Your Daily Phil: Art Up Nation, donors bring Israeli artists to NYC
Good Monday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on Israeli artwork and artists being brought to New York City and last week’s American Friends of Magen David Adom gala. In the latest installment of eJewishPhilanthropy’s exclusive opinion column, “The 501(c) Suite,” Rachel Garbow Monroe reflects on lessons from a challenging year for the Jewish people. We feature an opinion piece by Marla Stein to mark the start of Climate Week. Also in this newsletter: Odelia Epstein, Joseph Gitler and Marcy Gringlas. We’ll start with this weekend’s Israeli American Council conference.
Students from elite colleges who have faced antisemitism in the past year; synagogue delegations from Los Angeles to Manhattan; a group of Israelis displaced from their homes who have been living in hotels for more than 11 months.
These were some of the nearly 4,000 Israelis, Americans and Israeli Americans who convened at the Washington Hilton for the three-day Israeli American Council National Summit, which concluded on Saturday, to discuss questions such as “Is Israel still start-up nation?” and “How is foreign money shaping the minds of Americans?” Sideline conversations focused on the barrage of more than 100 missiles, rockets and drones Hezbollah directed toward northern Israel this weekend, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports from the conference.
The summit’s presence in the nation’s capital was also an “important show of influence for the Jewish community” as the presidential election nears, Elan Carr, the group’s CEO and the former State Department special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism under President Donald Trump, told eJP ahead of the gathering.
Each day’s plenary had a different theme: commemorating Oct. 7, the fight against antisemitism and the future of the Jewish people. But less than 50 days from the divisive election, an overarching theme throughout the weekend was the impact that the election’s outcome could have on Israel and American Jews.
The election was at the forefront of Thursday evening’s opening plenary where GOP presidential nominee former President Donald Trump delivered a keynote address.
Carr told eJP the group was “not concerned” about appearing to be a partisan organization by having Trump speak “because we made it very clear that we invited the president, vice president and the former president, [and] we have [Biden] administration officials coming.” (President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, declined to speak due to scheduling conflicts.)
But in his speech, Trump ratcheted up his partisan rhetoric, warning of dire consequences for Israel if Harris is elected. “If we continue down our current path, with four more years of Kamala, Israel will be faced not just with an attack, but with total annihilation,” Trump said to a standing ovation. “Total annihilation, that’s what you’re talking about. You have a big protector in me.” The former president’s remarks prompted a handful of attendees to exit the room in protest.
Carr told eJP that a focus of the summit, which was held just weeks ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, was a “show of commemoration of the tragedy and suffering we have all felt for the last year.” Many of the panels shed light on the impact Oct. 7, and the subsequent war, has had on Israeli society. These included, “From corporate to combat: The CEOs who dropped everything to join the front line” and “Stories from Gaza,” which included an active-duty Israel Defense Forces soldier in the elite Oketz K9 unit who was recently injured in the war.
For attendees who preferred an escape from partisan politics, several panels throughout the weekend offered insight into other topics, including “Philanthropists on the front lines.”
“Philanthropy is all about people,” said Shira Ruderman, executive director of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “You invest because you believe in someone.”
“Investors need to be louder during these immense challenges,” she continued.
ARTISTIC INTERVENTION
Donors help bring Israeli art to New York for sale and to inspire local Jewish educators
In a post-Oct. 7 world, Israel’s arts scene has taken a back seat to more pressing priorities. But when it comes to Israel education, the arts are more important than ever, according to Michael Soberman, senior educational consultant at The iCenter for Israel Education. For that reason, on Thursday, The iCenter partnered with Art Up Nation, a four-day Israeli art exhibition in the gallery-filled Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, to provide around 20 tristate-area educators with access to an exclusive tour, reports Nira Dayanim for eJewishPhilanthropy from the High Line Nine Gallery in Chelsea.
Getting through to kids: Katie Rein, who runs the after-school religious programming at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, was among the educators invited to attend the event. Rein was particularly inspired by the multimedia offerings on display. “I’m always looking for ways to diversify the curriculum. Some kids like Hebrew, some kids like art, some kids like playing games. So it was interesting to consider the overlap,” said Rein.
