Your Daily Phil: Former U.S. agriculture secretary on saving Israeli farms
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on an initiative to give wounded war veterans a chance to fly over southern Israel in private flights as part of their rehabilitation, and feature an opinion piece by Adriana Lombard outlining a plan of action for combating antisemitism in K-12 schools. Also in this newsletter: David Rubenstein, Ron Halber and Jeremy Yamin. We’ll start with former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman’s recent visit to Israel.
For the past year, Hamas’ massacre in southern Israel has been widely discussed. But often overlooked has been Hamas’ attack on Israel’s agriculture, with the deliberate goal of destroying Israel’s food security by targeting the Negev farming communities that pioneered the country’s agricultural success with the vision of Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s call to “make the desert bloom.”
Eleven months later, Dan Glickman, who served as the U.S. secretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration from 1995 until 2001, decided to see for himself “what the status is of damage done to Israel after these attacks,” he told eJewishPhilathropy’s Haley Cohen during a recent interview for Jewish Insider fresh off his trip to southern Israel.
Glickman, who was the first Jewish secretary of agriculture — “at least since Joseph served the Pharaoh in biblical times,” he joked — wanted to understand “how serious is the damage and can it be mitigated?” Following meetings with Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, food and agriculture scientists at Hebrew University and the Volcani Institute and working alongside the nonprofit ReGrow Israel, which recently received a $12.5 million grant from Jewish Federations of North America, Glickman concluded that Israel is “building back,” but “it’s not what it was [before] taking a direct hit in the Hamas attacks.”
Philanthropy can “play a big role in rebuilding infrastructure,” he said, adding that more extensive philanthropic efforts are needed.
“[Israel] was founded on the kibbutz movement,” Glickman said. “Hamas was pretty clear that it not only wanted to kill people but also impact Israeli agriculture.”
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PLANE THERAPY
Private flights over southern Israel offer wounded war vets a ‘burst of fresh air’
Craig Newmark, the early internet entrepreneur and philanthropist, credited his public high school history and civics teacher, Anton Shulsky, with inspiring his dedication to funding journalism-related initiatives, in a recent onstage interview with Moment magazine at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. Newmark stressed his support for a robust free press, particularly local journalism, but acknowledged that he does “not have solutions” for the challenges facing it.
Setting compasses: “In around 1970, I had a really good high school history and civics teacher, Anton Shulsky. He taught us that a trustworthy press is the immune system of democracy. We need a trustworthy, vigorous press asking tough questions for us to survive as a country. And that lesson stuck with me,” said Newmark, who has in the past credited his Hebrew school teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Levin, with inspiring his dedication to philanthropy. “They set my moral compass with things like ‘You want to treat people like you want to be treated.’ And ‘Know when enough is enough.’ And ‘Now and then, you need to be your brother’s keeper or your sister’s keeper’… So they set my moral compass. You could say that Anton Shulsky set my patriotic compass.”
Be less boring: Speaking with Moment magazine last month, as the outlet presented him with its 2024 Inspirational Leadership Award, Newmark said journalism is struggling to hold the public’s attention. “Newspapers should tell the truth loudly and frequently. Often they do something really good one day, publish an article which says something important. Articles like that have a half life of 24 hours and then they’re forgotten. They do need to report things and not let people forget. So far no one knows how to do that without boring people,” Newmark said. “[The journalism nonprofit] ProPublica made a stab at that maybe five years ago or something. But there’s been a lot of investigative reporting about major figures in politics, important stuff, but the public forgets about it.”
Just muddling through: “I try to put my money where my mouth is in supporting local papers and so on and working sometimes like with organizations like the American Journalism Project, Report for America and other groups whose acronyms I can never remember,” Newmark said. “But I don’t have solutions and right now, frankly, I just want to see us get through this year.”
