Your Daily Phil: College students’ Jewish engagement reverts to pre-10/7 levels
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: Zioness Action Fund launches to fortify pro-Israel voices in progressive circles; The debate over institutional neutrality on college campuses; Emhoff, D.C. Jewish community mourn Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other murdered hostages. Print the latest edition here.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on how different cities are prosecuting — or not — anti-Israel protesters who break the law. We feature an opinion piece by Seth Linden and Gamal J. Palmer about an expanding initiative geared toward mid-career Jewish communal professionals, and one by Rabbi Uri Allen recounting his experience “hospicing” a beloved synagogue. Also in this issue: Yossi Klein Halevi, Stephen Curry and Anna Langer. We’ll start with a new survey showing Jewish college students’ waning engagement with Jewish life after an initial surge. Shabbat shalom!
In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, Jewish students flocked in large numbers to Jewish activities on campus. Eleven months later, the increased engagement in Jewish life has waned as students’ fears of antisemitism have risen. A new study provides university leaders and funders a glimpse into what drove that earlier engagement and the reasons that it has since tapered off, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen.
“A Year of Campus Conflict and Growth,” a 64-page report published on Wednesday, which was conducted by Tufts University political scientist Eitan Hersh, in partnership with survey research company College Pulse, and funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation, brings to light the impact that the Israel-Hamas war has had on U.S. college students as the 2024-25 academic year begins and the war grinds on.
The research began 18 months before the war started. It spans three years of the experiences and views of Jewish and non-Jewish students on college campuses both before and after Oct. 7 and follows findings that were published in March as a midpoint in the research. It also spotlights “how differently Jewish and non-Jewish students experienced the last year on campus and hints at what can be expected in the future,” according to Hersh.
He told eJP that when he surveyed Jewish and non-Jewish students in November and December of last year, soon after the start of Israel’s war with Hamas, “we [expected] the war could have wrapped up soon. We didn’t know how the campus [situation] would become its own ongoing news saga.”
According to the findings, throughout the 2023-24 school year, Jewish students’ sense of identity remained elevated. Fear of and exposure to antisemitism also remained at record-high levels, with the number of students who said fears of antisemitism kept them away from Jewish activities on campus doubling from 8% to 16% between 2022 and 2023. During the same time, the number of students who said they had no fears of antisemitism dropped from 38% to 20%. In 2023, 11% reported experiencing direct antisemitism in a campus social environment. The percentage climbed to 16% in 2024.
Meanwhile, students’ sense of connection to the Jewish community and participation in Jewish activities on campus reverted back to pre-Oct. 7 numbers.
In the 2023-2024 school year, 1 in 4 Jewish students surveyed said they felt the need to hide their Jewish identity to fit in on campus, while 1 in 3 said they were judged negatively for participating in Jewish activities. More than half said that Jewish students pay a social cost for voicing support for Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. These were all higher than in 2022. The research noted that while the trend of needing to hide Jewish identity to fit in was experienced by Jewish students regardless of their Jewish backgrounds, students with weaker Jewish backgrounds were most likely to feel they needed to hide their opinions in Jewish spaces.
“This research provides critical findings about the campus landscape today and the difficult environment that many Jewish students face,” Stacie Cherner, director of research and learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation, told eJP in a statement.
To conclude the research, a dozen focus groups were conducted in April with Jewish and non-Jewish students to dig deeper into their perceptions and experiences. The third and final survey was conducted from late April through June 2024.
The research found that Jewish versus non-Jewish students “are very polarized on these issues,” Hersh said, which adds “to campus tension.” Almost half (45%) of Jewish students on elite campuses said they lost non-Jewish friends in the last year.
(UN)EQUAL ENFORCEMENT
How deep-blue cities are prosecuting law-breaking activists
Images of illicit encampments, disruptive protests and videos of activists chanting hateful slogans about Israel and Jews outside kosher restaurants are often met with what seems like a simple demand from Jewish Americans concerned about rising antisemitism: Why isn’t more being done about this? But even when protesters break the law, such as on the Golden Gate Bridge and I-880 in Oakland, what happens to them next — and what consequences they might face for their actions — can vary widely, largely depending on the prosecutor, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Capacity and values: “I think historically, most people who have been arrested at protests have not been prosecuted,” said David Sklansky, a professor at Stanford Law School. “In the protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s, for example, most of those people who were arrested were not then formally charged and prosecuted in court because the court capacity and the prosecutors’ offices couldn’t accommodate that.” Often, though, it’s a question of values. Progressive prosecutors were elected on the promise that they would be more discerning in deciding which cases warrant prosecution.
