Your Daily Phil: Fewer donors, more needs: Ensuring the future of Jewish funding
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we talk with historian and author Jack Wertheimer and the Jewish Future Promise’s Hadara Ishak about securing the future of Jewish philanthropy for Jewish causes. We report on Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s meeting yesterday with Jewish leaders in New York, and the response of Jewish organizations to an attempt to fire the European Commission’s longtime coordinator for combating antisemitism. We feature an opinion piece by Nila Rosen with data on the parent-camp dynamic highlighted last week by Rebecca Starr. Also in this issue: Ben Hartman, Lee Dranikoff and Frank Lloyd Wright.
What We’re Watching
For several hours this morning, thousands of people blocked the junctions of major roads and highways in Israel as part of an organized “day of action” announced by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign legislation this afternoon requiring all colleges in the state to designate anti-discrimination coordinators to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Buck Goldstein, entrepreneur in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is giving a talk on “An Entrepreneur’s Approach to an Age of Uncertainty” this afternoon at the Levin JCC in Durham.
“Secure Your Future: Antisemitism and Strengthening Jewish Community Safety in Palm Beach County,” a panel discussion tonight in Delray Beach, Fla., will feature U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Florida state Sen. Lori Berman, Florida Rep. Debra Tendrich, Magen Protective Services CEO Carey Clarke and a crime prevention officer from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
What You Should Know
Between $13 billion and $14 billion a year was donated by Jews to Jewish causes in the early 2020s, nearly double what it was six or seven years prior, historian Jack Wertheimer told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim in an interview earlier this month. But while funding might be increasing, he added, the number of funders isn’t — and the costs associated with Jewish life continue to climb.
“The sum of money that Jews are giving to Jewish causes has increased quite dramatically… The not-so-good news is that the base of donors who are contributing that sum continually is shrinking; that more and more money is being raised from fewer people,” he said.
Further, though Jewish giving has consistently outpaced that of other religious groups, most Jewish philanthropists donate a majority of their funds to nonsectarian causes.
According to findings in Wertheimer’s new book, Jewish Giving: Philanthropy and the Shaping of Jewish Life, in 2019 “big givers” to Jewish causes (those that allocated $250,000 or more to some Jewish or Israeli cause) directed 70% of their grant dollars to nonsectarian causes. In 2020, for the first time in decades, the Pew Research Center found that a minority of Jews surveyed — 48% — had given to a Jewish cause in the year prior, suggesting declining commitment to Jewish causes among a growing portion of the American Jewish community.
It was in part due to this reality that the Jewish Future Promise was born in 2020, aiming to secure for Jewish causes $600 billion of the $68 trillion estimated to transfer between generations over the next 25 years. By 2023, the JFP — which asks philanthropists and community members to pledge to commit 50% of all charitable giving upon their death to Jewish and Israeli causes — had grossed an earmarked $2.4 billion.
More than 101,000 entities — individuals, organizations and foundations — made the promise following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks and subsequent surge in Jewish engagement, Hadara Ishak, president of JFP, told eJP.
Five years into the initiative, the number of those signed on has topped 127,000, pledging an estimated $5.25 billion between them. That number includes 19 organizations, 44 foundations and over 126,000 individuals, said Ishak. Among them are some of the biggest names in Jewish philanthropy, including Charles Bronfman, the late Bernie Marcus, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the de Toledo Family Fund.
A recent survey by the initiative found that 42% of “promisers” say they have shared the pledge with friends, and 28% say they are taking material steps to put it into action.
“We’ve grown not only through organizations and social media, but through friends and family, which is huge for us,” said Ishak. “That’s one of our goals, to create a cultural change, if you will, within the Jewish community of giving Jewishly, or considering giving a certain amount Jewishly.”
NEW YORK MINUTE
Israeli Foreign Minister Sa’ar meets with American Jewish leaders in New York
Representatives from America’s Reform, Orthodox and Conservative movements as well as major national Jewish organizations met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar yesterday during his visit to New York, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Different stories: The meeting was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The group’s CEO, William Daroff, told JI that the 90-minute meeting was “positive and wide-ranging”; but two attendees, who requested anonymity, described the meeting as antagonistic. They said Sa’ar took an argumentative tone against Jewish leaders in America who have raised concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
STANDING IN SOLIDARITY
AJC spearheads letter defending EU coordinator on combating antisemitism
More than 75 Jewish organizations around the world have rallied behind Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism, expressing their “unequivocal support” in a joint letter yesterday in response to calls for her dismissal, reports Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider. The formal request for von Schnurbein to be fired, submitted to the EC on Friday by 26 EU Parliament members, references a leaked presentation she made in May about connections between antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel, according to reporting by Israel Hayom.