Boost to artists: For Art Up Nation, its partnership with donors has been crucial. The Israeli artists arrived in New York with the help of El Al, who sponsored their flights and art shipments, as well as over 30 philanthropic donors, including Karen Davidson, The Paul E. Singer Foundation, Shari and Jeff Aronson, the Kirsh Foundation and Debra Fine and Marty Schneider. With the help of donors, the artists will receive 100% of the proceeds of sales of their works. Nearly half of the gallery’s contents were purchased on the exhibition’s first day, according to Shirlee Klein, a member of Art Up Nation’s host committee.
‘A huge hug’: “In Israel, there are so many other priorities right now, but culture is still important. Art is very important. And this was a huge hug from the community here yesterday,” said Ronen Sharabani, a multimedia artist featured in the exhibition.
EMERGENCY SERVICE
American Friends of Magen David Adom honors Michael Bloomberg for $44 million donation at New York gala
More than 600 attendees walked down the red carpet as they entered midtown Manhattan’s chic Cipriani ballroom on Wednesday evening in support of American Friends of Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service with more than 35,000 first responders, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen from the event.
Inaugural appearance: The gala was Magen David Adom’s first in New York in several years. It was also the group’s first major event since Gilad Erdan assumed the role of global president, following four years as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. “We thwart our enemies’ plans with every life we save. MDA is the backbone of Israel’s resilience, and we are an unstoppable force for good,” Erdan told the crowd. “Sometimes serving on the front line comes at a cost,” Erdan said, recognizing MDA medics murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war, including Amit Man, a 22-year-old paramedic killed while treating patients at a clinic in Kibbutz Be’eri.
Major gifts: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was honored for his contribution of $44 million earlier this year to MDA. A spokesperson for the organization declined to disclose the amount raised at Wednesday’s event.
THE 501(C) SUITE
Looking back and looking ahead: Lessons from a year of crises
“In the words of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: ‘Optimism is the belief that the world is changing for the better; hope is the belief that, together, we can make the world better,” writes Rachel Garbow Monroe, president and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, in the latest installment of eJewishPhilanthropy’s exclusive opinion column “The 501(C) Suite.” “In this moment of looking back and looking ahead with hope, I am reflecting on lessons from the past year that I plan to carry forward as we all continue the important work of striving to make the world a better place.”
Take time to listen: “During emergencies, listening seems like the hardest thing to do because we feel a deep urgency to act immediately. Nevertheless, periods of crisis are exactly when we need to stop, listen and try to understand what people are going through and what they need, whether we’re talking about grantees and the communities they serve or the dedicated staff within our organizations.”
Be open to learning: “You don’t know what you don’t know. Putting ourselves in the vulnerable space of listening, learning and encouraging critical feedback allows us to discover opportunities for growth and course correction.”
Lead with kindness: “I have always believed in the power of kindness, and by that I mean generosity of spirit, thoughtfulness and empathy — not simply being nice. The crises of the past year have only underscored how important this is. At work, a culture of kindness helps fortify a sense of purpose among staff members, fostering meaningful connection among all of us and with the organization’s mission. Indeed, research indicates that employees who feel a sense of purpose are more likely to feel motivated, go the extra mile and be more satisfied with their jobs.”
TAKE MY ADVICE
It’s Climate Week — time to move your money
“My husband and I have been investing in Israel’s environment through philanthropic grant-making for the last nine years, and we recently joined the PAI Fund — a new and innovative philanthropic partnership dedicated to climate mitigation in Israel — as founding board members,” writes Israel-based philanthropist, activist and impact investor Marla Stein, co-chair of the Jewish Funders Network’s Green Funders’ Forum, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “We are engaged in this work because climate affects every aspect of our lives, including Israel’s security, with serious implications for the region and the world.”
A learning experience: “My husband’s and my story started a decade ago, after the IPO of the Israeli startup Mobileye. We were starting from scratch: Prior to 2014, we were neither philanthropists nor impact investors. We made a concerted decision to focus our philanthropy on Israel’s environment, both for the reasons stated above and because it was an area I felt passionate about from my work as an Israeli tour guide. But when it came to our investments, our journey started somewhat by accident.”
Maximize your impact: “While philanthropy and working in collaboration are critical, ‘wicked problems’ require multipronged approaches. In this vein, we realized early on that we must also mobilize our investments for greater impact. This is imperative, as our personal money and philanthropic endowment represent a much bigger part of the pie than our yearly philanthropic grants. I’m sharing part of my journey in the hope that you can learn from our experience — if we can do it, you can too.”
