Your Daily Phil: Fresh fights over aliyah just in time for Yom HaAtzmaut
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine an emerging debate over American aliyah as Israel marks its 78th Independence Day. We report on the launch of a new fund by Wexner fellows to support victims of sexual violence, and speak with friends, family and colleagues of Zaki Djemal, an Israeli activist and venture capitalist who died suddenly last month at 38. We feature an opinion piece by Danielle Abraham about the vital connection between Israeli agriculture and independence, and another by Sharon Pardo considering the ramifications of the Jewish state being located in the Land of Israel. Also in this issue: Noah Hawley, Hodaya Cohen and Michael and Susan Dell.
Today’s Your Daily Phil was curated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross and Israel Editor Justin Hayet. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
The Israel Prize ceremony is taking place this evening at the Jerusalem International Convention Center. President Donald Trump will be the first non-Israeli citizen to receive the award and is expected to accept the honor with a prerecorded video address.
The Anti-Defamation League is conducting a fly-in in Washington today, with members of the West Bloomfield, Mich., Jackson, Miss., and Boulder, Colo., Jewish communities — all of which have been targeted in antisemitic attacks in the last year — as well as the organizer of the event last May at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in which two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed.
In Pittsburgh tonight, Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate will host a unity dinner for Black and Jewish students and fireside chat — alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro — in partnership with the NFL, Hillel International, United Negro College Fund and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This evening, 92NY will host a conversation with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and New York City Comptroller Mark Levine on the future of the city’s Jewish community.
And further uptown, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will be interviewed by Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman about her new book, Poisoned Ivies.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD FROM EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS
Just in time for Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, a fight is brewing over Jewish immigration to Israel, aliyah, particularly from the United States. Several fights, actually.
American Jewish immigrants have helped create many of the fundamental institutions of the state that still exist today and continue to found and lead influential organizations and initiatives throughout Israeli civil society. But despite this storied history, aliyah has long been a fraught topic for American Jews, who are wary of being told that they must relocate — leave a country that they feel integrally a part of — in order to be considered good Zionists.
Under a famed 1950 agreement between then-president of the American Jewish Committee, Jacob Blaustein, and then-prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, which remains largely intact nearly 76 years later, the latter agreed inter alia that while Israel wanted American Jews to immigrate, it would not pressure them to do so.
A provocative opinion piece published over the weekend in the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon looks to change that. In it, columnist and former editor Haggai Segal — a longtime leader of the settler movement and a former member of the Jewish Underground terrorist group — issued a “final call” to American Jews, demanding that they make aliyah. “Dear brothers, you are traitors,” Segal writes. “You are committing treason against us and committing treason against yourselves.”
Segal delivers an ultimatum to American Jews: Immigrate to Israel en masse in the next five years, or else the Israeli Rabbinate should effectively excommunicate U.S. Jews and no longer include them when considering what percentage of Jews live in the Land of Israel (a consideration for certain aspects of Jewish law). He also calls for the shuttering of the Jewish Agency for Israel and ending its emissary program if American Jews don’t immigrate — apparently oblivious to the fact that the vast majority of the Jewish Agency’s funding comes from American Jewry.
While Segal’s threats are both improbable, impractical and off-base, his column condemning American Jews for choosing to remain in the Diaspora has nevertheless struck a nerve, both with Diaspora Jews, who bristled at the condescension and the anachronistic “negation of the Diaspora” (shlilat hagola), and even among conservative Israelis who broadly agree with his outlook but considered his tough tone and threats of excommunication to be counterproductive to the cause.
The past two-plus years since the Oct. 7 terror attacks have underscored the interconnectedness of all Jews, with events in Israel directly affecting those abroad, and world Jewry providing greater support for causes in Israel. But for many in Israel, this bloody period has also highlighted the differences between those serving on the front lines of what they consider to be an existential conflict for the survival of the Jewish People and those who are not.
‘AID THE WRONGED’
Wexner fellows launch fund to support sexual violence survivors amid Epstein reckoning
A group of Wexner Foundation fellows has launched a fund to support survivors of sexual violence as members of the prestigious alumni community continue to grapple with Jewish philanthropist Les Wexner’s decades-long relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Called The ASHRU Fund (Advocacy for Survivors, for Healing, Repair and Understanding), the first $100,000 raised will be donated to World Without Exploitation, a coalition focused on ending sexual trafficking, and the National Survivor Network, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Looking Inward: “There’s been a lot of discussion among the fellowship community, about what does this mean for us, and how are we potentially implicated and what is Les’ own culpability?” Rabbi Josh Feigelson, president and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and a member of the group behind ASHRU, told eJP. “What I think everybody can get behind is the idea that we should be supporting the Epstein victims, that that is an important act of tikkun [repair].”