BACK TO SCHOOL
This JCRC has a plan for fighting antisemitism in K-12 schools
“So many of the difficult conversations about Jewish identity, antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stem from a lack of understanding, awareness and education about the history and experiences of Jewish communities,” writes Adriana Lombard, director of public education for the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “If we can use training and curricula to bridge that gap, we will be taking a first step toward ensuring that our public schools are always a safe and welcoming place for Jewish students, teachers and families.”
A supportive relationship: “The JCRC team builds trust and supports district leadership on an ongoing basis, sharing advice and resources on a range of topics that impact Jewish families… We have developed a ‘Jewish Identity and Antisemitism in K-12 Education’ workshop that provides an introduction to the diverse Jewish communities of the Bay Area, a brief overview of historical and modern antisemitism — including how it presents in K-12 settings — and numerous tools and resources for responding to and resolving antisemitic incidents when they occur in schools.”
Empowering families: “Our education team works to support parents in their communication and advocacy with teachers, district leaders and school board members; prepare for public comment at board meetings; build strategic plans for navigating school-based incidents; and proactively work with their child’s teachers to incorporate more Jewish culture into the classroom. Around the Bay Area, families have organized into local groups to share experiences and work together to meet with district leadership about their concerns. These grassroots groups will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the antisemitism of last year will not continue throughout this coming school year.”
Worthy Reads
TGIE (Thank God It’s Elul): In the Jewish Journal, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila reflects on the significance of the Hebrew month of Elul as the Jewish people mark 11 months since the Oct. 7 attacks. “As Israeli poet and author Yair Assulin wrote in last Shabbat’s Ha’aretz newspaper: ‘More than ever, we are in dire need of Elul this year.’… Both Rav Uziel and Rav Kook teach that during Elul, the process of teshuva — commonly translated as ‘repent’ but literally [it] means ‘return’ — marks our collective return to our natural origins as human beings created in the image of God… When approached with sincerity, says Rav Kook, teshuva during Elul ‘awakens the secret light of the Messiah, and, ultimately, the Light of God over all of the earth.’ We are in dire need of those lights. It is customary to sound the shofar every weekday morning during Elul. What message does the shofar bring this month? ‘While the notes of the shofar sound like wailing and weeping, they are not sounds of sadness or depression,’ says Rav Uziel. ‘They are sounds of hope that uplift our downtrodden souls.’” [JewishJournal]
Protect Philanthropic Freedom: A recent court case underscores the need to defend the ability of nonprofit organizations to target social inequities, argues Roger Colinvaux in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. “Ever since the Supreme Court ruled last year that affirmative action in higher education was unconstitutional, a tidal wave of legal attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs has swept the country… A notable defeat for DEI occurred last week when the Fearless Foundation, the charitable arm of the Fearless Fund venture capital firm, agreed to settle its case with the American Alliance for Equal Rights, led by conservative activist Edward Blum, and end its grant program for businesses owned by Black women… [‘Affirmative action’] is a legal term, commonly associated with employment and higher education, and it has its own legal limitations in those contexts. It is a mistake to put charitable ‘affirmative action’ on the same legal playing field. The Supreme Court has never held, for example, that private charitable efforts at affirmative action are wrong, or illegal… As more courts start to understand the stakes — that philanthropic freedom is under attack — the outcomes of some cases may start to change. Because what is happening right now is actually pretty radical. Federal and state courts, and state legislatures, are suddenly in the business of telling charities what they can and cannot do and whom they may and may not fund.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Around the Web
David Rubenstein pledged $10 million to the National Zoo to support its giant-panda conservation program, bringing his total donations to the museum to $24 million. Rubenstein told the Washington Post that the gift was meant to both help the zoo and to encourage U.S.-China cooperation…
Ron Halber, who has held the title of executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington for the past two decades, has been named CEO of the organization…
