Your Daily Phil: Displaced Israeli teens get ‘happy summer’ at U.S. camps
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the University of Illinois’ agreements with the Department of Education and Jewish organizations to protect Jewish students and on the Jewish Agency program sending displaced Israeli teenagers to American Jewish summer camps. We feature an opinion piece by Sherri Mandell responding to the murder of six Israeli hostages in Gaza last week, and one by Abby Crawford marking the start of the introspective Jewish month of Elul today. Also in this issue: Jonathan Sarna, Gilad Erdan and Doug Emhoff. We’ll start with an upcoming conference looking at the role of congressional chaplains, including more than 600 Jewish guest ones.
From Sept. 5 to Oct. 26, 1774, the First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall to plan next steps as America raced towards independence from Britain. Two days into the affair, Rev. Jacob Duché, representing the nearby Christ Church, took to the lectern to lead attendees in prayer, setting a precedent that continues today. Since then, there have been 122 official congressional chaplains, a position that includes a salary, office and staff. All have been Christian, but over 600 rabbis have served as guest chaplains, performing prayers representative of the moment they are in.
This week, Carpenters’ Hall will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the First Continental Congress, focusing on the role of prayer and religion in American government, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy. It will hold a panel tomorrow, titled “The Best and Surest Foundation?” with nine faith leaders, seven of whom are Christian, one who is Muslim and one who is Jewish. On Saturday, there will be a public recitation of Duché’s inaugural prayer.
“We’re at a moment in our country where we are revisiting the founding principles and values of our democracy, and the role of faith and religion goes to the heart of that,” Michael Norris, executive director of Carpenters’ Hall, told eJP.
The panel, with leaders chosen from historic Philadelphia congregations, had to be interfaith, Norris said. Its breakdown is representative of the demographics of religious leaders who have led prayers before Congress, with Christians predominantly represented. Yet it’s important to note that America has offered “a legalization of religious liberty in this country that was an unprecedented innovation for its time,” Josh Perelman, senior advisor for content and strategic projects at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, told eJP.
Rabbi Nathan Kamesar, of Philadelphia’s independent Society Hill Synagogue, will represent Jews on the panel. The event is held in partnership with the Dialogue Institute, which advances interreligious and intercultural scholarship, understanding, dialogue, and grassroots cooperation. David Krueger, its executive director, is leading the conversation.
Having guest chaplains is “a great message against the Establishment Clause that there’s no official religion established,” Howard Mortman, author of When Rabbis Bless Congress, told eJP. Guest chaplains occur when the official chaplain has another commitment or when Congress wants to highlight diversity. The most common way to be asked to lead prayers is to sow relationships with local politicians. Chaplains have included Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Indigenous Americans and Hawaiian priests, among others.
Guest chaplains began appearing in the 1850s, and by 1860, there was a Jewish guest chaplain, Swedish-born Rabbi Morris Raphall, who prayed for unity as the Civil War loomed close. “You can either say, like, why did it take so long [to get a Jewish chaplain],” Mortman said. “Or, my goodness, that was really fast.”
Since then, rabbis have prayed during times of war and peace. On the eve of D-Day, Rabbi Solomon Metz prayed, “O Lord of Hosts and Father of mercy, grant us a speedy and decisive victory.” Jewish immigrants prayed over immigration policy, and rabbis who survived the camps led prayers in their new homeland. The first female rabbi to appear was Rabbi Sally Priesand, America’s first female ordained rabbi, who offered the opening prayer in the House of Representatives in 1973, a year after her ordination. Since then, nearly two dozen female rabbis have served as guest chaplains.
A discussion about faith and politics can get “really heated,” Norris said, but that’s exactly why they are hosting this conversation. “The goal is to engage and educate folks about this historic moment, but then to also use that as a reflection point for each person who comes to think about their own relationship with faith and how they view that in the context of their role as a citizen.”
CAMPUS BEAT
University of Illinois reaches agreements to protect Jewish students, resolving federal antisemitism probe
The new school year is bringing fresh protections for Jewish students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, following the administration’s announcement on Tuesday that its nondiscrimination policy will now extend to harassment or discrimination based on Jewish students’ connections to Israel and Zionism, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen in Jewish Insider. The change comes as the university resolves an antisemitism probe by the Department of Education that was launched in 2020.