IN MEMORIAM
Remembering activist Zaki Djemal, who friends and family say was driven by a need to fix the world
Yotam Polizer first met Zaki Djemal in Nepal, where he served as Djemal’s madrich (counselor). On a backpacking trip after his army service, Djemal — an Israeli venture capitalist and activist, who died last month of a heart attack at 38 — had come to help communities who were struggling with domestic violence and human trafficking in the Himalayan mountains with the Israeli nonprofit Tevel B’Tzedek. Though Polizer was five years older than Djemal and technically his supervisor, their roles quickly reversed — a recurring situation for Djemal, Polizer told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Like dreamers: Born in London and raised in Jerusalem, Djemal had a deep sense of justice and Jewish values from a young age, his brother, David, told eJP. Since his brother’s death, many people who knew Djemal have described him as an optimist, which David said came not from a rosy outlook but from a determination to change things for the better. “It came from almost a mission statement that… ‘I have to make it better because I don’t want to live in a world that’s worse,’” said David Djemal. “He sees Israel as a country that tackles hard problems and builds hard things. And I think that that aspect of him, his pride for Israeli innovation and his ability to put it on a world stage, says a lot about the things that he believed in,” Wendy Singer, Djemal’s friend and former executive director of Startup Nation Central, told eJP.
RETURNING TO OUR ROOTS
The farmers of Israel’s North aren’t fighting for nostalgia but for our independence
“Israel’s orchards and vineyards are not scenery; they are identity. They are the living, breathing expression of the Zionist dream, of a people returning to their land, putting their hands in the soil, and saying: We are home. We are staying,” writes Danielle Abraham, the executive director of ReGrow Israel, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Facts on the ground: “When thousands of rockets fell on the North, the population was evacuated for their safety. Our farmers, however, refused to leave. … I asked them why. Their answer was simple: ‘This is our independence.’ If we leave, the frontline moves with us. Our farmers understood that our connection to this land is not simply symbolic. It is existential.”
ALTERNATE REALITIES
Location, location, location: The road Zionism took
“In separate novels, Yossi Avni-Levy and Michael Chabon imagine Jewish sovereignty built somewhere other than Israel [in Poland and Alaska, respectively], and in doing so converge on the same unsettling question: What if the state had been built on different ground?” writes Sharon Pardo, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “These imagined geographies are not better, but they are simpler. They strip away layers of meaning that, in Israel, cannot be set aside.”
Burdens of sovereignty: “Before statehood, Jews lived with vulnerability and without sovereignty. Today’s Israel exists in a region where sovereignty itself is contested. The result is not only strength. It is exposure. Exposure here does not connote weakness. It means living at the intersection of risk, consequence and great-power pressure. Israel is both threatened and central. Its location draws in allies and adversaries alike. Its conflicts do not remain local. They accumulate meaning and attract wider involvement.”
Worthy Reads
Above it All: In The Atlantic, Noah Hawley describes a weekend getaway with Jeff Bezos and what he learned about the world of billionaires. “At drinks on the second night, the head of a major talent agency asked me what I thought of the weekend. I said, ‘I’ve spent my whole career trying to figure out how the world works. I didn’t realize I could just come here and ask the people who ran it.’ … The closer I’ve gotten to the world of wealth, the more I understand that being truly rich doesn’t mean amassing enough money to afford superyachts, private jets, or a million acres of land. It means that everything becomes effectively free. … When you can buy your way out of any mistake, when you can fire anyone who disagrees with you, when your social circle consists entirely of people who need something from you, the basic mechanism by which humans learn that other people are real goes dark.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency spotlights two former Australian contestants who reflect on how the annual International Bible Quiz, which was held today, shaped their lifelong connection to Israel and created a global network of Jewish friendships. Hodaya Cohen, an 11th grade student from the central Israeli town of Gedera, was named this year’s youth champion…
The Wall Street Journal reports the Gates Foundation is slashing its global workforce by 20% to rein in costs while simultaneously launching an external audit into past ties with Jeffrey Epstein…
Two IDF soldiers involved in the desecration of a statue of Jesus in a southern Lebanese Christian town were sentenced to 30 days in military detention and will be removed from combat duty; six others who witnessed the incident, a photo of which went viral earlier this week, will be summoned for further discussions…
The British Jewish News interviewed London Mayor Sadiq Khan about the local Jewish community’s fears following a wave of arson attacks that appear to be encouraged by Iran…
The arsonist who pleaded guilty to attacking a North London synagogue on Saturday night was released on bail by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday, drawing condemnation from the local Jewish community, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Kanye West was spotted leaving the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles as the singer faces the cancellation of numerous stops on his upcoming European tour; some countries, including the U.K. and France, have revoked his entry permit, while in others, the venues and organizers themselves canceled shows due to West’s past antisemitic comments…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that while total giving saw a 5% uptick in 2025, the donor base is becoming increasingly top-heavy — with major donors now providing 80% of all funding as the number of everyday supporters continues to decline….
