Your Daily Phil: Birthright brings in $2.5M to support trip staff
Good Friday morning.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: Foundation for Jewish Camp receives $15 million donation to support camp expansions, ‘climate resilience’; Israeli Jews’ connection to Diaspora Jewry grows post-Oct. 7 — poll; and In debut book, Yardena Schwartz links past and present horrors in Hebron and the Gaza envelope. Print the latest edition here.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on last night’s Birthright Israel Foundation dinner and a renewed partnership between the American Jewish Committee and the Secure Community Network. We also look at the partnerships emerging from this week’s JCC Global conference and on the steps that the National Association of Independent Schools is taking after a conference featured anti-Israel speakers. We feature an opinion piece by Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek about meeting people where they are religiously. Also in this newsletter: Rabbi Steven Gotlib, Jonathan Sarna and Miriam Heller Stern.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
Yeshiva University will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday with a dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan. Daniel S. Loeb, Mitchell Julis and Anita Zucker are chairing the dinner, with Ingeborg and Ira Rennert serving as honorary chairs, and Shari Redstone, Harry Adjmi, and Terry Kassel and Paul Singer serving as honorary co-chairs.
What You Should Know
When the first Birthright Israel group touched down in Tel Aviv in 1999, the scope of what the organization would become was still a pipe dream to its founders. In the years since, Birthright Israel has expanded significantly, bringing over 850,000 teens and young adults to Israel over nearly 25 years.
Last night, at the Harmonie Club, a historically Jewish social club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the Birthright Israel Foundation raised $2.5 million to support the training of tour educators and volunteer staff in advance of an event honoring Jeffrey R. Solomon, senior advisor to Chasbro charities and former president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, the latter of which helped launch Birthright, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim from the event.
“[Solomon] has played such an important role in the development of Birthright, but also in so many other Jewish institutions,” Birthright Israel Foundation board chair, Phil de Toledo, told eJP. “There are icons in every generation and Jeff is among them.”
The event, which drew around 200 philanthropists, Birthright educators and Jewish communal professionals, featured the inauguration of the Jeffrey R. Solomon Award. The award, given to antisemitism activist Aviva Klompas, who participated in 18 Birthright trips as a staffer, will be given annually to a Jewish communal professional who has contributed significantly to Birthright.
“They do so much in ensuring that our participants see Israel through their eyes and are there to answer any questions,” Elias Saratovsky, CEO of Birthright Israel, told eJP. “So we want to acknowledge the thousands and thousands of people who have staffed trips, many of whom have staffed multiple trips.”
While Birthright enrollment has dipped since the Oct. 7 terror attacks, the foundation has seen an increase in philanthropic support, expecting to raise upwards of $80 million this year, according to de Toledo. Over the next five years, with a goal of sending 200,000 young adults on a Birthright program, the foundation hopes to double its fundraising, de Toledo told eJP.
PEOPLEHOOD PURPOSE
At Budapest conference, JCCs from around the world look to each other for help, camaraderie
The goal is Jewish peoplehood, and Jewish community centers around the globe are going to try to achieve it through cross-cultural projects — a cooking program held simultaneously in Ukraine, Israel, Mexico and the U.S. or a joint camp for children from Ukraine, the U.S. and Hungary — in order to connect the JCCs, and the Jewish people who flock to them around the world. These are some of the ambitious cross-border collaborations that were kicked around by the leaders of 31 different JCCs from eight countries this week at the JCC Global “From Good to Great” conference held in Budapest, Hungary, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky from the gathering.
Same passion: “I’m always inspired to see how the global Jewish community shares the same challenges, the same passion, the same pride for building the stronger Jewish community, and that the [Jewish] world is so much greater than just Israel or North America,” said Leah Garber, senior vice president and director general of the Center for Israel Engagement for the JCC Association of North America. “I think it’s a really important lesson for all of us to remember that the larger Jewish community out there also exists, which is sometimes easy to forget.” The teams will meet at least twice a month virtually over the next three years to carry out their projects, with another face-to-face meeting scheduled to take place in Israel in two years.
