Your Daily Phil: At WJC, Huckabee says U.S. and Israel can’t afford a ‘divorce’
Good Monday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the opening of the World Jewish Congress plenary in Jerusalem and on the punishment meted out against the Conservative movement’s Zionist arm over its surrogate’s poster campaign against a Haredi slate. We cover a fundraising pancake breakfast hosted by released hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel in New York, and get the scoop on the new leadership of the Democratic Majority for Israel. Idana Goldberg marks Jewish American Heritage Month in the latest installment of eJewishPhilanthropy’s exclusive opinion column, “The 501(C) Suite”; and a piece by Aya Shechter highlights a leadership lesson from this year’s Eurovision competition. Also in this issue: Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yuval Raphael and Dr. Noa Eliakim-Raz and Eliya Cohen.
What We’re Watching
The World Jewish Congress kicked off last night in Jerusalem. More on this below.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Yehuda Kaploun, President Donald Trump’s nominee for antisemitism envoy, are among the speakers today at The Jerusalem Post’s conference in New York.
The National Council of Jewish Women will honor Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jennifer Klein, former director of the White House Gender Policy Council and now professor of professional practice at Columbia University, at a Washington Institute event this evening.
The Hebrew University will officially launch its Institute for the Study of Hope with an event at the Israeli President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Birthright Israel launched its summer 2025 session today, during which more than 20,000 Jewish young adults are expected to travel to Israel on its programs from now through September.
What You Should Know
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sought to assuage concerns of a growing disconnect between the United States and Israel on Sunday night, affirming the bond between the two countries and referring to Jerusalem as Washington’s only “true partner,” reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky from the event.
Huckabee’s remarks, which were delivered at the opening gala of the 17th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress, came after President Donald Trump visited the Middle East last week without a stop in Israel and as an anticipated visit to the country by Vice President JD Vance was called off in the wake of Israel’s fresh ground operations in Gaza.
“Don’t listen to those who say that there is an impending divorce with the State of Israel. We can’t afford a divorce. We will live as partners for peace and prosperity,” Huckabee said, noting the common enemies shared by Israel and the U.S., chiefly Iran.
“Let me be clear, one of the reasons there will never be a divorce between the United States and Israel is because neither of us can afford to pay the alimony if we ever split up,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd. Huckabee explained that the costs of a “divorce” would be in the loss of military and intelligence cooperation. “If we don’t understand how much we depend upon each other, we will both fall. We will never allow that to happen because we can’t afford to quit on each other. We need each other. We will stay together.”
Huckabee also emphasized that Trump will not permit Iran to have nuclear weapons. “Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon, they are not going to enrich, they are going to have total dismantlement, and those are the words that he has said,” he said at the gala, which was held at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance.
The gathering — held in Israel for the first time since 2009 — marked the official launch of the WJC’s highest decision-making forum, bringing together more than 300 Jewish leaders and representatives from over 70 countries. Over the course of today and tomorrow, the congress will hear from a number of experts. It will pointedly not hear from representatives of the Israeli government, in response to the government’s antisemitism conference earlier this year, which included far-right European lawmakers against the wishes of European Jewish leaders. On Monday, the WJC will hold its main plenary session.
Sylvan Adams, the newly appointed WJC Israel region chair, spoke out against Qatar and Iran, both of which he said were behind “well-funded decades-long” investing of “trillions in demonizing Israel and the Jewish people” whose results were seen in the anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses and cities.
Adams also specifically criticized Qatar for its support of Hamas and its propaganda networks. “Let us be clear. Qatar is not our friend. It shelters the Hamas billionaires who planned [the] Oct. 7 [terror attaacks]. If they wanted peace, they would hand them over and begin real hostage negotiations,” he said.
Attending the opening gala was Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, who was among the guests on Wednesday at Lusail Palace in Doha, Qatar, greeting Trump and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Lauder has held multiple discussions with Qatari officials, primarily focused on trying to secure the release of the hostages in Gaza.
At the gala, Adams, Huckabee and Lauder honored freed hostages Tal Shoham, his wife, Adi, and their children, Yahel and Naveh, with a special Israeli Resilience Award. Tal was released in February after 505 days in Hamas captivity, while Adi, Yael and Naveh Shoham were released as part of the first cease-fire in November 2023.