Inside Philanthropy highlights the McKnight Foundation’s boosting of its 2026 payout by an additional $20 million to address the “Operation Metro Surge” crisis — a move that prioritizes immediate community stability over traditional endowment preservation…
Speaking at a health care summit on Tuesday, Mark Cuban, who had backed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, said he would not support her in a future bid as she mulls entering the 2028 race…
New York magazine profiles Rabbi Eliezer Lawrence’s emergence as the city’s most sought-after mohel — blending a “theater-kid” charisma with an inclusive, modern sensibility that resonates across the Jewish spectrum…
Major Gifts
Michael and Susan Dell have pledged $750 million to the University of Texas at Austin to launch a life sciences hub and medical center—bringing their total lifetime giving to Michael Dell’s alma mater to $1 billion…
Feeding South Florida facilitated an in-kind gift of 10,800 eggs to the Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County…
Transitions
Rabbi Jim Rogozen, the director of the Center for Excellence in Day School Education at Builders of Jewish Education, announced that he is retiring…
Danny Weininger is joining the National Library of Israel as its head of professional development in North America…
Pic of the Day
Baltimore community leaders, including Mayor Brandon Scott (third from left), Andrew Cushnir (left), president and CEO of The Associated, Baltimore’s Jewish federation, and Beth Goldsmith (third from right), cut the ribbon on Sunday on the Goldsmith Campus, the new headquarters of The Associated and home to the majority of its agencies.
“Being together on one campus strengthens collaboration across our network and enhances our ability to respond to our community’s needs,” the federation said in a statement.
Birthdays
Real estate developer and principal owner of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf turns 76…
Calgary-based CEO of Balmon Investments, Alvin Gerald Libin turns 95… Co-founder of Human Rights Watch, formerly national director of the ACLU and then president of George Soros’ Open Society Institute, Aryeh Neier turns 89… English journalist and former anchor of BBC Television’s “Newsnight,” Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael turns 88… Conductor and professor of music at Boston University, Joshua Rifkin turns 82… Former mayor of Madison, Wis., he has served as mayor three times for a total of 22 years, Paul R. Soglin turns 81… Former chief economist at the World Bank, Sir Nicholas Herbert Stern turns 80… Managing director emeritus of Kalorama Partners, D. Jeffrey “Jeff” Hirschberg… President and chief investment officer of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google, Ruth Porat turns 69… Four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The Washington Post, Sari Horwitz turns 69… New York City area accountant, he is chief financial officer at Melar Acquisition Corp, Edward Lifshitz… Chicago-based philanthropist and immediate past board chair of Ramah Camping Movement, Arnie Harris… New Zealand native now serving as the CEO of Australian-based job-board SEEK, Ian Mark Narev turns 59… Founder and editor of the data-journalism and research initiative themadad, Shmuel Rosner turns 58… NYC-based attorney, co-founding partner of Kriss & Feuerstein LLP, Jerold C. Feuerstein turns 58… Senior writer at The Forward and the author of My Jesus Year: A Rabbi’s Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith, Benyamin Cohen turns 51… Russian and Israeli public figure, media manager and an art dealer, Yegor Altman turns 51… Member of the Knesset for the National Unity party, Yehiel Moshe “Hili” Tropper turns 48… Tel Aviv-based deputy bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, Shayndi Raice… Associate VP of external communications for the Jewish Federations of North America, Niv Elis… Former president of Y Combinator and now the CEO of OpenAI, Samuel H. “Sam” Altman turns 41… Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Zachary Krooks… Retired competitive ice dancer, Elliana Pogrebinsky turns 28… Rock climber and actress, L.B. Taylor…
