Your Daily Phil: HIAS cuts hundreds of staff, closes offices amid Trump immigration cuts
Good Monday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine the growing controversy surrounding the involvement of far-right European politicians in the Israeli government’s upcoming antisemitism conference. We report on HIAS laying off hundreds of people and closing offices in response to the Trump administration’s cuts, and on a new pilot program looking to turn Washington into a Jewish communal workforce hub. We also look at how a FEMA funding freeze is affecting Jewish nonprofit security grants and at the Milken Institute’s recommendations for boosting the southern Israeli economy post-Oct. 7. We feature an opinion piece by Rabbi Joe Wolfson about the message of Purim for both Israeli society and the Jewish people as a whole, and one by Dahlia Rockowitz calling upon Jewish organizations and funders to respond to the dismantling of the EPA. Also in this newsletter: Nita Lowey, Rabbi Shoshana Hantman and Marian “Cindy” Pritzker.
What We’re Watching
The Lisa and Michael Leffell Foundation, Paul E. Singer Foundation and Maimonides Fund kicked off their second annual “Zionism: A New Conversation” conference in Miami yesterday. The gathering, which brings together rabbis to discuss Israel and Zionism, continues through tomorrow. Read about last year’s conference here.
UJA-Federation of New York is holding a memorial tribute this evening to honor Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) on his first yahrzeit. Hadassah Lieberman, Matt Lieberman, Rabbi Ethan Tucker and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) are slated to speak at the event.
The Ruderman Family Foundation will host its annual conference at Haifa University tomorrow morning, focusing on American Jewish identity post-Oct. 7.
What You Should Know
British antisemitism scholar David Hirsh and British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis are the latest speakers to drop out of an antisemitism conference being hosted by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem later this month in response to the inclusion of several far-right European politicians, writes eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross.
Hirsh and Mirvis join French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, German antisemitism envoy Felix Kleinl and the head of the Germany-Israel Friendship Association, Volker Beck, all of whom have bowed out of the gathering in protest. Several other speakers are reconsidering their participation as well, having apparently been unaware of the far-right politicians involvement.
“In an increasingly hostile world, the State of Israel is hungry for allies, but it must be disciplined in keeping some distance from those who do not share its values. Israel could listen more attentively to the advice of local Jewish communities and it should not offer the populist right, which has fascistic antisemitism in its heritage and amongst its support, an official Jewish stamp of approval,” wrote Hirsh, academic director of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, in a letter announcing his decision to withdraw from the gathering.
Marion Marechal, a far-right French representative to the European Parliament and granddaughter of French politician and Holocaust denier Jean Marie Le Pen; Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party, a successor of Le Pen’s National Front; and Hermann Tertsch, a far-right Spanish member of the European Parliament, are all due to attend the conference. Bardella, whose party Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli publicly supported in France’s recent election over President Emmanuel Macron, is due to deliver a keynote address at the conference.
For these far-right parties, official involvement in an Israeli conference on combating antisemitism provides them with an imprimatur of respectability among their own populations and on the international stage, demonstrable “proof” that they are not antisemitic. By inviting these politicians, Israel’s Diaspora affairs minister indicates a disconnect between the State of Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities, whose leaders have often warned against the rise of these parties.
Their involvement has and will provide ammunition to those claiming that the fight against antisemitism has been irrevocably politicized, that Jew hatred can be deemed acceptable provided it is against Jews of a certain political camp. To others, this embrace of Europe’s far right by Israel and segments of the Jewish world reflects a reshuffling of the geopolitical map and a more accurate reflection of who better represents the Jewish people’s allies in the fight against contemporary antisemitism, which they see as principally coming from Muslim immigrants and the far left.
In any case, the controversy over the inclusion of these politicians has far overshadowed the stated focus of the conference: combating antisemitism. Virtually all of the articles written about the conference so far — in both the Jewish and general press — have focused on who is and isn’t participating, not on the growing number of antisemitic incidents around the world. And it is reasonable to assume that most of the reports from the conference will as well.