No consequences: This is leading to a wider concern among Jewish leaders that prosecutors — particularly those in deep-blue jurisdictions — are not doing enough to fight rising antisemitism. “We have heard incredible frustration, not just from the community, but from many law enforcement partners, about the lack of prosecution and/or political support to hold people accountable for violating the law,” said Michael Masters, a former chief of staff at the Chicago Police Department who is now the CEO at Secure Community Network, which provides security services and assessments to Jewish organizations. “It doesn’t appear that the perpetrators of these acts fear the consequences of their actions,” said Richard Priem, CEO of the Community Security Service, another Jewish communal security organization.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
GROWING TOGETHER
Expanding mid-career professional growth opportunities for communal leaders
“Two and a half years ago, the Jim Joseph Foundation launched an initiative to test new models of connection, learning and leadership development for mid-career professionals within the Jewish community. It has now been a year since we last shared our efforts to design cohort-based professional development experiences to be more accessible and affordable for this demographic,” write Seth Linden, founder of Gather Consulting, and Gamal J. Palmer, founder of Conscious Builders, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Always learning more: “Now called Chavurot: Expanding Professional Growth for Communal Leaders (Working Title), the initiative has been testing cohort models of connection, learning and leadership development to understand what makes these experiences so powerful and which design elements contribute to increased professional retention, support for career growth and feelings of connectedness and belonging.”
Building on success: “When we wrote about cohort-based experiences a year ago, we discussed widening the aperture on what these kinds of programs could look like and who could participate. We are pleased to share that the Jim Joseph Foundation recognizes the value in this approach and recently provided a three-year grant to grow this work, which is fiscally sponsored by UpStart, a 501(c)(3)… The grant is designed so that other interested funders can co-invest, with the opportunity for each funder to identify specific audiences of Jewish professionals who they would like to see benefit from this experience. This might include professionals in a specific career role, a specific geographic region, a specific organization type or some combination.”
LIFECYCLE MOMENTS
How do you ‘hospice’ a synagogue?
“It’s a strange question, isn’t it? Why would anyone want to ‘hospice’ a synagogue? The rabbi’s sermons can’t be that bad, right?” quips Rabbi Uri Allen of Temple Sha’arey Shalom in Springfield, N.J., an alum of the Clergy Leadership Incubator Rabbinic Fellowship, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
On borrowed time: “In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I became the rabbi of a small, struggling community. Congregation Beth Mordecai (CBM) in Perth Amboy, N.J., was once a vibrant and shining example of post-war Conservative Judaism in America. Even before COVID, CBM was not in great shape; when I arrived, it was just a shell of its former self. While the pandemic raged, we ran Shabbat services and classes on Zoom and were able to maintain some sense of community amidst the chaos. But the die had already been cast: By the time I was hired to serve as the congregation’s part-time rabbi, it was clear that there was an expiration date on the institution.”
Dearly beloved: “CBM really was a special synagogue. Those who remembered the congregation when it was flourishing lamented its decline but remained loyal and steadfast. I listened to their stories of bnai mitzvah and weddings, high holy days and funerals, educational programming and social gatherings. They painted a picture of an institution that deserved honor and celebration.”
Finding a framework: “I had never done anything like this in my career, but I looked to Jewish traditions around mourning and my pastoral care training for guidance. What I discovered is that just as there are life cycles for Jewish people, there are also life cycles for Jewish institutions. Seeing the demise of the synagogue framed in this way allowed for an authentic, thoughtful, pragmatic and ultimately (I pray) fulfilling process.”