A new study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the advocacy group LeanIn[dot]org found that there have been significant advancements in gender equity in business in recent years, but that women still face considerable headwinds in achieving full parity…
Gift of Life marked its 500th blood stem cell or marrow donation from Birthright Israel participants since the two organizations began partnering 20 years ago; the occasion was marked on Monday in Los Angeles at the groups’ One Huge Night gala…
Oracle’s Larry Ellison became the second-richest person in the world, after his company’s shares closed up 5.1% on Monday…
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who is the chairman and CEO of his Point72 Asset Management, is taking a step back from investing while he focuses on the company’s strategic initiatives…
The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation donated $240,000 to the Person to Person food pantry in Stamford, Conn., so it could launch a second mobile food pantry, doubling the nonprofit’s capacity…
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is set to receive the Defender of Israel award at the Zionist Organization of America’s gala tonight in Philadelphia…
Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn tomorrow; Secret Service advance staff were seen at the kosher Gottlieb’s Restaurant in the neighborhood…
New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage is opening a new exhibition today about the importance of combating bigotry titled, “Speaking Up! Confronting Hate Speech”…
Evan Segal, the chairman of The Evan & Tracy Segal Family Foundation, was appointed to the board of directors of Comic Relief US, as was Alia Lamborghini, the senior vice president of global revenue at Yahoo DSP…
MassLive[dot]org profiles Jeremy Yamin, who was previously tasked with protecting State Department assets and staff abroad and is now vice president of security and operations for Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets yesterday with bereaved families at the Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High School in the West Bank settlement of Efrat. Eight alumni of the Ohr Torah Stone network school and two students’ fathers have been killed in fighting since Oct. 7.
“There is no greater mitzvah than the redeeming captives. At the same time, we also understand that the entire discussion revolves around the costs and what can be done, and we must do everything possible on our side, in the circumstances, to conduct serious and responsible negotiations, as much as we can, to bring about a hostage deal and bring them home as soon as possible,” Herzog said during the meeting.
“[We are in a] time of much pain, much grief, much worry, much anxiety. But on the other hand, also a time when we see the hidden, wonderful lights of our people, the strength, the inner resilience, the supreme heroism. This gives a lot of strength and comfort, and I am convinced, I am sure, that we will get through this period as a people,” he added.
Birthdays
Former CEO of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Howard Tevlowitz…
Marina Del Rey, Calif., resident, Kathy Levinson Wolf… Retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, he served as U.S. secretary of housing and urban development in the Trump administration, Dr. Ben Carson… Former co-CEO of SAP and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Léo Apotheker… Harvard professor of psychology, specializing in visual cognition and psycholinguistics, Steven Pinker… U.S. senator (R-AL), Tommy Tuberville… Executive director of the Los Angeles Westside Jewish Community Center since 2004, Brian Greene… Attorney General of Israel, Gali Baharav-Miara… Winner of three Grammy Awards for music videos, he is also a filmmaker and photographer, Mark Lee Romanek… Professor of economics at MIT and a 2021 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, Joshua Angrist… One of the earliest Israeli tech entrepreneurs, he is best known for starting Aladdin Knowledge Systems in 1985, Yanki Margalit… Founder and executive chairman of Delek US, Ezra Uzi Yemin… Classical pianist, Simone Dinnerstein… NBC and MSNBC legal analyst, she was a 2021 candidate for Manhattan district attorney, Tali Farhadian Weinstein… Founding partner of Shore Capital Partners, he is a part-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury along with his brother Mat Ishbia, Justin R. Ishbia… Comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter, Billy Eichner… Rome bureau chief of The New York Times, covering Italy and the Vatican, Jason Horowitz… Co-host of “Bloomberg Surveillance” every morning on Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio, Lisa Abramowicz… Immediate past editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, Avi Mayer… Professional poker player whose total career live tournament winnings exceed $20.2 million, Nick Schulman… Author and CNN analyst, he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Bakari Sellers… Baseball broadcaster for the Washington Nationals, Dan Kolko… Television and film actress, Shoshana Bush… Vice president of government relations at the Jewish Federations of North America, Karen Paikin Barall… Senior director at the Levinson Group, Zak Sawyer… Robin Anderson…