Worthy Reads
Willingness to Pay: In his Substack newsletter Moneyball Judaism, Rabbi Joshua Rabin approaches the American Jewish community’s cost of living crisis from an unconventional angle. “Giving my family the Jewish life I want for them is expensive when you consider the cost of day school, camp, etc., and that’s before you factor in the fact that the communities with the most extensive options tend to have the highest costs of living (e.g., New York, Los Angeles, etc.). But I do not write Moneyball Judaism from the perspective of the Jewish consumer; I write it for the leader who wants to optimize decision-making for the good of all Jews, not just me. And if that’s my goal, it’s time for us to learn why we spend too much time talking about price and not enough time talking about this week’s big idea, willingness to pay… [O]ne of the reasons we need to focus on WTP instead of price is that many, perhaps most, potential consumers of Jewish life will complain no matter what price you charge… In many cases, the only principle Jewish organizations follow when setting a price for their programs is ‘lower is better than higher,’ even though that approach may not matter to people who choose to buy their product. Thus, we could have a situation where organizations starve themselves to death to charge low prices for programs that people will pay for at a higher price. (And by the way, like any Immunity to Change scenario, the organizations that starve themselves eventually pay the piper from running things on the cheap, thereby hurting their participation in the long run.) Does this mean you should go out and jack up the price of all of your programs? Of course not. But look before you leap.” [MoneyballJudiasm]
Crunch the Numbers: In The Jerusalem Post, Odelia Epstein, director of the Prizmah Knowledge Center, advocates for Jewish day schools to implement the corporate practice of “benchmarking,” comparing metrics with industry peers. “At a time when transparency and collaboration are critical to addressing societal challenges, a few communities of Jewish day schools across North America, encouraged and supported by their local Jewish federations, are leading their field in how collaborating on shared initiatives can foster trust and cooperation and ultimately strengthen the entire community… For Jewish day schools and yeshivas, benchmarking provides schools with a clearer picture of their financial health and operational efficiency, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, strategic growth, and educational excellence… [One recent example] of how schools in these communities are using data to inform their strategic decisions come to mind. By leveraging comparative data, a school leader effectively communicated their financial needs to potential funders. They highlighted specific areas where they could grow, which helped them secure additional funding to support their programs and initiatives.” [JPost]
Around the Web
The Jewish Community Foundation San Diego marked $2 billion in grants since its founding in 1967….
Jewish and Israeli volunteers are participating in flood relief efforts underway in Central Europe; “This is a real kiddush Hashem,” Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, amazed that doctors were coming from Israel given the great need at home…
BeWith.io — an Israeli startup that helps create centralized platforms that communities and organizations can use for events, communication and fostering community spirit — says the $10 million it has raised in seed funding will go toward expanding the company’s reach in North America and further developing its AI capabilities…
In The Times of Israel, Leket Israel founder Joseph Gitler argues that more government involvement is needed to address a worsening food security crisis in the country…
Jewish Insider features a deep dive into the “high-stakes, all-hands-on-deck hostage advocacy campaign in Washington”…
Ann Baker Ronn was elected as chair of the board of trustees of the Houston Jewish Community Foundation; she succeeds Lewis Kalmans…
The American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League issued statements on Friday condemning former President Donald Trump for claiming that “Jewish people would have a lot to do with” it if he loses November’s election…
In The Jerusalem Post, Stan Polovets, co-founder and CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation, also comes out against Trump’s remarks, calling on American Jews to “reject all attempts by the Republican nominee to tell us” how to vote…
Moment magazine interviews Yehuda Kurtzer about the political divide within American Jewry…
The New York Times spotlights One Small Step, an initiative by the oral history nonprofit StoryCorps, that brings together two people with opposing political viewpoints for a conversation with a moderator; the initiative has fittingly received support from philanthropists with opposing viewpoints — GOP donor Bernie Marcus and Democratic donor Arthur Blank — as well as big-name funders such as Steven Spielberg…
The Orthodox Union and Yeshiva University are launching a voter turnout project aimed at mobilizing U.S. voters living in Israel, including opening a voter resources center at the OU office in Jerusalem, which will be open periodically between now and Election Day…
Rabbi Michael S. Berger, formerly of Emory University’s department of religion, has been named the next dean of Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; he succeeds Rona Novick, who is retiring…
