Your Daily Phil: In shadow of war, Tel Aviv summit proposes: Give peace a chance
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine a recent encounter between Israeli entrepreneur and peace activist Eyal Waldman and an anti-Israel demonstrator on the streets of Venice. We cover a recent Tel Aviv peace summit, which supporters say offers an alternative for Diaspora Jews to engage with Israel even if they don’t support its government, and examine the key takeaways from this week’s Milken Institute Global Conference. We feature an opinion piece by Jessica Zmood highlighting the need for more culturally attuned and financially accessible mental health care for the Jewish community, and a piece by Kenneth L. Marcus calling for a civil rights movement for American Jewry. Also in this issue: Adeena Sussman, Adrian Cohen and Rabbi Aaron Starr.
Today’s Your Daily Phil was curated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, Opinion Editor Rachel Kohn and Israel Editor Justin Hayet. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
Voters in the U.K. are casting ballots in local elections around the country, amid a spike in antisemitic violence in the country.
UJA-Federation of New York is hosting an intergenerational fireside chat in Manhattan tonight featuring Kim Murstein and Gail Rudnick, the creators of the popular podcast “Excuse My Grandma.”
The Washington Institute for Foreign Policy is holding its annual policy dinner tonight.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD FROM EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS
After 2 1/2 years of regular, at-times violent, anti-Israel demonstrations around the world, the confrontation between a small bearded man waving a Palestinian flag and Israeli tech entrepreneur Eyal Waldman on the streets of Venice, Italy, yesterday was, on its face, an insignificant incident.
In a video of the event, which took place on the sidelines of the Venice Biennale, Waldman is seen approaching the anti-Israel activist, shaking his hand and asking with a smile, “Do you want to do peace [with Israel]?” The protester, who said he was from Gaza, responds, “No,” because Israelis “are animals.” Upon discovering Waldman’s nationality, the man yanks his hand away, repeatedly calls Waldman a “murderer” and yells expletives at him. No one was physically harmed, and Waldman appears more bemused by the situation than hurt by it.
But despite this kind of exchange becoming increasingly commonplace, this encounter nevertheless stands out. And the reason why is this: Few Israelis can claim to have done more to support peace with Palestinians and support Palestinians than Eyal Waldman. And Waldman, who sold his chip-making company Mellanox Technologies to Nvidia for $6.8 billion in 2019, has continued to do so even after his daughter, Danielle, was killed along with her boyfriend, Noam Shai, in the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Waldman, who employs Palestinian tech workers, donated $360,000 to a Gazan hospital and funded an initiative to develop a framework for a two-state solution, has grown somewhat more hawkish in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks — stressing the need to remove Hamas and other terror groups from power by force — but remains committed to peace.
There is tragic irony in a person like Waldman, whose daughter was murdered by terrorists, being called a “murderer,” and there is something wryly humorous about someone with so demonstrable a commitment to peace and the well-being of Palestinians being shouted out and hounded away by supposed pro-Palestinian protesters.
But beyond the surface-level absurdity, the encounter demonstrates that reality and nuance are of no interest to the mobs.
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
Tel Aviv peace summit offers alternative for Diaspora Jews looking to support Israel, but not its government
As the wars with Iran and Hezbollah still hang in the air amid fragile ceasefires, and with most of the country supporting a resumption of fighting on both fronts, the leaders of the It’s Time coalition pulled off an unexpected feat last week: hosting thousands of people at a sold-out peace summit. As Jewish philanthropists and leaders struggle to engage the young American Jews who are increasingly losing their connection to Israel, the It’s Time coalition is looking to offer a solution: fund the peace camp, reports Rachel Gutman for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Get in there: Sally Gottesman, a U.S.-based philanthropist who supported the summit, called on other Zionist Diaspora funders to get involved, warning that not doing so risked leaving a vacuum that would be filled by radical voices. “[Jewish institutions in the Diaspora] are shooting themselves in the foot by not wanting to talk about those things,” she said. “That’s what young Jews want to talk about. So they’re either alienating people from being involved at all, or pushing them to the far left.”
TOXIC TIDE
Milken crowd sees dangerous convergence of populism and antisemitism
The country’s consummate insiders gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills this week. But far away from the five-star hotels where attendees closed business deals and mingled over salmon bento boxes, there is concern over an anti-elite sentiment that is dominating American politics, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider from the gathering.
Not good for the Jews: The executives, philanthropists and politicians who attended the gathering worry that the intermingling of populism and antisemitism, already heightened following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel 2 ½ years ago, represents a dangerous combination. “Antisemitism is a manifestation of extremism and populism,” Jeffrey Solomon, TD Bank’s vice chair, told JI. “Extremism on the left and extremism on the right, neither one of those is good for us as Jews, but it’s not good for a lot of people.”
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
MIND THE GAP
Awareness isn’t access: Jewish mental health since Oct. 7
“In May, we mark both Mental Health Awareness Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. Together, they ask not only who we are as a community, but how we care for one another, especially in moments that test us,” writes Jessica Zmood, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Gesher Community Care, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Unmet needs: “Across the country, individuals are navigating not only anxiety or depression, but identity destabilization, chronic stress and trauma connected to antisemitism in ways that feel immediate and ongoing. What many are seeking is not just a place to talk, but sustained, individualized care with clinicians who understand these experiences. And too often, that care is difficult to access. … This is not a failure of commitment. It is a mismatch between infrastructure and moment.”