‘Deeply troubling’: For nearly a decade, “[von Schnurbein] has worked tirelessly and with great integrity to strengthen European policies and initiatives that protect Jewish communities and ensure that Jewish life can flourish across our continent,” said the letter spearheaded by the American Jewish Committee. “Her mandate has always been grounded in European values, democratic principles, and the urgent need to defend the Jewish community against hatred and discrimination. … It is therefore deeply troubling to see her accused of ‘bias’ simply because she refuses to trivialize or ignore threats against Jews. To attack her for defending Jewish dignity and security is, in effect, to challenge the European Union’s own credibility in combating antisemitism.”
READER RESPONDS
What the data reveals about the parent-camp partnership
“Rebecca Starr’s piece in eJewishPhilanthropy (“The covenant of overnight Jewish summer camp is broken, and it must be restored,” Aug. 18) is right to point out that parents today expect more regular communication from their kids’ summer camps. I’m the senior director of learning and research at the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and this article struck a personal chord,” writes Nila Rosen in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “I was curious, so I scoured the data FJC collected from 1,500 parents across 70 Jewish overnight camps this summer. The results are eye-opening.”
A meaningful opportunity: “One in 10 parents told us they want daily updates about their child; another third wants news about their child every two or three days. Only 20% of parents expressed comfort with hearing about their kids less often than once a week. Parents told us they value photos, short videos, end-of-day notes from counselors and regular director messages about camp life. … Ninety-five percent of families report that having their child unplug is a very important purpose of camp. The irony here is that as children learn independence at camp, many parents have developed a dependence on constant updates. For parents, camp can be a meaningful opportunity to cultivate confidence in their children’s independence, strengthening the autonomy muscles of both kids and their loving caregivers.”
Worthy Reads
Routine Tragedy, Tragic Routine: In the Substack “Love of the Land,” American-Israeli journalist Ben Hartman, who lived in Israel for 20 years before moving to Austin, Texas, three years ago, reflects on his first return to the Jewish state since the Oct. 7 attacks. “Tel Aviv seems quieter than I remembered, and the stickers are everywhere in the city, especially at train stations, bus stops, and the boardwalk. They are the most visible sign of the deep grief that grips the country and the unsettling way death has been normalized. I don’t know if I would take it for granted by now if I still lived in Israel, but for a visitor, it feels as if the entire country is in a never-ending shnat evel [year of mourning]. The split-screen daily existence of tragedy and shigra (routine) in Israel has never been more blatant or grotesque. There are the screens above the counters at McDonald’s that carousel through photos of Israeli hostages held in Gaza next to flashing screens showing french fries and the new malabi-flavored flurries… The sun and sand and dust in the air will take their toll on the stickers and posters that have covered the country, but the day may also come when some poor souls are tasked with taking them down. The country will still be a landscape of memorials, grief, and loss, but it may also have climbed back out of the abyss.” [LoveoftheLand]
Strategy Shift: In The Times of Israel, Hillel International Board Chair Lee Dranikoff suggests that Jewish organizations “re-think their priorities and focus areas” as they work to combat the rise in antisemitism. “This dichotomy between the Jewish communal focus on ‘leaders’ and our opposition’s focus on grassroots ‘hearts and minds’ is playing out everywhere. … Fighting a ‘hearts and minds’ battle versus an ‘appeal-to-leaders’ battle will require a mindset shift in our priorities and our methods. In addition to being effective at engaging a short list of leaders, we are going to need to be meaningfully better at telling our story to a broad swath of the population. This means significantly more effort (and more dollars) toward programs and organizations that aim at changing hearts and minds.” [TOI]
One of a Kind: The Forward’s Benyamin Cohen spotlights how Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pa., the only synagogue ever designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, has sustained itself in the decades since it was built. “In the early 1950s, Rabbi Mortimer Cohen — just 5-foot-3, but full of big ideas — reached out to America’s most famous architect. Wright was in his 80s, still working, and famously selective. He had turned down other synagogues before. But something about Cohen’s pitch captured his attention. Cohen wasn’t just asking for a building. He was asking for a vision: a sanctuary that would feel unmistakably Jewish and unmistakably American. A space that would root ancient tradition in modern form. A synagogue that would make people look up — and feel something. Wright said yes.” [Forward]
Word on the Street
Israel “deeply regrets” yesterday’s attack on a Gaza hospital by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, calling it “a tragic mishap”…
The Australian government expelled the Iranian ambassador and three diplomats today and withdrew its own diplomats from Iran over evidence of Tehran’s involvement in recent attacks on Australian Jewish institutions…
