Your Daily Phil: Charles Bronfman on his $25 million legacy gift to Birthright
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on how Jewish groups are (and are not) reacting to President Donald Trump’s proposal for the Gaza Strip. We interview Charles Bronfman about his recent $25 million commitment to the Birthright Israel Foundation endowment, we examine a new study on Jewish Employee Resource Groups and speak with Josh Kraft about his newly launched run for Boston mayor. We feature an opinion piece by Jay Sanderson with an exclusive announcement about a new project at American Jewish University — and why he is returning to the Jewish leadership space as the project’s CEO. Also in this newsletter: Brennan Nevada Johnson, Rabbanit Leah Sarna and Pauly Freedman.
What We’re Watching
President Donald Trump announced the United States’ interest in taking over the Gaza Strip, relocating its inhabitants and rebuilding it, in a major shift in American foreign policy. More on this below.
The Academic Engagement Network and Jewish Theological Seminary are hosting a conference on JTS’ campus in Manhattan today focused on Christian Zionism, as part of a larger effort by AEN to engage with Christian colleges and universities.
The American Jewish Committee’s board of governors is in Israel on a mission, meeting with Israeli leaders and visiting Israeli communities affected by the past 15 months of war.
What You Should Know
President Donald Trump’s announcement in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States intended to “take control” of the Gaza Strip, resettle its current inhabitants, rebuild the enclave and retain possession of it after the fact represents a staggering shift in American foreign policy. The proposal will now present a major challenge to mainstream American Jewish leaders, who have historically backed a two-state solution, writes eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross.
It is therefore perhaps not surprising that mainstream Jewish groups have remained mum on the matter, with relatively few large organizations and their leaders speaking publicly about it.
Those that have issued statements on the proposal are clearly situated on the political map. J Street said in a statement that it “cannot express strongly enough opposition to the ideas being put forward by President Trump regarding Gaza. There aren’t adequate words to express our disgust at the idea of forcible displacement of Palestinians with the assistance of the United States of America.”
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, called the press conference “absurd and dangerous,” saying that Trump’s proposal was “horrific and cruel for Palestinians,” “foolish” for the United States and “fundamentally at odds” with Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state.
Zionist Organization of America President Mort Klein hailed the proposal, saying it was “an extraordinary declaration that could assure the end of the Islamic-Arab terrorist group Hamas, and secure southern Israel after decades of terrorist attacks and missile launches from Hamas in Gaza. It will also be a major step towards a real peace in the region.”
The American Jewish Committee and Jewish Federations of North America have not yet commented on the proposal, nor has the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
In part, Jewish groups may be keeping quiet until they determine how serious this proposal is: Is this an actionable plan, a distraction from domestic debates or a bargaining position to bring Palestinians and other parties to the negotiating table?
But Trump’s proposal to at least encourage the mass removal of Palestinians from Gaza brings what was once a verboten idea from the fringes of the Israeli and American Jewish right — namely those affiliated with Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was forbidden from running in the Knesset for his anti-Arab views — into the mainstream conversation.
Large Jewish organizations may be able to maneuver around taking a firm stance on the issue for a short while, but eventually their constituents will expect them to grapple with the question seriously — a move that could put them out of line, or even at odds, with both the Israeli and American governments or potentially out of step with the American Jewish community that they represent.
MAJOR GIFTS
Eyeing his legacy, Charles Bronfman commits $25 million to Birthright Israel Foundation

Charles Bronfman considers Birthright Israel, the organization that runs free Israel trips for young Jewish adults he co-founded, as his “life and love for the past 25 years,” the philanthropist told eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Judah Ari Gross on Tuesday. So roughly a year ago, he approached the Birthright Israel Foundation with an offer to help secure the program’s long-term viability. This week, that proposal came to fruition as Bronfman committed to posthumously donate $25 million to the Birthright Israel Fund for the Jewish Future, a fund within the foundation’s endowment.
Lasting impact: Bronfman said his decision to make the $25 million commitment to the endowment came as he is thinking more about his legacy and his lasting impact on the Jewish people. “I have to think about legacy. I’m 93-and-a-half years old,” he said. “If you don’t think about legacy at that age, you’re making a big mistake.” Referring to the Jewish tradition of wishing people to live to the age of 120, Bronfman quipped that he was planning to “get to 119 and renegotiate.”
SURVEY SAYS
New study finds Employee Resource Groups offer untapped potential of young Jewish professionals