BETTER TOGETHER
With antisemitism rising, AJC and Secure Community Network renew partnership
With antisemitic incidents at the highest levels in recent memory, the American Jewish Committee and Secure Community Network have formalized their continued collaboration with a new memorandum of agreement, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim has learned. Through the new formalized agreement, SCN will provide data, intelligence, security and risk assessment and trainings to AJC, as well as continued partnership in establishing best practices and coordination on hate crimes reporting and security-related policy issues.
Combating the surge: According to AJC’s “Survey of American Jewish Opinion,” 87% of American Jews think that antisemitism increased in the U.S. after Oct. 7, AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement to eJP. “This partnership between SCN and AJC will allow us to better combat this surge and keep the American Jewish community safe, secure, and resilient,” he said.
REBUILDING TRUST
Independent schools’ group apologizes, lays out next steps over anti-Israel speakers
The National Association of Independent Schools apologized to American Jewish leaders on Thursday and laid out the steps that it is taking after hosting a conference in which speakers made anti-Zionist remarks that caused some student attendees to hide their Jewish identity and leave early, report eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross and Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen. “I write to express my profound remorse over the divisive and hurtful rhetoric expressed on stage at last week’s NAIS People of Color Conference in Denver. There is no place for antisemitism at NAIS events, in our member schools, or in society,” Debra Wilson, the president of the association, wrote in a letter to American Jewish communal leaders, who had written to her about the matter.
Apology accepted, but also…: Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, responded to Wilson’s letter on Thursday, saying that the ADL appreciated “both the expressions of remorse and the outline of new steps being instituted to avoid future incidents involving speakers at your conferences.” He also called on NAIS to issue a statement to both those who attended the conference and the general public.
MEETING A NEED
Spiritual scaffolding: Meeting people where they are to help them grow
“When I was a student — with no career, no partner, no children — I had a hunger to advance my learning and a flexibility that allowed me to move anywhere in the world where I could study full-time. The questions I asked and the long journey they led me on have enriched my life beyond measure, but my path could not and would not be the path for most of my congregants in their searches,” writes Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek, rabbinic advisor and co-facilitator for Togethering Retreats, a member of the faculty at Pardes North America and rabbi emeritus at Beacon Hebrew Alliance, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
A different approach: “Judaism is a civilization that developed around the core idea that we can stretch our hearts and cultivate attunement to the Divine presence in the world. The core Jewish technologies we have to make that happen — the Jewish calendar, the biblical and Talmudic traditions and more — are incredibly powerful. They also require years of training to be able to use them, years that most adults with responsibilities simply don’t have. Spiritual scaffolding involves honoring where people actually are and giving them accessible tools to help them grow. At its core, there are three steps.”
Worthy Reads
Beyond the Binary: In Inside Philanthropy, Erin Hagan, Amani Nuru-Jeter and Claire Gibbons argue that the debate over “trust-based” versus “strategic” philanthropy has created a false dichotomy. “Research funding is a good example of where the two approaches can work together in support of mutual goals while building effective, long-term relationships. Inherently, research funding is restricted (a hallmark of strategic philanthropy) because it is limited to research purposes — data collection, analysis and dissemination. But the restriction to research does not preclude embedding elements of trust-based philanthropy, like centering community leadership in the research process… By investing in this blended approach to strategic and trust-based principles, we aim to push back against the status quo and embrace the myriad ways knowledge can be gained rather than limiting knowledge creation to historically privileged gatekeepers. This broader perspective of knowledge generation is not only more inclusive but is more ecologically valid as it reflects the real-world experiences and knowledge of communities that have been most impacted by social and health inequities and also better positions research to influence real-world change.” [InsidePhilanthropy]