New year resolutions: Yesterday, the university announced that it had reached two agreements to address the allegations of antisemitism at the school: one with the Department of Education and one with Hillel International, Illini Hillel and the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s federation.
What it means: UIUC published a set of examples, for the first time, of discrimination and harassment of protected classes as part of its nondiscrimination policy. The examples include the use of antisemitic slurs and stereotypes, blaming a Jewish student for Israel’s policies, physical contact with an individual and derogatory or hostile messages on social media.
Best yet: Lonnie Nasatir, president of JUF, told JI that “the terms in this settlement are the best achieved across the country and will have a significant positive impact on the campus climate for Jewish students.”
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
CAMPERS TOGETHER
Bringing displaced Israeli kids to U.S. camps, Jewish Agency offers a ‘happy summer’ and peoplehood
Hundreds of teenagers from Gaza border communities attended American summer camps this year, making friends with their U.S. counterparts and embracing Jewish sleepaway camp culture, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen.
Two goals: The Israeli teenagers took part in programs at 30 summer camps around the United States through a Jewish Agency for Israel program called Campers2Gether, subsidized by more than $7 million from the Jewish Agency and partners. “Campers2Gether has two main goals,” said Shelley Kedar, director of the Jewish Agency’s Connecting the Jewish People Unit. “Goal one is about resilience; taking teens out of a war zone, literally, and giving them a happy summer. The second is to connect: to create a sense of peoplehood and community between teens in Israel and teens around the world and make sure that each side knows they are not alone,” Kedar told eJP. “We got really good results from those goals.”
Adults, too: The feedback from the adults who stayed back in Israel was also positive, according to Kedar. “Knowing that their kids were safe for two weeks actually allowed parents to lower their own stress levels,” she said. “We’re also hearing from teachers that the school year is going to begin completely differently because of this summer camp experience… it’s a huge impact that goes beyond summer camp.”
HEARTS HELD HOSTAGE
Grieving and facing unbearable choices, we preserve our strength by striving for unity
“When I heard the news of the death of the hostages and found out they were shot, I thought: Thank God they weren’t beheaded like Daniel Pearl. Thank God they weren’t stoned to death with rocks like my son Koby and his friend Yosef, murdered in 2001 when they were 13 years old,” writes Sherri Mandell, co-founder of the Koby Mandell Foundation, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “I know that’s little comfort when you are dealing with evil. But this cruelty is not new.”
A different headspace: “[M]y family and others who lost loved ones in the Intifada, people who lost their families in the Holocaust — our innocence was shattered long before Oct. 7. We know the cruelty and evil of the enemy. They are sworn to our destruction. They do not want any Jew to live in this land. They would exterminate us all if they could.”
Offering each other hope: “We need to support each other in this terrible devastating war. We need to realize that Hamas has a strategy to foment discord within us, to fracture us, so our goal must be to disagree without violence and without splitting the nation and leadership apart; to respect our differences but to know that our differences can give us strength. We don’t have to succumb to Hamas’s psychological warfare, and in all of this turmoil and catastrophe, we cannot let the enemy shatter our unity.”
EMBRACING ELUL
Leadership and the season of ‘soul accounting’
“As a person who isn’t Jewish working in the Jewish nonprofit sector, the beginning of Elul has me Googling things like A.) ‘What do Jews do in Elul?’ B.) ‘What is cheshbon hanefesh?’ and C.) ‘Can Methodists do soul accounting?’” writes Abby Crawford, vice president of leadership programs at Leading Edge, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Two years ago, I had never heard of Elul. Now it consumes my thoughts.”
A gift and a responsibility: “Taking time annually to pause, put pen to paper and calculate the ‘balance sheet’ of one’s own life — I can think of no greater gift to oneself or others than that level of commitment to reflection and improvement. What a necessary act it is for leaders to pause and examine their work, line by line and habit by habit. With only our own past and present as benchmarks, we get to decide how we spend our future and what we plan to change as we enter 5785… In a world where comparison is a commodity, soul accounting requires us to look at our own actions in isolation instead of relating them to the actions of others. It doesn’t matter how our neighbor, colleague, partner or friend is showing up in the world. The balance sheet is ours alone.”