Several of the Jewish speakers who are still listed as appearing at the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism have in the past warned against European far-right parties, including Natan Sharansky, a former Israeli government minister and chair of the Jewish Agency; Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt; and William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
On Facebook today, Sharansky explained that while he opposed antisemitism from both the left and the right, along with the fact that the Diaspora Affairs Ministry did not coordinate the politicians’ involvement with the relevant Diaspora communities, he decided to remain in the conference. “Those who continue to hold onto their antisemitic views obviously have no place in conferences against antisemitism. However, those who claim to have changed their views towards Jews certainly deserve to be heard,” Sharansky wrote.
The guest list of the antisemitism conference reflects the Israeli government’s recent embrace of far-right European parties, with which it previously maintained official distance due to many of their founders’ connections to Nazi Germany and more contemporary ties to neo-Nazi groups and Holocaust revisionism. Exceptions to this are German and Austrian far-right parties, whom Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would still keep at arm’s length.
The antisemitism conference, which is scheduled to take place on March 26-27, is meant to serve as the culmination of next week’s “Diaspora Week,” when the Israeli government highlights the Israel-Diaspora relationship through a dedicated cabinet meeting, educational initiatives in schools and other gatherings throughout the country.
IMMIGRATION TRUNCATION
HIAS cuts hundreds of staff, closes multiple international offices as Trump slashes refugee resettlement and foreign aid
Since President Donald Trump took office in January and began issuing executive orders, funding for refugee work in the United States and around the world has ground to a halt, forcing the Jewish immigration nonprofit HIAS to lay off or furlough hundreds of employees in the United States and around the world — including more than 100 people from its U.S. headquarters, or 40% of its workforce — and close many of the organization’s international offices. These initial Trump administration moves are only the beginning, HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield told Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy. “By Oct. 1 [when the federal fiscal year ends], we’ll be a very different agency with a much smaller footprint.”
Perilous job market: All refugee resettlement agencies are downsizing, not just HIAS, and staff are cast into a job market with little prospect for work in their chosen field. This comes after a particularly difficult year for HIAS, during which it had to let go of over 20% of staff after a financial error caused the nonprofit to go over budget by more than $20 million. Ex-employees are “competing for employment with massive numbers of other people who were laid off at the same time,” Hetfield said. “These are people that are completely dedicated to humanitarian work, and they’re gonna have to find something else to do.”
INDUSTRY INVESTMENT
The Jewish Talent Project aims to turn D.C. into a Jewish communal workforce hub
The Jewish Talent Project, a recently launched two-year pilot program, is hoping to turn Washington — already home to many Jewish organizations — into a hub for skilled Jewish professionals, Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim. The initiative, spearheaded and supported by the federation’s former president and president of the Phyllis Margolius Family Foundation, Philip Margolius, will focus on improving working conditions, providing professional development opportunities and enhancing respect and communication within Jewish organizations to attract talent to the Beltway.
Too much for too little: According to Margolius, the project was inspired by the work of his late wife, Phyllis Margolius, a lifetime D.C.-area Jewish lay leader who held over a dozen positions within the Jewish communal world throughout her lifetime. “She felt that [entry-level and mid-management staff] were underpaid and worked too hard,” Margolius said. The Jewish Talent Project’s approach will be two pronged, according to Preuss. On the communal level, JTP will be focused on creating networking and learning opportunities, programming and support for Jewish professionals. On the structural side, the project will select a handful of organizations that will commit to improving working conditions to draw and retain Jewish professionals, with the hope of expanding.
SCOOP
Jewish security grants in limbo amid FEMA funding freeze
A 30-day funding freeze enacted by the Trump administration at FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has caused an immediate pause to the millions of dollars distributed to help vulnerable nonprofits, including many Jewish institutions, meet their security needs, report Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
No reimbursements: Synagogues, Jewish day schools and other organizations that rely on the FEMA funding dispersed through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program have not received reimbursements allocated to them, according to representatives from the Secure Community Network, an organization that provides security services to Jewish nonprofits. NSGP funding has allowed Jewish institutions to purchase security enhancements like impact-resistance windows, security cameras and bollards. Dozens of security professionals from Jewish organizations gathered in a Zoom meeting Thursday afternoon to learn about how to apply for the grants from FEMA, an annual process that is usually straightforward. Instead, the call was used to acknowledge attendees’ fears about the federal funding freeze.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
REVITALIZING FORCE
Financial experts create vision for Israel’s postwar economic recovery
Israel’s Western Negev Region, also called the Gaza Envelope, was once known for its agricultural fields, kibbutzim and peacenik residents. Now, ravaged by the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the evacuation of its residents for more than a year of war, the region is in desperate need of revitalization, estimated to the tune of $6.5 billion to $9.3 billion. Seeing a need, the Milken Institute think tank convened one of its keystone “financial hack-a-thons” called the Financial Innovations Lab, this time bringing together more than 50 venture capitalists, investors, philanthropists and government officials to create a plan for revitalizing Israel’s war-ravaged economy, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports.