Worthy Reads
Choosing the Hostages: Oct. 7 shattered two core assumptions Israelis share about Israel, writes Yossi Klein Halevi in The Times of Israel. “The first was the belief that we know how to defend ourselves and project deterrence in a hostile region. But on Oct. 7, the weakest of our enemies delivered the most devastating blow in our history, sending a message of unprecedented vulnerability to our enemies. The second was the belief that we know how to protect each other. But on Oct. 7, the Israelis on the Gaza border were effectively abandoned by the army and the government, sending a message of unprecedented failure to ourselves. The ongoing agony of the hostages only deepens that sense of failure and shame. Israel’s strength and resilience depend on maintaining our deterrence and our solidarity, the two pillars of our national ethos. During the first months of the war, Israelis pretended that we could do both: defeat Hamas, restoring our deterrence, and free the hostages, restoring our faith in our ability to protect each other. Now though, we know that we must choose between those two essential goals. That is the cruelty of our hostage dilemma.” [TOI]
When Betting Big, Bet Long: In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, James Nardella and Maharshi Vaishnav join an ongoing conversation within the publication’s opinion pages about “big bet philanthropy.” “We’ve appreciated the thoughtful conversation going on between smart colleagues on both the philanthropic and implementer side of social change about the merits and pitfalls of Big Bet Philanthropy. As leaders at two organizations which have had the good fortune of receiving multiple big bets — Last Mile Health and Educate Girls — we feel a sense of responsibility to enter the fray. First and foremost: We do not mind being the ‘guinea pigs’ for this new, bold kind of philanthropy. We’d like to say, loudly and unequivocally: Big bet philanthropy is good, very good, and truly transformative. Our experience has proven that big bets can lead to real growth in impact… At the same time, these high growth seasons for our two organizations have provided us with insights on how we can improve big bets by making (much) longer bets, better suited to the deeply entrenched social problems they aim to solve.” [SSIR]
A Critical Resource For Kids: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, NBA star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, urge fellow funders not to let the tutoring programs launched during the pandemic fade away due to lack of funding. “In our adopted hometown of Oakland, Calif., schools got $54 million from the pandemic assistance package known as the CARES Act, including for intensive math and reading tutoring programs. Such aid was a lifeline, helping students regain lost ground and catch up on critical skills… Without continued support, far too many students won’t have the basic literacy skills they need to get decent jobs and lead productive and meaningful lives… That’s why we’ve directed so much of our foundation’s resources to giving students individual support when they’re struggling. And it’s why we’re asking others to do the same. We call on funders, community leaders and policymakers to come together and find solutions. Whether through philanthropic and government support or grassroots efforts, we must make sure that every child has access to the help they need.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Around the Web
Jewish Federations of North America named Anna Langer as vice president, North American Israel Strategy; Langer previously served as a senior program officer at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and as the founding director of Hillel International’s Israel Action Program…
The city council of Portland, Maine, voted unanimously to divest from companies that do business with Israel; it is the fourth U.S. city to pass such a measure since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war…
The Arnold Ventures philanthropy will provide $20 million in matching funds to the State of Maryland for the Saga Education tutoring program and the ASSISTments online educational tool through the state’s Partnership for Proven Programs
Penn State trustee Ira Lubert and his wife Pam Estadt made a $10 million donation toward the renovations of the university’s Beaver Stadium; a welcome center will be named in their honor…
Kansas City Athletics announced a new partnership with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (The J) to enhance local youth programs, increase fan attendance and engagement and offer special events and opportunities through the Roo Athletic Fund…
American table tennis star Ian Seidenfeld won the bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics yesterday…
Israeli tennis ace Guy Sasson also took bronze, earning Israel its ninth medal at the Paralympic games…
The fan-owned Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. soccer club created a new jersey in honor of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the team’s biggest supporters, who was executed by Hamas while in captivity in Gaza…
Miriam Abramovich has been named the new CEO of the Buffalo, N.Y., Jewish Federation…
Yeshiva University has entered into a new partnership with Hillel Yeshiva High School in Ocean Township, N.J., through its YU Global online arm, to make professional-grade paralegal and financial training programs available to students, as part of a broader expansion effort…
Rav Avremel Ausband, one of the foremost gedolei haTorah in America and longtime head of Telshe Yeshiva in Riverdale, N.Y., died suddenly yesterday at 76…
Jane Schuster Wolf, Cleveland philanthropist and co-founder of the Wolf Family Foundation, with her husband, Jim Wolf, died on Tuesday at 93…
Pic of the Day
An unnamed IsraAid-trained psychologist speaks with a Ukrainian war veteran in a hospital in Ukraine earlier this year as part of IsraAid’s “Psychologist Doctor Patient” program.
The program, which launched in September 2022, is now entering its third phase. After initially training 60 psychologists in three regions in the first phase and 163 psychologists across four regions in the second phase, the organization will begin rolling out the mental health training program in three additional regions with the goal of having it go nationwide.
“Devastating attacks over the last three days that took lives of over 60 people and injured over 300 are just one more reminder of the urgency of mental health needs in already overburdened Ukrainian hospitals,” Yulia Breus, of IsraAid Ukraine, said in a statement earlier this week. “Doctors and patients are faced with the harshest realities of this war, and they require both an urgent and long-term approach.”