Make it meaningful (and actionable): “Five leadership competencies guide our work at Leading Edge: leading self, leading team, leading community, leading change and leading results. Within each area, dozens of specific behaviors contribute to progress or stagnation. I’ve been thinking about these competencies a lot lately as I reflect on a recently-completed round of Leadership 360, our holistic feedback program for Jewish nonprofit leaders. While the program isn’t explicitly Elul-themed, the concept of probing our strengths and growth areas is absolutely Elul-relevant. As we enter this month of spiritual accounting, lessons from observing this program and speaking with participants are helping me learn how to make this fall’s cheshbon hanefesh as meaningful and actionable as possible.”
Worthy Reads
Welcome Paradox: In Jewish Chicago, the Jewish United Fund’s magazine, Jonathan Sarna puts the “Surge” in interest in Jewish identity in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks in its historical context. “[I]n the face of heightened antisemitism and attacks on Israel, significant numbers of American Jews are turning to their fellow Jews and looking to strengthen their connections to Jewish life. This, of course, has happened before in Jewish history. Previous bouts of antisemitism going all the way back to ancient Persia spurred spiritual revivals. So did the rise of antisemitism in America in the late 19th century, which sparked innovations such as the Jewish Publication Society, the Jewish Encyclopedia, and Hadassah. The Shoah, too, resulted in a very significant period of American Jewish renewal. And now it is happening again. Nobody can predict how the current revival will play out or what its long-lasting impact will be. One suspects, though, that a continuing pattern in Jewish history is being reenacted before our eyes. Those who seek to undermine Jewish life are, paradoxically, stimulating its revitalization.” [JewishChicago]
The Final Hours: In Haaretz, Amir Tibon recalls the start of his communications with the Goldberg-Polin family back in October 2023 and the proactive energy and optimism they exhibited throughout their ordeal, right up to the very end. “On Saturday night, shortly after Shabbat ended, Jon [Polin, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s father] sent me another message. He sought my opinion on a proposal by peace activist Gershon Baskin, who had been involved in negotiations for the return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. Baskin had penned an article on Friday advocating a different approach — a deal that would free all hostages at once, rather than in stages. ‘The best proposal is a single deal to free all the hostages in exchange for [Palestinian] prisoners and an end to the war,’ I wrote back. It’s not something I would have said six months ago. But now, after 11 months of war, it’s the only way to save the hostages, and with them, the State of Israel, which is becoming a dangerous and depressing place as the war drags on with no strategic goal in sight. ‘Exactly!’ Jon wrote back at 8:05 P.M., still energetic and optimistic. Just half an hour later, my WhatsApp began buzzing with rumors that Hersh’s body had been identified (which were later officially confirmed). I refused to believe it. After all, Jon and I had been messaging each other just a little earlier. On Sunday morning, after the news had been confirmed, I sent the final message of our correspondence. ‘Forgive me.’” [Haaretz]
Around the Web
Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, was named the next global president of the Magen David Adom emergency service…
Israeli Paralympic athletes won five medals this week, including four golds, bringing their Paris total to seven. American track and field star Ezra Frech also clinched two Paralympic golds and set a new Paralympic record over the weekend…
Following the murder of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, White House senior official Amos Hochstein — a longtime friend of Goldberg-Polin’s parents — reflected on his own son’s birthday, saying, “as I look at him, all I can think about is Hersh”…
Inside Philanthropy suggests that Jan Koum, whose sale of WhatsApp a decade ago made him a billionaire, could be the donor behind the K18n Foundation, a three-year-old nonprofit that received nearly $1.6 billion in 2022…
Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies Israel Emergency Fund has awarded two grants, including an initial $300,000 followed by an additional $1.5 million, to HaGal Sheli to expand it services using surfing as an educational therapeutic tool for at-risk youth, trauma survivors, individuals with disabilities and those in special education in Israel…
New York Jewish Week highlights how the capital campaign behind the Shefa School’s new $100 million Upper West Side campus drew support from a diverse group of funders — including families and individuals with no personal need for the school’s services…
Rosie Smolowitz of Charlotte, N.C., was recognized with the Canopy Housing Foundation’s YES (Youth Excellence in Service) Award, an honor given to local teens who show dedication to improving the quality of life in their communities…