Funding platform: The “Innovative Finance for Rebuilding Israel’s Regions” report, released by Milken last month, says, “The context of the war, marked by significant physical destruction and major disruption to the Israeli economy, has created a profound and widespread need for investments” in industries including infrastructure, housing and economic development. To that end, Lab participants came together to devise a funding platform “blending public, philanthropic, and private capital to finance critical infrastructure and business recovery projects.” Lab participants decided the “immediate priority is to establish a centralized blended financing platform that can pool resources and deploy capital efficiently,” and developed a public-private-philanthropic partnership model, laid out in the 64-page report, to meet the moment.
COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW
The meaning of Purim in 2025
“When I was young, I thought that Purim was all about fun. When I grew older, I thought that Purim had deeper, darker messages of living in a world and finding faith even when God’s face is hidden,” writes Rabbi Joe Wolfson, the rabbi and co-director of JLIC TLV, a project of the Orthodox Union, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Both of these are true, but neither is the point. Purim is a survival guide for our people. Of learning not to be our own worst enemy. Of coming together after having been divided. Of building the muscles that bridge the differences.”
A message for our times: “Toldot Yaakov Yosef — the very first published work of Chassidut from 1780, written by a leading disciple of the Baal Shem Tov — makes the following comment: Esther commanded ‘Go and gather all the Jews’ so that there should be a connection and unity between them. With this she overturned Haman’s observation that ‘There is a people scattered and divided’ (3:8), which is to say there is division between them. Esther’s decisive commands are aimed exactly at repairing the weakness that Haman identified. If the Jewish people’s disunity and division is what makes their destruction a possibility, then it will be overcoming that estrangement — building bonds of care and unity between the many parts of the people — that will give them a fighting chance against their enemies… Esther got it right: Go gather the Jews. Make a connection between them. Overturn the designs of Hama(s/n). If we can do that, we’ll be OK.”
SPEAK UP
Lee Zeldin, the first Jewish head of the EPA, needs a refresher on Jewish values
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s “present efforts to diminish and dismantle the EPA put our health, safety and future in peril,” writes Dahlia Rockowitz, director of campaigns and partnership at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, , in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “His record to date is one that puts American livelihoods, health and lives at risk — the very opposite of the Jewish imperative of pikuach nefesh, taking action to save a life. It’s for this reason that leading American Jewish institutions and philanthropists must rise to the occasion and oppose Zeldin’s actions and the harm they’re causing.”
A Jewish perspective: “Every day, EPA staff in Washington and in offices across the country deliver vital services to the American people, ensuring we have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink and that our homes and communities are free from dangerous and deadly chemicals. It’s no exaggeration to say that the EPA’s work is l’dor v’dor, to protect and sustain the American people from generation to generation… The American Jewish community, and American Jewish leaders and funders in particular, should recognize the urgency of this moment and speak out against the damage Zeldin is causing. This is not simply an opportunity to seize moral leadership — it is also in the direct interest of our community, many of whom are already facing the clear and present danger of the climate crisis in southern California and beyond. As Jews, we are uniquely positioned to speak to Zeldin about our commitment to a just, livable world, drawing on our shared text and tradition… As the first Jewish EPA administrator, Zeldin should work to safeguard Americans’ health, safety and futures. If he continues to refuse to do so, the American Jewish leadership must make its voice heard and make clear that Zeldin’s actions are antithetical to our values as a community.”