Tal Shoham urged the Jewish leaders to use their platforms to “demand this moral clarity” for the release of all the hostages.
“Today I see it as my mission to give the voice of my brothers,” he said, describing the psychological and physical torture he suffered as a hostage. “I stand before you with my heart still in Gaza, where 58 hostages remain captive. Through darkness, we witnessed the eternal light of our people. My family was saved. I was saved not just through hope, but through action. The ancient promise [that] all Jews are responsible for one another. As Jewish leaders gathered here today, you represent a tradition stretching back in history, never abandoning our brothers and sisters. All of you sitting here have the ability to move mountains, to influence policy and shape public opinion. Throughout our history, what has saved the Jewish people time and again? It’s not just prayer, but action. I ask you to be bold, creative and relentless.”
CONDUCT UNBECOMING
World Zionist Congress election watchdog orders Mercaz USA to apologize for ally’s poster campaign against Haredi slate
The body tasked with overseeing the recent World Zionist Congress elections ruled on Friday that the Conservative movement’s Zionist arm, Mercaz USA, must issue a public apology to the Eretz HaKodesh slate over a controversial poster campaign led by Mercaz USA’s ally and promoter, World Zionist Organization Vice Chair Yizhar Hess. The U.S. Area Election Committee also issued a public censure of Hess for the posters, which quoted a prominent anti-Zionist rabbi declaring support for Zionism and its institutions to be “idolatry,” which were aimed at driving a wedge between the Haredi public and Haredi representatives to the WZO. The AEC determined that even though Hess is not a member of Mercaz USA, the Conservative slate was still responsible for his actions as he served as its agent during the elections, which concluded earlier this month, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Say you’re sorry: “Hess literally orchestrated each step of an attack on EHK in Israel and in the United States in a cynical and calculated effort to diminish voter support for EHK and gain support for Mercaz USA in the election,” the AEC Chairs Abraham Gafni and David J. Butler wrote in their ruling. “Both Hess and Mercaz USA need to answer for the offensive activity of Hess and those working with him.” Mercaz USA was ordered to issue a public apology within 10 days, and the judges recommended that Hess and Mercaz Olami do the same.
BITTERSWEET BREAKFAST
Siegel family’s pancake tradition raises awareness for Israeli hostages
The sweet scent of maple syrup wafting through the air and the sound of pancakes sizzling on a griddle: For decades, that was the quintessential Shabbat morning in Keith and Aviva Siegel’s home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel. In that home, the couple’s four children — and eventually five grandchildren — would gather for family meals centered around pancakes — a recipe that originally belonged to Keith’s mother, a recipe that “brings back memories of special and happy family times,” he told Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider. Those meals were put on hold for 484 days. Keith and Aviva were both kidnapped from their home by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.
Pop-up pancakes: On Friday, New Yorkers got a chance to taste the pancakes — cooked by Keith and Aviva — at a one-day pop-up pancake house hosted by 12 Chairs Cafe, an Israeli restaurant in downtown Manhattan. The event, which drew lines around the block and raised nearly $15,000, was a fundraiser hosted by the Hostages Forum to advocate for the 58 hostages that remain in Gaza (about a third of them are believed to be alive).
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
SCOOP
DMFI announces new president and board chair following leadership shake-up
Democratic Majority for Israel, a top pro-Israel advocacy group, is announcing a new president and board chair, after a recent leadership shake-up that resulted in the sudden departure of its founder last month. The organization said in a statement to Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel on Friday that Brian Romick, a longtime senior aide to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), will serve as president and CEO, succeeding Mark Mellman, a veteran Democratic pollster who founded the group in 2019 to counter growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left. Former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), a pro-Israel stalwart and Jewish Democrat who has previously chaired the Jewish Federations of North America, will lead DMFI’s board of directors, the group said.
Romick’s statement: Romick, who has helped guide Hoyer’s efforts to advance pro-Israel legislation and fight antisemitism, said in a statement shared with JI that DMFI is “an essential voice in Washington and in the pro-Israel community across the country,” particularly during what he characterized as a “critical moment in the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
The 501(C) SUITE
American Jewish Heritage Month and a democracy of belonging
“When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s, he marveled at Americans’ propensity to form voluntary associations for every conceivable purpose, declaring it one of our democracy’s defining features. Jews embraced this trend with remarkable enthusiasm, creating their own parallel associational universe,” writes Idana Goldberg, CEO of the Russell Berrie Foundation, in the latest installment of “The 501(C) Suite.”