Last month, Clal—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership released its “Jews at Work” study, surveying 1,474 Jewish employees and conducting 10 focus groups. About 40% of participants were from organizations with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and 60% from organizations without them. What Clal found shows an untapped demographic of Jews yearning for connection, but with many obstacles in their path, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Blast from the past: According to the study, 46% of the Jewish ERG members surveyed joined after the Oct. 7 attacks, causing Jewish ERGs, a network of ERG leaders, to balloon from 44 members in 2023 to 312 in 2024. Forty-four percent of ERG participants surveyed weren’t involved with any other Jewish organizations, and for 24% of respondents, the ERG was their primary connection to Jewish life. “It looks and feels and acts a lot like the havurah movement,” Rabbi Elan Babchuck, the executive vice president of Clal, told eJP, referencing the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s that saw small groups of Jews create communities outside of mainstream Jewish settings. “Here’s a bunch of essentially lay people out there who are crafting these ERGs,” he said, “sometimes on their own dime, sometimes at a significant professional cost to them. These are people who believe in expressing and exploring and celebrating one’s Jewish identity.”
OFF TO THE RACES
New England Patriots scion Josh Kraft wants to be Boston’s first Jewish mayor

When Josh Kraft announced on Tuesday that he would be entering the Boston mayoral race, a small blue pin on his lapel — part of the #StandUpToJewishHate campaign created by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, an organization funded by his father, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — was the only hint at the historic nature of his campaign. If elected, Kraft, who has never held public office, would be Boston’s first Jewish mayor. But first, the Democrat must defeat incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu, a progressive Democrat and the first woman of color to hold the post in Boston. While she is not particularly popular, it’s still difficult to defeat a sitting mayor in a primary, Gabby Deutch reports for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Lessons in philanthropy: Kraft, who is 57, has spent his whole career working in community nonprofits, including 12 years as the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. Now, as the president of the New England Patriots Foundation, he is leaning into his family’s philanthropic legacy. It’s his mother, Myra, who died in 2011, who Kraft said taught him the most important lessons about giving back. “She’d go to a community-based organization, either here or in the Ukraine or somewhere, and they’d roll out the carpet. She would just ignore it all, get her hands dirty,” he told JI in an interview.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
START OF SOMETHING NEW
Reimagining the Jewish future: The 2050 Institute

“For three long years, I’ve sat on the sidelines of Jewish life,” writes Jay Sanderson, former president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and creator of JTN Productions, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Today, I am jumping out of my seat on the sidelines to lead a bold new initiative, the 2050 Institute at American Jewish University.”
Driving change: “Throughout the Jewish people’s storied history, we have focused our communal attention on our past, protected our legacy institutions and marshaled our resources to face present events and immediate threats. We cannot continue to play defense. We need a revolution in our community… The 2050 Institute will address our greatest challenges and opportunities head-on. A hallmark of this project will be the people sitting at the table. Our goal is to bring together the most influential leaders, thinkers, creators, practitioners and philanthropists from diverse disciplines. We will engage them in developing action-directed strategies and projects to build a thriving Jewish community in North America for the next generation and generations to come. They will reimagine identity, community and engagement based on Jewish values and experience. We will also identify, inspire and cultivate our future’s next leaders to ensure that this meaningful process never stops.”
Worthy Reads
Defining Leadership: In a blog post for Blue Avocado, Sam Aboudara challenges assumptions about what it means to be a leader, particularly in light of today’s complex world. “I can’t think of a term more widely used in the professional world than ‘leadership.’ Throughout my life, from teenage years to now, my career has been filled with leadership training programs: Teen leadership, student leadership, emerging leadership, and executive leadership. Then, of course, there are leadership books, leadership podcasts, leadership gurus, and endless leadership quotes. As a society, particularly in the Western world, we are obsessed with leadership…. We’ve cultivated a culture that prizes personal achievement, the honing of leadership traits, and the belief that leadership is the key driver of both organizational and societal success… [B]ut what if leadership is really about making the best of less-than-ideal situations? It may sound less grand — perhaps even uninspiring — but to me, it captures the reality of the world we live in. It also provides a more honest and attainable foundation.” [BlueAvocado]
Historymakers: In the Forward, Brennan Nevada Johnson shares what she has learned about the origins of Black History Month following the revelation that she is related to its founder. “We all have identities. Some can easily be seen while others can’t. Being both Black and Jewish is how I identify, and something I am immensely proud of. My mother, sister and I converted to Judaism in 1995. We were the first Black family who had joined the synagogue Temple Emanu-El in Providence, Rhode Island. This is where I was Bat Mitzvah’d and became entrenched in the Jewish community. Being the only Black family in the synagogue’s history was life changing. Here in Black History Month, the meaning of my identity resonates even more deeply after my mother told me we are descendants of the man who founded this great holiday: Carter G. Woodson. My maternal great grandmother, Mary Riddle Nicholas was Woodson’s cousin. Once I found out I was related to Woodson, I was determined to uncover the origins of Black History Month. It actually began as Black History Week, which started in 1926 because of Woodson’s lifelong dedication to celebrating the contributions and positive impact that Black Americans have had on all elements of society. Not many know the story of Woodson’s upbringing but it’s incredibly inspiring.” [Forward]
Word on the Street
Jewish Insider reports on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with evangelical leaders on Monday evening…
The Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund announced grants totaling $14.3 million to 209 nonprofit organizations in 2024, including: $50,000 for the Bay Area Jewish Camp Collective, San Francisco.; $100,000 for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Washington; $60,000 for the Tamid Group, Silver Spring, Md.; and $175,000 for the Washington-area Red Tent Fund…
UJA-Federation of New York recently distributed $1.63 million in emergency security funding to 22 Jewish community centers throughout New York City, Long Island and Westchester…
The Joan Yellen Horvitz Trust has donated $6 million to the Cleveland Public Theatre — the largest gift since the theater company’s founding in 1981 — including $4 million in a restricted fund managed by The Cleveland Foundation to establish a new Joan Yellen Horvitz director fellowship…
The Department of Health and Human Services announced investigations into medical schools at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia University and Brown University over alleged incidents of antisemitism that took place at commencement ceremonies last year…
The Zachor Legal Institute is suing the U.S. Department of Education for access to materials with financial information related to campuses in Qatar affiliated with Georgetown University, Northwestern University, Weill Cornell Medicine, Harvard College and the University of Michigan…
American Friends of Magen David Adom and Hatzalah of Baltimore held their first-ever joint event last week in Baltimore…
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has announced a new slate of new senior hires including Emily Graham as chief of staff; Benjamin Suarato as director of advocacy and public affairs; Shauna Leavey as strategic community relations manager and Jaylan Miller as communications associate…
Congregation Sha’arei Orah of Philadelphia installed Rabbanit Leah Sarna as its first spiritual leader at the end of January, making the synagogue the fifth Orthodox synagogue in the world to be led by a woman…
Pauly Freedman was added as a member of the Board of Directors of Jewish Nevada at its annual meeting on Jan. 21 in Reno…
Jewish News profiles Paul Rockower following the Jan. 28 announcement that he is resigning from his position as the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix…
The Washington Post spotlights some of the items from the personal collection of Iris Apfel that are being auctioned off by Christie’s…
United Airlines announced plans on Tuesday to resume its service to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey beginning on March 15…
Rabbi Levi Wolosow, who served as an adult education coordinator at Chabad in Manalapan, N.J., died at 43…
B’nai B’rith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn, who led the organization since 2014, died at 50…
Solly Wolf, a leader of the United Arab Emirates’ Jewish community for decades, died at 75 on Tuesday…
Pic of the Day