Worthy Reads
V’nahafoch Hu: In The Guardian, British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis pens a response to a recent opinion piece by anti-Israel writer Peter Beinart who claimed that the story of Purim, which ends with Jews defeating their would-be attackers, demonstrates “the danger that we pose to” non-Jews. “Purim is not a celebration of retribution or slaughter, but of survival against attempted genocide. The Book of Esther repeatedly emphasises that even when the Jews of Persia were finally granted the right to take up arms against those across the empire of its day who sought their destruction, they took no spoils, precisely because they were motivated not by a desire for revenge or the thrill of conquest, but by self-defence. Indeed, this is why Purim is observed to this day without reference to military prowess or vengeance, but with charity for the poor, gifts of food and special meals. Beinart’s astonishing attempt to present the origin of Purim as an expression of blood lust and religious zeal for the downfall of our enemies is utterly baseless and a misappropriation of the true meaning of Purim. In fact, there are many examples in Jewish tradition of precisely the opposite principle: that we may never revel in the suffering of others, even if we ourselves have previously suffered at their hands.” [Guardian]
Columbia Unbecoming (Again): In a deep dive for The Atlantic, Franklin Foer examines the spread of antisemitism at Columbia University and how the Trump administration’s steps against anti-Israel activist alumni and students may prevent the school from addressing it. “Somewhere along the way, one of the nation’s greatest universities lost its capacity to conduct intellectual arguments over contentious issues without resorting to hyperbole and accusations of moral deficiency… [Columbia University Apartheid Divest] doesn’t simply oppose war and occupation; it endorses violence as the pathway to its definition of liberation… When [student] groups endorsed CUAD, they forced Jewish students to confront a painful choice. To participate in beloved activities, they needed to look past the club’s official membership in an organization that endorsed the killing of Jews and the destruction of the world’s only Jewish-majority country… The indiscriminate, punitive nature of Trump’s meddling may unbalance Columbia even further. A dangerous new narrative has emerged there and on other campuses: that the new federal threats result from ‘fabricated charges of antisemitism,’ as CUAD recently put it, casting victims of harassment as the cunning villains of the story. In this atmosphere, Columbia seems unlikely to reckon with the deeper causes of anti-Jewish abuse on its campus.” [TheAtlantic]
When Uncertainty is the Norm: In the Harvard Business Review, Rae Ringel and Lisa Kay Solomon mark the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic with leadership lessons from the experience. “Those early days were marked by uncertainty, fear, and a scramble to adapt to an unprecedented global crisis. Businesses shut their doors overnight, supply chains were disrupted and employees faced massive upheavals in how and where they worked. Business leaders had to make rapid, consequential decisions using incomplete information, all while maintaining trust and stability in their organizations. Five years later, it’s clear that major disruptions are no longer rare events. Whether sparked by global health crises, geopolitical conflicts or technological upheavals, leaders now operate in an environment where significant change can emerge at any moment… Through our work coaching executives across industries, we’ve observed that successful leadership today demands more than just crisis-management skills — it must embrace change as a constant and transform disruption into growth opportunities. In this environment of increasing uncertainty and complexity, leaders must develop five essential skills that together create a new leadership approach capable of transforming disruption into fuel for innovation and growth.” [HarvardBusinessReview]
Word on the Street
Nita Lowey, congresswoman and leading advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship and Jewish community interests in the House, died on Saturday at 87; Stephanie Hausner, a former Lowey intern and campaign staffer who is now COO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, called her a “giant” in the Jewish community; American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said Lowey was “an incredible mentor” and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) called her “a force to be reckoned with”…
In a Times of Israel blog post, Rabbi Shoshana Hantman announces the launch of a new forum for Zionist Reconstructionist rabbis, Beit Kaplan, with 75 members so far, as she says that the movement’s rabbinical college “has succumbed to the new anti-Zionist majority”…
Jewish Insider looks at how the Trump administration’s funding cuts and other threats appear to have spurred Columbia University to take disciplinary action against anti-Israel student protesters…
The Samueli Foundation awarded a four-year, $5 million grant to the Foundation for Jewish Camp to increase the number of children from Orange County, Calif., who benefit from the foundation’s One Happy Camper tuition grant program…