Our predecessors: “Between 1819 and 1876, Jews in nearly every American city that had a Jewish presence incorporated more than 500 philanthropic, cultural and educational institutions. These charitable organizations were laboratories of identity, where Jews practiced both democracy and distinctiveness and claimed citizenship in both the American and Jewish polities. This May, as we observe Jewish American Heritage Month amid unprecedented challenges to both Jewish safety and security and America’s democratic institutions, these Jewish associations offer a powerful framework for understanding our current moment.”
LEAD WITH PRIDE
What Yuval Raphael’s Eurovision success teaches us about mobilizing people
“Something extraordinary happened this past Friday and Saturday, not just on the Eurovision stage but in Jewish communities around the world,” writes Aya Shechter, chief programming officer of the Israeli-American Council, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
What stands out: “Ahead of the finals, messages spread like wildfire in WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and social media feeds urging people to vote for Israel’s Yuval Raphael… They mobilized not once but twice — first to push her into the finals, and then to help her place second overall… If we can get tens of thousands of people to act because of a music contest, why is it so much harder to mobilize around things that matter even more, like confronting antisemitism, defending Jewish students or securing the future of Israel? This isn’t a critique of the people. It’s a message to leaders — especially those of us responsible for engagement, strategy and philanthropy.”
Worthy Reads
A Balancing Act: In The Times of Israel, Raoul Wootliff reflects on Judaism’s emphasis on moral accounting and how that translates in the context of the Jewish state today. “Israel has always been a nation that knew how to live inside a question. Not the question of whether we should exist – that was the world’s question, hurled at us for generations. Ours was harder: how to exist. How to be both ancient and modern, both sovereign and self-aware, both proud and just. How to build power without worshiping it. How to root a Jewish state in moral memory while navigating the brutal demands of survival. We never answered that question. We lived it. We argued it. We passed it down like a treasured family heirloom, a sacred tension that defined our politics, our faith, our art, our resilience… We used to know how to live in that contradiction: how to mourn and fight at once, how to sing ‘Hatikvah’ with gratitude while wondering how hope survives so much fear. How to shelter both refugees and responsibility. We understood that complexity wasn’t weakness, it was character. The strength to hold two truths at once: that we were both a miracle and a reality, a refuge for the broken and a foundation for the builders, a home for both the healed and the still-hurting. But that strength is slipping away. In this moment of anguish and war, something deeper than security is at stake. We are not only losing lives, we are losing our paradox.” [TOI]
Sunset of the Venture Philanthropist: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Leslie Lenkowsky explores what made the Gates Foundation’s approach to philanthropy emblematic of its era, and how the announcement of the foundation’s “long goodbye” reflects shifts in the field. “The grant making of Gates and other tech entrepreneurs was rooted in the philanthropy of the early 20th-century Progressive era. Most notably, the Rockefeller Foundation, established in 1913, sought no less than to ‘promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world.’ To do that, it poured unprecedented amounts of money into science and technology to address societal problems, especially to fight disease… Even before Warren Buffett’s contributions, the Gates Foundation used its enormous endowment to build a staff of experts and pursue ambitious goals, such as eliminating preventable childhood diseases — with Bill and his then-wife, Melinda, guiding the way. Their approach, however, is no longer as attractive as it once was. That’s partly because confidence in experts’ ability to devise answers for complex social problems has declined and their ideas are more likely to be challenged. And in a period of growing populism, what used to be seen as advantages for foundations — wealth, independence, longevity, private governance — now make them vulnerable to charges that they are undemocratic and unaccountable.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Freed Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, a project manager for Jewish National Fund-U.K., met with senior leaders from the organization for the first time since his release from captivity earlier this year at the opening of a new education center in northern Israel…
Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement yesterday…
Israel’s Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack at the Nova festival, finished in second place at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, winning the public vote for the competition for her song “New Day Will Rise”…
Canada’s Carleton University created the country’s first chair in philanthropy, which will be part of its School of Public Policy and Administration…