The Charleston, S.C., Jewish Federation expressed concern following last week’s news that conservative media outlet PragerU is now officially an education partner of South Carolina schools…
The Darien, Conn., school district announced it will continue to work with the Anti-Defamation League and the local Jewish federation following the resignation in the spring of a middle school teacher who was removed from her class and investigated for an “inappropriate” lesson on the Holocaust…
David Koschitzky has been named the next chair of the World Jewish Congress-North America; he succeeds Evelyn Sommer, who will become honorary chair…
The Jewish investing nonprofit JLens estimated that the 100 largest U.S. university endowments would collectively lose $33.2 billion if they divested from companies that do business in Israel…
Members of the Oklahoma City Jewish community broke ground on a new $5.4 million Hillel center at the University of Oklahoma…
Jeff Linkon was hired as the next executive director of the Indiana University Hillel; Linkon previously served as the chief community operations officer for the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis…
The Detroit Jewish News Foundation has partnered with the National Library of Israel to preserve The Detroit Jewish Chronicle, which operated from 1916 to 1951, The Detroit Jewish News, which has been running since 1942, and the Detroit-based Jewish American, which ran from 1901 to 1911…
The Los Angeles Local News Initiative has raised some $15 million from foundations and individual donors to support local journalism; the donors include The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, Weingart Foundation and others…
Haaretz reports on the latest development in a long-running feud over control of the Hungarian Jewish community…
A panel that author Elisa Albert was meant to moderate at the Albany Book Festival over the weekend was canceled, after two of the other speakers — Aisha Gawad and Lisa Ko — refused to appear with a “Zionist”…
The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation awarded a $1.25 million grant to the Foundation for Contemporary Arts to endow the Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy examines a recent $360 million donation to a variety of New York charities by billionaire Thomas Golisano and how it was prompted by a health scare…
Michael Balanoff, a former president of the Syracuse, N.Y., Jewish Federation and the Syracuse Jewish Community Center, died last Thursday at 82…
Pic of the Day
Marcy Gringlas (left), co-founder and president of the Seed the Dream Foundation, poses with actress Octavia Spencer at an event hosted by I Believe Israeli Women at the Los Angeles Nova Exhibition last week. Representatives from nearly every major film studio came together to support raising awareness for victims and survivors of sexual violence on Oct. 7. Key attendees included Colleen Bell, executive director at the California Film Commission within the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development; Julie Rappaport and Sue Kroll from Amazon; Taylor Zea from Netflix, and more.
Birthdays
CEO of the American Jewish Committee until retiring in 2022, David Harris…
Pulpit rabbi in Cleveland for more than 30 years, then a professor at Bar-Ilan University, Rabbi Shubert Spero… Former president and then vice chairman of the board of Chanel, the French fashion house, Arie L. Kopelman… Sarasota Jewish Federation executive, Richard Bergman… Spanish singer, he has sold more than 150 million records and performed at more than 5,000 concerts for over 60 million people, Julio Iglesias… President at Trendlines America, Mark J. Dollinger, Ph.D…. Co-chairman and COO of Chesapeake Realty Partners, he is also a founding partner of Boulder Ventures, Josh E. Fidler… Deputy director of policy and government affairs at AIPAC, Colin M. Winston, Ph.D…. Partner at Steptoe & Johnson, Darryl Nirenberg… Co-founder and CEO of hedge fund Avenue Capital Group, Marc Lasry… Actor, famous for his role as George Costanza on Seinfeld and known professionally as Jason Alexander, Jay Scott Greenspan… Past president of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, now a rabbinic student at the Ziegler School, Angela Maddahi… Former vice chair of The Jewish Federations of North America, she is the president-elect of the Birmingham (AL) Jewish Federation, Sheryl W. Kimerling… Israel’s ambassador to Italy starting approximately two weeks ago, Jonathan Peled… Israeli-American venture capitalist and head of Zeev Ventures, Oren Zeev… Former U.S. Ambassador to the EU, now President and COO at the Business Roundtable, Kristen Silverberg… Chief strategy officer at Whistleblower Aid, Naomi Seligman… Executive director of the Foundation at Alpha Epsilon Pi, Jay S. Feldman… Author of two best-selling books and co-founder of Sefaria and Lehrhaus, Joshua Foer… Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington bureau reporter for The New York Times, Michael S. Schmidt… Director of generative AI content at Meta / Facebook, Gabriella Schwarz… VP of sales at Idomoo Personalized Video, Abby Glassberg… Three-time Olympic saber fencer, last year he became the first American to claim gold in saber at the World Fencing Championships, Eli Dershwitz… Record-setting powerlifter, Naomi Chaya Kutin…