Aileen K. and Brian Roberts and their family have donated $125 million to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to create a 20-story inpatient tower…
Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of international Jewish affairs for the American Jewish Committee, met with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Friday, expressing the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism in Ireland and the country’s “vilification of the State of Israel,” after a planned meeting between Martin and the heads of American Jewish groups was called off…
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency attends a Purim costume event for children with disabilities held at the Israeli President’s Residence in Jerusalem…
The Anti-Defamation League announced its opposition to the nomination of Hamtramck, Mich., Mayor Amer Ghalib to be ambassador to Kuwait, citing his backing of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel and his comments about the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks; the ADL warned that having Ghalib served as U.S. envoy to the Gulf country “could further fuel antisemitic beliefs in the country and across the region”…
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel interviews Igor Alterman, the incoming CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County (Fla.)…
The Jewish Museum of Maryland reopened its doors last month after more than a year and a half of renovations…
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sat for an extensive interview with The New York Times’ that covered antisemitism, last week’s budget vote and the direction of the Democratic Party…
The Washington Post reviews “October 8th,” a new documentary by Wendy Sachs that looks at the rise in antisemitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel…
A new exhibition at New York’s Jewish Museum looks at the depiction of Queen Esther in works by Dutch artists, including Rembrant van Rijn, who lived in a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Amsterdam and derived inspiration from his Jewish neighbors…
In The Washington Post, Yeshiva University constitutional law professor Zalman Rothschild reflects on the benefits and challenges of nonsecular education, drawing from his own childhood experiences in a Haredi yeshiva…
Members of the Druze community in Syria traveled to Israel to visit a shrine in the Galilee region, the first time in decades that such a trip has happened…
Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, whose work shed light on medical treatment disparity, died on Feb. 26 at 86…
Attorney Roy Prosterman, who worked on land-rights issues across the developing world, died on Feb. 27 at 89…
Ruth Perlmutter, a film scholar and co-founder of Philadelphia’s Jewish Film Festival, died on Saturday at 96…
Philanthropist Marian “Cindy” Pritzker, the Pritzker family matriarch and the aunt of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, died on Saturday at 101…
Pic of the Day
Costumed acrobats perform yesterday during a parade in Jerusalem on Shushan Purim.
Birthdays
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, she served on the board of the San Francisco JCRC, Myrna Elizabeth Melgar…
Washington columnist for The Dallas Morning News, Carl Philipp Leubsdorf… Retail and real estate executive, CEO of Wilherst Developers and trustee of publicly traded Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, Mark K. Rosenfeld… Oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Fort Wayne, Ind., Michael Iczkovitz… Susan Schwartz Sklarin… USDOJ official for 20 years, he has also served as a defense attorney, author of a NYT bestseller about his time working on the Mueller Investigation, Andrew Weissmann… Founder, president and CEO of Laurel Strategies, Alan H. H. Fleischmann… Director of legislative affairs at B’nai B’rith International since 2003, Rabbi Eric A. Fusfield… Lead field/floor/sideline reporter for CBS Sports football and basketball broadcasts, Tracy Wolfson… CEO and president at Las Vegas-based Gold Coast Promotions, assisting nonprofits in fundraising, Richard Metzler… Hasidic singer, entertainer and composer, Lipa Schmeltzer… Television writer and producer, he co-created the Netflix animated series “Big Mouth,” Andrew Goldberg… Actor, music producer and stand-up comedian, best known as Gustavo Rocque on the Nickelodeon television series “Big Time Rush,” Stephen Kramer Glickman… Musician and digital strategy executive, Rick Sorkin… Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit since 2019, Judge Robert Joshua Luck… Digital reporter and producer for ABC News including “World News Tonight With David Muir,” Emily Claire Friedman Cohen… Associate professor at GW University in the School of Media and Public Affairs, Ethan Porter… Senior grants officer at the Open Society Foundations, Jackie Fishman… Senior director and general manager at Uber Eats, Annaliese Rosenthal… Los Angeles-based tech journalist and founder of the TechSesh blog, Jessica Elizabeth Naziri… Account executive at Winjit, Zachary Silver… Director of e-commerce strategy at TAGeX Brands, Zach Sherman…