Jewish Insider reports on a symposium that was held yesterday about the future of Jewish student life at Ivy League schools, featuring Rabbi David Wolpe, Deborah Lipstadt, Leon Wieseltier and Bill Ackman…
The Trump administration is discussing a plan that would permanently relocate Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip to Libya, according to NBC News. The administration has discussed the proposal with Libya’s leadership…
Hamas’ main goal with its Oct. 7 attacks was to derail peace negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to documents Israel’s military found in a Gaza Strip tunnel. Hamas’ Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar, reportedly believed that an “extraordinary act” was required to derail the talks, The Wall Street Journal reports…
The Times of Israel spotlights Kumi (meaning rise in Hebrew), an Israeli empowerment program for female entrepreneurs in the Gaza border region…
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County (Fla.) elected a new board chair, Brian M. Seymour, along with several other key positions, and added 10 new members to its board of directors…
Brandeis University is partnering with Hillel at Brandeis to renovate a former administrative building into a new Center for Jewish Life…
The New York Times spotlights Project Esther, the Heritage Foundation’s aggressive playbook to deter antisemitism on college campuses, many elements of which have been embraced by the Trump White House…
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declined to support a resolution in the state Legislature recognizing Israel on the 77th anniversary of its founding. Several months earlier, he also declined to sign onto a separate resolution condemning the Holocaust. Both resolutions were overwhelmingly supported by Democrats in the state Assembly…
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kanye West’s antisemitic song with the hook “Heil Hitler” is “going viral on social media” after being removed from streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music…
Britain’s Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism have voted to unite into one organization, Progressive Judaism for the UK…
Australian Jewish philanthropist Isaac Wakil is selling his $45 million home outside of Sydney…
Michael Ledeen, an American historian and foreign policy analyst and advisor to the Reagan administration, died at 83…
Pic of the Day
Eliya Cohen, a former hostage who was released from Hamas captivity in February, embraces Dr. Noa Eliakim-Raz, the head of the Returning Hostages Department and Internal Medicine Department at Beilinson Hospital, who treated him upon his release, on the sidelines of the Celebrate Israel Parade yesterday in New York City.
“I was deeply moved to meet Eliya, the hero, marching for the return of the 58 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza,” said Eliakim-Raz, who is in the United States on a fundraising tour. “The rehabilitation of the returnees — and of all of us as a people — will not be complete without the return of them all, until the last hostage,” she said in a statement.
Birthdays
Canadian food writer and cookbook author, she is a judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Gail Simmons…
Retired senior counsel in the DC office of Blank Rome, Harvey Sherzer… Retired chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, now of counsel in the New York City office of Latham & Watkins, Jonathan Lippman… Clinical psychologist, author, teacher, public speaker and ordained rabbi, Rabbi Dennis G. Shulman… Former member of the California state Senate, she was also a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, Hannah-Beth Jackson… Israeli novelist and journalist, Edna Shemesh… Nurse and former member of the Wisconsin state Assembly, Sandra (Sandy) Pasch… Retired chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces, now a member of the Knesset for the National Unity party, Gadi Eizenkot… Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, born in Milan, now chief rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar… Journalist, teacher and playwright, now an editor of Streetsblog NYC, Gersh Kuntzman… Born in Kyiv, he is a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago, Alex Eskin… Author of 28 novels that have sold over 40 million copies in 34 languages, four of which have been adapted into Lifetime Original Movies, Jodi Picoult… Business manager and spokesperson for NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, Estee Portnoy… Former CEO of Bend the Arc, Stosh Cotler… Israeli-born chef, owner of multiple NYC restaurants, she is a cookbook author and comedian, Einat Admony… Israeli actress and fashion designer, Dorit Bar Or… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party since 2019, Ofir Katz… Nonprofit manager and consultant, he is the program director of MyZuzah which aspires to place a kosher mezuzah on every Jewish home worldwide, Alex Shapero… Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and is now pitching coach for the UC Davis Aggies, Zachary “Zack” James Thornton… Activist, advocacy educator, engagement strategist and TED speaker, Natalie Warne… Ice hockey forward currently playing for Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia) of the Kontinental Hockey League, Brendan Leipsic…