Birthdays
Part-owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’s Cleveland Guardians, David S. Blitzer, celebrates his birthday on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Retired 36-year member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Sander Levin… Co-founder and chairman of Murray Hill Properties in NYC, Norman Sturner… Madelon “Madi” Portugal… Chair of the New York State Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, Helene Weinstein… Oncologist and bioethicist, he is the older brother of U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel, Ezekiel Jonathan “Zeke” Emanuel… Co-founder of Kol HaNeshamah: The Center for Jewish Life and Enrichment and co-author of a new siddur, Dr. Adena Karen Berkowitz… Founding managing director at Olympus Capital, Daniel R. Mintz… Former governor of New Jersey and two-time candidate for president, Chris Christie… Toronto-based publisher and entrepreneur, she serves on the board of governors of Shalem College, Elisa Morton Palter… Rabbi of Temple Shalom in Louisville, Kentucky, Beth Jacowitz Chottiner… Treasurer of Southfield, Mich., Irv “Moishe” Lowenberg… Chess master since age 14, grandmaster then followed, Ben Finegold… National director at AIPAC, Joseph S. Richards… Chief communications officer at Bloomberg LP, Jason Schechter… Israeli film, television and stage actor, Amos Tamam… Author, he won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Netanyahus, Joshua Cohen… Former rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis for 14 years, now a consultant, Avi S. Olitzky… Visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Daniel Flesch… Communications director at the William F. Buckley, Jr. Institute at Yale University, Ari Schaffer… Australian-born entrepreneur, Ben Pasternak… Actor, Asher Angel…
SATURDAY: White Plains, N.Y., resident, the school at the Westchester Jewish Center bears her name, Beverly Cannold… Considered one of the “Founding Mothers” of NPR, she is now a special correspondent on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Susan Stamberg… Member of the U.K.’s House of Lords, he was a managing director of Marks and Spencer, Baron Andrew Zelig Stone… Longtime political columnist for Time magazine and author of the novel Primary Colors, Joe Klein… Color commentator for New York Yankees radio broadcasts, Suzyn Waldman… Former national political editor at the Washington Post, Maralee Schwartz… Owner and CEO of Gristedes Foods, John Catsimatidis… Pulitzer Prize-winning former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, now director of literary journalism at UC-Irvine, Barry E. Siegel… Minneapolis area school counselor and language arts teacher, Sandra Sevig… Russian-born mathematician, he is a professor emeritus at UCSD, Efim Zelmanov… Chief rabbi of the U.K., he was knighted by King Charles III as part of the 2023 New Year Honours, Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis… 2023 Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Drew Weissman… Global co-chair of the Israel practice at Latham & Watkins until his retirement in 2023, Stuart Kurlander… President of Hofstra University since 2021, Susan Poser… Bahraini ambassador to the U.S. from 2008 until 2013, after the prior four years in the Bahraini Parliament, both firsts for a Jewish woman, Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo… Personal finance journalist and CEO of the multimedia company HerMoney, Jean Sherman Chatzky… Vice provost at Yeshiva University, author and a community scholar for Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, N.J., Dr. Erica Brown… Award-winning special writer at The Wall Street Journal and author of six best-selling books, Gregory Zuckerman… Tax partner with RSM US LLP, Benjamin Berger… Screenwriter, producer and director, Alex Kurtzman… Author of three New York Times bestsellers and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon… Rabbi of Baltimore’s Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Rabbi Binyamin Y. Marwick… Deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), Eric B. Kanter…
SUNDAY: Chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works, Leslie H. “Les” Wexner… U.S. senator from Vermont, he was a 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders… Labour party member of the U.K. House of Commons, Dame Margaret Eve Hodge (née Oppenheimer)… Pharma executive, Samuel D. Waksal… Chairman of Douglas Elliman and its parent company, NYSE listed Vector Group, he is also chairman of Nathan’s Famous, Howard Mark Lorber… Owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles since 1994, Jeffrey Lurie… Former co-chair of the Jewish National Fund, he was previously a member of Knesset, Eli Aflalo… CEO of Weight Watchers until early 2022, Mindy Grossman… Owner of Sam’s Fine Wines & Spirits in Walpole, Mass., for 41 years until 2022, Jay W. Abarbanel… British physician and professor of neuroscience at Columbia University, Daniel Mark Wolpert… Founder and president of Cedille Records, a classical music label, he is the son of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, James Steven Ginsburg… Real estate developer in Russia, Zarakh Iliev… Australian businessman and supporter of Israel, James Douglas Packer… Senior rabbi of the Jewish Center of Princeton, Rabbi Andrea Merow… Aspen, Colo., resident, Adam Goldsmith… Actress, model and television personality, she is the host of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” Brooke Burke… Founder and executive education consultant at Atlanta-based JewishGPS, Robyn Faintich… Principal and co-founder of BerlinRosen, now known as Orchestra, Jonathan Rosen… One of the world’s best-selling music artists, known professionally as Pink, Alecia Beth Moore… Head coach for the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team, Eran Ganot… and his twin brother, the creative director of an eponymous clothing line, Asaf Ganot… Founder and CEO at SPARK Neuro, Spencer Gerrol… Director of corporate communications at Related Companies, Andrei Berman… Drummer for the funk metal band Infectious Grooves, he is the son of Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg, Jay Weinberg… Senior national correspondent for Jewish Insider, Gabby Deutch… and her twin sister, an MBA candidate at Tulane, Serena Deutch… Director of education at Itrek, Gilad Peled… Philip Ehrensaft…