Washington Jewish Week spotlights Dan Rosenberg, vice president of ??the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Next Gen division, which helps young adults get involved and grow as leaders in their Jewish community…
Cleveland’s University Hospitals received a $15 million donation from Iris Wolstein and her deceased husband, Bert, to help establish an education and conference center that will be named in their honor…
German politicians and Jewish community leaders expressed concern after a far-right party won a state-level election in Germany on Sunday for the first time since the Nazi era…
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is facing criticism for hosting controversial podcaster Darryl Cooper, who downplayed Adolf Hitler’s actions during World War II as well as the extent of the atrocities in Nazi concentration camps; X owner Elon Musk shared the interview, saying the content was “[v]ery interesting” and “[w]orth watching”…
Israel’s National Insurance Institute will subsidize professional counseling services for the families of Nova music festival survivors…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy examines the role of female donors in the rise of women’s sports…
In its first months of operation, the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line has received more than 650 requests for assistance from university students across the U.S. experiencing antisemitic harassment, violence or discrimination…
Twenty-four Republican state attorneys general wrote to officials at Brown University, urging them to reject a proposal to divest from companies with ties to Israel scheduled to come up for a vote next month…
Israeli-Palestinian pop group as1one released a teaser trailer ahead of the release of their debut single this month and a Paramount+ docuseries about them later this year…
Mishpacha Magazine explores whether Orthodox Jewish schools in the United States are equipped to educate gifted children…
Meir Holtz, who was tapped to serve as CEO of Masa Israel in July, assumes his role today; Holtz will take over for Yael Sahar-Rubinstein, who has served as acting CEO for the past six months…
Pic of the Day
Hundreds of people attend a vigil last night at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., in honor of the six Israeli hostages executed by Hamas last week.
At the ceremony, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff described the personal pain he feels about the murder of the captives, reports Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod from the event. “There’s comfort in community, but standing on this bimah, I must be direct: This is hard. This is raw. I’m gutted,” Emhoff said. “I stand before you, yes, as the second gentleman of the United States… But in this moment, I’m here as a fellow congregant, a fellow mourner, and as a Jew who feels connected to all of you.”
The event included tearful remarks from LeElle Slifer, cousin of Carmel Gat, who was also murdered by Hamas last week, and Leat Corinne Unger, cousin of hostage Omer Shem Tov. “Carmel and the other five hostages murdered this weekend should be more than a memory,” Slifer said, sobbing. “Their names … should be etched deep in the very fabric of your soul. Shout their stories to the world and demand that Hamas release [the remaining hostages]. We all failed Carmel. But like the guardian angel she always was, she wouldn’t want us to fail the others.”
Birthdays
Israeli singer-songwriter, his music mixes modern pop with Spanish music, David Broza…
Award-winning computer scientist and philosopher who is a pioneer in artificial intelligence, he is the father of slain WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl, Judea Pearl… Emeritus professor of law and former acting dean at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Lester Brickman… Retired professor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Edmundo N. Kraiselburd, Ph.D. … Saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator, in 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts, David Liebman… Attorney and political consultant who has served as board president of the Louisville, Ky., Jewish Family & Career Services, Mark Steven Ament… Celebrity doctor who is a board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist and media personality, best known as “Dr. Drew,” David Drew Pinsky, M.D…. Former member of the House of Representatives (D-NY), Anthony Weiner… Real estate strategic advisor, political strategist and commentator, E. O’Brien “Obi” Murray… Screenwriter best known as the writer of the 2008 film “Vantage Point,” Barry Louis Levy… Former member of Knesset for the Labor/Zionist Union party, he was the secretary general of Israel’s Labor party until early 2017, Yehiel “Hilik” Bar… General partner at Thrive Capital, he was a special assistant and personal aide to President George W. Bush, Jared Weinstein… Chief communications officer at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Marni Kottle… Television and film actor, Max Greenfield… Israeli former professional basketball player and basketball coach, currently serving as an assistant coach for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Guy Pnini… Development officer at Atlanta’s Jewish Home Life Communities, Melissa Horen Kaplan… Television and film actor, Carter Mark Jenkins…