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, recites a blessing on Sunday before affixing a mezuzah to the door of the Orthodox Union’s new headquarters in Israel, in Jerusalem’s Har Hotzvim neighborhood. Rabbi Avi Berman (right), executive director of OU Israel; Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion (in navy suit); and Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi (in blue shirt) stand next to him.
At the dedication ceremony for the new building, Berman said the larger headquarters represented “a major milestone in implementing our organizational strategy to strengthen our work with at-risk teens and support English-speaking olim [immigrants] in Israel.”
Birthdays

CEO at the American Journalism Project, Sarabeth Berman…
Former member of the Knesset for Agudat Yisrael and the United Torah Judaism alliance, Shmuel “Shmelka” Halpert… Member of the Virginia Senate for 44 years until last year, Richard Lawrence (Dick) Saslaw… Director, screenwriter and producer of movies and television, Michael Kenneth Mann… Outfielder from 1965 to 1974 for the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, later in his career he served in the Astros’ front office, Norm Miller… Israeli engineer, inventor and entrepreneur, he is a founding partner of Rainbow Medical, an operational investment company, Yossi Gross… Actor, singer, voice actor, puppeteer and comedian, best known as the voice of Jafar in Disney’s “Aladdin” franchise, Jonathan Freeman… Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, he wrote a 2015 essay titled “The Making of a Libertarian, Contrarian, Nonobservant, but Self-Identified Jew,” Randy E. Barnett… Past chair of the board of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, she was also national campaign chair for JFNA, Linda Adler Hurwitz… Ellen Braun… Movie, television and stage actress, writer, producer and director, Jennifer Jason Leigh (family name was Morozoff)… Rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom of Napa Valley, Niles Elliot Goldstein… Member of the New York State Assembly representing the east side of Manhattan since 2018, Harvey David Epstein… Canadian environmental activist, Tzeporah Berman… Educator, writer, columnist, lecturer, public speaker and pro-Israel activist, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki… Baltimore-area sommelier, he curates kosher food and wine events and researches synagogue history, Dr. Kenneth S. Friedman… Member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, now a NYC attorney, Benjamin Kallos… President and COO of American Signature, the parent company of Value City Furniture, Jonathan Schottenstein… Israeli swimmer, she competed in the 2000 Olympics, Adi Maia Bichman… Partner for political and strategic communications at Number 10 Strategies, Joshua Hantman… Olympic sprinter, born in Los Angeles and now an Israeli citizen, specializing in the 400-meter dash, Donald Sanford… Actor and singer, Alex Brightman… Director of communications and intergovernmental affairs at New York City’s Correctional Health Services, Nicole A. Levy… Israeli golfer, Laetitia Beck… Team USA ice dancer from 2014 until 2019, now an assistant clinical research coordinator at Stanford Medicine, Eliana Gropman…