Let’s Talk: In The Times of Israel, Orthodox Rabbi Steven Gotlib encourages Jews of all backgrounds to be better pluralists. “We are living in a time of unprecedented interest in embracing Jewish identity, while facing levels of antisemitism not seen since the Holocaust. Now, more than ever, we need to have a unified Jewish community. Unity, though, need not entail uniformity. My gold standard in this regard is Rutgers Hillel. The community was united in every meaningful way, with large degrees of interaction amongst individuals. People would daven at whichever minyan they felt most comfortable and then go to dinner and sit with their friends who had davened elsewhere or perhaps did not daven at all and had only arrived for the meal. Everyone spoke and socialized with each other, even as differences in religious opinion were obvious. Perhaps it would be beneficial for the global Jewish community to operate like Hillel. Normalize interactions between leaders and laypeople while acknowledging sincere religious disagreements. Get to know Jews of other denominations who are interested in getting to know you even, and especially, if they challenge your assumptions about what such Jews are like. If you’re interested in talking to Orthodox rabbis who wants nothing more than to foster such environments, reach out to us. We’re easy to find.” [TOI]
Word on the Street
Doyen of American Jewish studies Jonathan Sarna taught his final class at Brandeis University this week…
Amb. Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, will rejoin Emory University as a distinguished professor when she concludes her tenure in Washington next month; prior to her confirmation as special envoy, Lipstadt taught at Emory for nearly 30 years…
The Israeli High Court of Justice approved a plan for the country’s National Food Security Initiative that would make the program larger, move it from the Interior Ministry to the Welfare Ministry and allow recipients to be determined by professional assessments, rather than fixed criteria. The move was hailed by Colel Chabad, the nonprofit that administers the initiative…
The University of Michigan fired an administrator who worked on the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion programming over claims she made antisemitic comments at a conference earlier this year…
Roughly half of Israelis living abroad feel more connected to the local Jewish communities following the Oct. 7 terror attacks than before, according to a new survey by the World Zionist Organization…
Paraguay inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem, after moving its diplomatic headquarters in Israel from Tel Aviv…
BJE: Builders of Jewish Education named Miriam Heller Stern as its next CEO, effective July 1. She succeeds Gil Graff, who has led BJE for more than three decades…
Simon Etehad was elected the next president of the board for the Friends of the IDF Western Region…
Joel Dinkin will step down as CEO of Houston’s Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center on Dec. 31, 2025…
A new analysis by the Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise at George Mason University found that the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn may have cost the nonprofit industry approximately 1 million jobs…
Blue Meridian Partners hired Jim Shelton, the fund’s president and chief investment and impact officer, as its next CEO. He will succeed the founding CEO, Nancy Roob, who will now serve as the executive chair of its board…
Dan Granot, the Anti-Defamation League’s director of government relations, has been named its next national director of antisemitism policy; Lauren Wolman, the director of government relations, has been named the ADL’s next director of federal policy and strategy…
Comparative literature scholar Victor Brombert, who as a teenager fled Nazi Germany and would return to the continent as one of the U.S. Army’s “Ritchie Boys,” died last month at 101…
Henri Borlant, who was one of the few children to survive Auschwitz, died on Dec. 3 at 97…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (right) meets with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday in Tel Aviv.
Sullivan is visiting Israel as part of a diplomatic effort to secure the release of the 100 hostages being held in captivity in Gaza by Hamas.
Birthdays
Former chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, he won the 2022 Nobel Prize in economics, Ben Shalom Bernanke, celebrates his birthday today…
FRIDAY: Former New York State senator for 28 years, Suzanne “Suzi” Oppenheimer… California-based real estate developer active in the revitalization of downtown San Jose, Lewis Wolff… Real estate developer and a minority-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, David Mandelbaum… Past president at UCLA Faculty Women’s Club, Bette Billet… Senior rabbi emeritus of Temple Israel of Hollywood, John Rosove… Executive chairwoman and chief media officer of Eko, Nancy Tellem… Chair of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Poverty and Social Exclusion at the University of Haifa, Roni Strier… Hedge fund manager, investor, writer and adjunct professor at Columbia University, Joel Greenblatt… Former assistant secretary for management at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, David F. Eisner… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017 (D-MD), Jamin Ben “Jamie” Raskin… President of the American Academy in Rome, Peter N. Miller… Chairman and CEO of Fontainebleau Development, Jeffrey M. Soffer… Co-founder and principal of The Lead PR, LLC, Jeffrey W. Schneider… Mayor of New Rochelle, N.Y., from 2006 until 2023, Noam Bramson… Comedian and actor, known by his stage name and alter ego, Wheeler Walker, Jr., Benjamin Isaac Hoffman… Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Nicole “Nikki” Heather Fried… Head of communications at Google Bard and Assistant, Riva Litman Sciuto… American-Israeli basketball player who played for three NCAA collegiate programs, then on the rosters of four Israeli teams, Eli Abaev…