A group of American Jewish organizations filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in support of Turkish national Rümeysa Öztürk‘s petition objecting to her detention at an ICE facility in Louisiana for six weeks this spring; the ICE action came after Öztürk co-authored an op-ed in a student newspaper supporting student government resolutions critical of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza…
Police are investigating the vandalism of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia early Friday morning; red paint was sprayed on the side of the building over the words “the Weitzman stands with Israel,” which appeared under an Israeli flag…
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced yesterday that it will investigate three medical schools — University of Illinois College of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Los Angeles Geffen School of Medicine — over their “failures to address antisemitism”…
The George Mason University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a video ahead of the start of the fall semester in which a masked speaker pledged that “the spirit of resistance will not be quenched until we see full liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea”…
More than 7,500 Jews ascended the Temple Mount during the Hebrew month of Av, which ended on Sunday, a 15% increase compared to the same period last year…
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center has opened a temporary exhibition space while the Skokie museum undergoes an $8 million renovation…
Planned to serve almost 400 people across a spectrum of support — independent living, personal care and memory care — the first phase in the creation of a new senior living community in Pittsburgh by the Jewish Association on Aging is complete…
The San Francisco Chronicle spotlights Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen and its owner, chef and entrepreneur Evan Bloom…
Maurice Tempelsman, a Belgium-born diamond baron and the partner of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for more than a decade until the time of her death, died at 95…
Musician and longtime Philadelphian Richard Kaufman died at 89…
Pic of the Day
Former Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez (right) received an award from the Israeli disability nonprofit Shalva yesterday from Kalman Samuels, the organization’s founder and president, at the group’s headquarters in Jerusalem.
Duque was presented the award for “his social inclusion and environmental protection work,” Shalva said in a statement. The award was presented at a gathering of some 20 foreign dignitaries, who toured the Shalva center and met with the director of the group’s sports center, Yoav Engel, whose son Ofir was taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, and released in the first ceasefire.
“The fact that the former president of Colombia is coming to Jerusalem and receiving this prize in the presence of so many ambassadors is proof that the message of inclusion, equality and partnership crosses borders and nations,” Samuels said during the award ceremony.
Birthdays
Vaudeville performer, clown, mime, juggler and sleight of hand magician, known by his stage name “Avner the Eccentric,” Avner Eisenberg…
Rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, he made aliya in 1991, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman… CEO of Siegelvision, a brand identity consultancy, he is also the founder and chairman emeritus of global brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale, Alan Siegel… Owner of You Save On Meds, Martin J. Portnoy… Mayor of Tel Aviv since 1998, Ron Huldai… Partner at the D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly, Robert B. Barnett… Former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, Irving Slosberg… Sales representative for ADT Security, Jay Caplan… Co-owner of Rochester, N.Y.-based August Moon Imports and World Tae Kwon Do Center, Jane Cota August… First vice president of the French Senate from 2020 until 2023, Roger Karoutchi… Venture capitalist, social policy researcher and philanthropist, Freada Kapor Klein… Board chair of Gap, a retail chain founded by his parents, Robert J. Fisher… Executive vice president and managing director of polling and consulting at The Mellman Group, Michael J. Bloomfield… CEO of LawMedia Group (LMG), Julian Epstein… Journalist and co-author of the “Freakonomics” series, Stephen J. Dubner… Member of the Maryland Senate since 2020, Michelle “Shelly” Laskin Hettleman… President of NARAL Pro-Choice America for eight years until 2021, Ilyse Hogue… CFO at Cornerstone OnDemand, Perry Wallack… Managing partner of Austin-based Texas Venture Partners, Lorne Abony… Managing partner of RNS Strategies based in Portland, Ore., Robert Sacks… Professor at the Olin Business School of Washington University in St. Louis, Steven Malter… Deputy general counsel at ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the coordinator of the Internet’s naming system, Samantha Eisner… Co-founder and CEO of Danari Global, Ariel Maurice (“Ari”) Ratner… Rapper, known professionally as Kosha Dillz, Rami Matan Even-Esh… Founder and CEO of The Lemon Perfect Company, maker of the enhanced water brand Lemon Perfect, Yanni Hufnagel… Member of Knesset for Yesh Atid, she served in the previous government as minister for social equality and minorities, Meirav Cohen… Singer-songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and co-writer for the indie rock band Tally Hall, Robert Howard “Rob” Cantor… Principal and founder of Inspire Capital and Development, Brielle Joy Appelbaum… John Train… Carrie Shapiro…
