced rehabilitation center for children and young adults with severe physical and intellectual disabilities in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak was damaged by Iranian missile fire on Monday…
The Times of Israel spotlights the efforts of the Rome Jewish community to care for Israelis stranded in Italy because of the war…
The Birmingham City Council became the first in the U.K. to recognize the Jewish identity of residents when collecting demographic data…
Reuters reports on Israeli triplets who were born this week in the fortified underground section of Rambam Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Haifa…
The Forward examines the efficacy of Jewish Alabama millionaire Larry Blumberg’s strategy of offering cash incentives to get Jews to relocate to the town of Dothan, Ala….
Sports team owners may have succeeded in avoiding new taxes as part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” having gotten them removed from the Senate version of the legislation…
In his substack, Rabbi Joshua Rabin analyzes whether large, established synagogues are truly being replaced with startup style spiritual alternatives, or if we tend to fixate on the exception to the rule…
A Bay Area man is facing federal hate crimes charges for his participation in what the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office called an “antisemitic group beating” of two people, one of whom was Jewish; a physical confrontation escalated after members of the group reportedly shouted “free Palestine” and “f–k the Jews”…
A Maryland man was charged with allegedly sending numerous threats to Jewish organizations in Pennsylvania over a period of more than a year, from April 2024 to May 2025…
Pic of the Day
Moshe Lavi recites a prayer last night for the 53 hostages still being held in Gaza, including his brother-in-law, Omri Miran, at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan as part of a UJA-Federation of New York solidarity gathering with the people of Israel amid ongoing Iranian missile barrages.
Birthdays
Best-selling author and journalist, she was editor-in-chief of USA Today, Joanne Lipman…
Chicago-based attorney, he is the only ordained rabbi to have served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council, Solomon Gutstein… Former Washington Post editor and reporter, Fred Barbash… Retired IT management advisor at Next Stage, Steven Shlomo Nezer… Croatian entrepreneur, he was previously the minister of economy, labour and entrepreneurship in the Croatian government, Davor Stern… Rabbi at Or Hamidbar in Palm Springs, Calif., he previously led congregations in Israel and Stockholm, Rabbi David James Lazar… Rebecca Diamond… Retired professor of English at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Helene Meyers… Executive of the William Pears Group, a large UK real estate firm founded by his father and grandfather, Sir Trevor Steven Pears (family name was Schleicher)… Vice chairman and president of global client services at BDT & MSD Partners, she recently joined the board of Meta/Facebook, Dina Powell McCormick… White House senior aide during the Trump 45 administration, he is a principal of Cordish Companies, Reed Saunders Cordish… Film director and screenwriter, Jonathan A. Levine… Actor, comedian, satirist and writer, known professionally as Ben Gleib, Ben Nathan Gleiberman… Television producer and writer, Jeremy Bronson… Music business mogul, Scott Samuel “Scooter” Braun … Baseball pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, he is now the director of pitching development for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeremy Bleich… Of counsel at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Esther Lifshitz… Israeli musician, producer, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by his stage name Dennis Lloyd, Nir Tibor… Investor at Silver Point Capital, Jacob E. Best… Rachel Hazan…