SATURDAY: President emeritus of The George Washington University, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg… Co-founder of Creative Artists Agency and former president of the Walt Disney Company, Michael S. Ovitz… Retired New York State Assistant Housing Commissioner, he also served as a military chaplain for 38 years, Jacob Goldstein… President of Bard College since 1975, he is also music director of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein… Retired senior vice president at Warner Brothers, involved with the Platform Committee of the Democratic party on the national and state levels, Howard Steven Welinsky… Retired U.S. Air Force general who served as the chief of staff of the Air Force, he is currently the president and CEO of the Institute for Defense Analyses, Norton Allan Schwartz… Director of government affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Robin Schatz… Member of Knesset for the Likud party, now serving as the Minister of Agriculture, Avi Dichter… Co-founder of several companies, including Beanstalk, Sixpoint Partners and Vringo, author of New York Times bestseller Let There Be Water, Seth (Yossi) Siegel… Hedge fund manager, John Paulson… Owner of Bundles of Boston, Sheree Boloker… Retired CEO of San Francisco-based Jewish LearningWorks, David Jonathan Waksberg… Nurse and mental health counsellor, Martina Yisraela Rieffer… Founder of the Center for Class Action Fairness established to combat abusive class-action settlements, now a division of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, Ted Frank… Partner and COO of Chicago-based Resolute Consulting, David Smolensky… British chef, restaurateur (he is a co-owner of nine delis and restaurants in London) and food writer, Yotam Assaf Ottolenghi… Senior rabbi of the Beth Jacob Congregation of Beverly Hills, Calif., Kalman Topp… Policy counsel in the criminal defense practice at The Bronx Defenders, Eli Clemans Northrup… Co-CEO of Health Consulting Services, Matt Kosman… Former NFL player, he was on the Patriots when they won three Super Bowls, Nathan “Nate” Ebner… Speech-language pathologist, Leora Neuberger… Former offensive lineman for the New York Giants, now a medical sales representative at Stryker, Adam Bisnowaty… Co-director of Chabad of Macalester-Groveland in the Minneapolis area, Tzemach Feller… Television, teen theater and voice actress, Mia Sinclair Jenness…
SUNDAY: Former member of the New York State Assembly, attorney general of New York and member of the New York City Council, Oliver Koppell… Senior rabbi emeritus at Congregation Mt. Sinai in Brooklyn Heights, now executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik… Film, stage and television actress and voice artist, Melanie Chartoff… Owner of the largest construction company for gas pipelines in Russia, Arkady Rotenberg… University of Wyoming professor for over 20 years, now president of the Colorado Hebrew Chorale, Seth Ward… President and CEO at JFCS of the Suncoast in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Helene Lotman… Chairman and founder of BizBash, David Adler… Sportscaster, he has been the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team for 36 years, ending before the current season, Eli Gold… U.S. senator (D-VA), Mark Warner… Executive chairman of South Africa’s Resolve Communications, Tony Leon… Executive director at Silicon Couloir in Jackson Hole, Wyo., until earlier this year, Gary S. Trauner… Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz specializing in M&A, Adam O. Emmerich… Actress, singer and songwriter, she appeared in the title role of the 1984 film “Supergirl,” Helen Slater… Television and movie producer, screenwriter and executive, producer of the first eight seasons of the “Pokémon” TV series and writer of most of the “Pokémon” films, Norman J. Grossfeld… Rabbi serving communities in California’s Central Valley, Paul Gordon… Chicago-born stand-up comedian and author, Joel Chasnoff… Director of community relations and Israel affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, Tal Selinger Stein… Actor, writer and musician, he is known for his role as Seth Cohen on “The O.C.,” Adam Brody… Former mayor of Bal Harbour, Fla., Gabriel Groisman… Washington, D.C.-based chef and restaurateur, Spike Mendelsohn… Israeli singer-songwriter and actress, she played the role of Hila Bashan on Season 3 of “Fauda,” Marina Maximilian Blumin… Client solutions manager at Samsung Ads, Julie Winkelman Lazar… Musician and actress, her first major film, “Licorice Pizza,” was released in 2021, Alana Mychal Haim… Principal at Activate Consulting, Lily Silva… and her twin brother, a special policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Nicholas Silva… Figure skater who represented the U.S. at the 2014 and 2022 Winter Olympics, Jason Brown…