REJECT FALSE BARGAINS
A third emancipation for American Jewry requires a Jewish civil rights movement
“For centuries, Jewish life in the West has followed a recurring cycle: emancipation, retrenchment and renewal. Periods of opening in which Jews are granted rights and welcomed into public life, followed by periods of contraction in which those gains are limited, contested or quietly reversed. And then, often, periods of renewal — driven by law or political change, sometimes by war, or by the determined effort of those unwilling to accept exclusion as inevitable,” writes Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
The case of American Jewry: “Right now, we are in a period of retrenchment, evidenced by ongoing and seemingly constant antisemitic violence, exclusion, discrimination and terror. But this moment is not only defined by risk; it also presents a critical opportunity to shape what comes next. … [T]he Jewish community and its allies must build a movement organized across three mutually reinforcing domains: scholarship, litigation and public policy. Each addresses a different point of failure; each is necessary and none is sufficient on its own. Together, they can create durable change.”
Worthy Reads
Spirit Over State: In The Times of Israel, Ulpan Citizens Cafe founder Tamar Pross argues that while Diaspora Jews are exhausted by the “heavy door” of Israeli politics and advocacy, they remain deeply connected to Israeliness. “Israel – the country, the political entity, the news cycle – has become genuinely hard to carry. It is heavy with grief, with argument, with positions you are expected to defend at dinners and in WhatsApp groups, in classrooms and on LinkedIn. … Israeliness is something different. It is the spirit. The directness. The aliveness. The cab driver who has opinions about your love life before you’ve given him your destination. … Israeliness is not contested. It does not require you to take a position. It does not appear in headlines. It cannot be argued with at a Shabbat table because it is not an argument, it is an experience.” [TOI]
Billionaire Branding: In Inside Philanthropy, Michael Kavate details a pervasive “cultural silence” on billionaire influence through the prism of the Skoll World Forum. “All one had to do to be reminded of near-ubiquitous billionaire influence was wander around the Skoll World Forum reading signs and nametags…I doubt that nonprofits and philanthropy will be able — and here, I’m going to borrow the buzzwords used in so much of Skoll’s agenda — to mobilize leadership, drive change and move capital without actually discussing one group of capital-rich leaders driving change, i.e., billionaires. When that group has become so influential that the Ford Foundation’s president believes her most important role may be as a fundraiser, it seems like it’s time to talk about it.” [InsidePhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
New data from Candid shows that living billionaires now control nearly half of America’s 25 largest foundations — a twofold increase from a decade ago — marking a historic shift away from traditional legacy philanthropy…
A senior official at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington said that the JCRC is receiving “significantly higher” reports of antisemitism from Montgomery County Public Schools, located just outside of Washington, than others in the region, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs are urging the Canadian government to designate the activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist entity after the group’s publication of a “target map” and a manual for “direct action” against institutions linked to Israel…
Adeena Sussman’s newest cookbook, Zariz, was named to The New York Times’ best-seller list in the Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous category; read Jewish Insider’s interview with Sussman about Zariz here…
Reconstructing Gaza is projected to cost $71 billion over five years, following a report from the World Bank, United Nations and European Union that details $35.2 billion in physical damage and $22.7 billion in economic losses after two years of conflict…
Ted Turner, a media tycoon who founded CNN and pioneered the 24-hour news cycle before becoming a philanthropist, died at 87…
Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim, a prominent Cleveland rabbi and community leader who was the first woman to chair the Israel Bonds national rabbinic advisory council, died at 64…
Transitions
Eradicate Hate, the anti-extremism group formed in the wake of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting, appointed six new members to its board of directors: Sara Carlson, Colin P. Clarke, Robert DeMichiei, Heidi Ellis, Vidhya Ramalingam and Robert Scherrer…
Alana Hollander was hired as director of programs at Slingshot…
Bryan Hanan Oren has joined the Jerusalem Youth Chorus Impact Fellowship as its director…
Adrian Cohen has been named acting president of the British Board of Deputies for a two-month term while Phil Rosenberg takes paternity leave…
Pic of the Day
A coalition of more than 500 rabbis, pastors and faith leaders gather in Washington this week for the annual Israel Advocacy Day, focused on strengthening U.S.-Israel security ties, combating antisemitism and securing better protection for faith-based institutions.
The event, which included 115 meetings on Capitol Hill, was organized by the evangelical group Eagles’ Wings, the Jewish Federations of North America, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA and the Israel Allies Foundation.
Writing on Facebook after the lobbying effort, Rabbi Aaron Starr of suburban Detroit hailed the organizers for standing with the Jewish community, which increasingly feels under threat, and demonstrating “determination to overturn Bilaam’s prophecy that the Jews are a people who dwell apart.”
He added: “To feel lonely is part of the Jewish experience in particular, and so we must thank and appreciate and also find a way to internalize that we Jews have friends and allies. We Jews, and Israel in particular, have friends and allies. Maybe we Jews aren’t alone after all.”
Birthdays
Head of school at Manhattan Day School, Pesha C. Kletenik…
Member of the New York state Assembly from 1993 to 2022, Sandra R. “Sandy” Galef turns 86… Senior member of the Mobile, Ala., law firm of Silver Voit Garrett & Watkins, Irving Silver turns 86… Napa, Calif.-based media executive and podcast host, Jeffrey Schechtman… Theatrical producer at Press the Button Productions in Monterey, Calif., Jane J. Press… Former member of the Knesset for the Shas party, Rabbi Meshulam Nahari turns 75… Former deputy secretary of state and deputy national security advisor, currently the dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS, James Braidy “Jim” Steinberg turns 73… Director of many commercially successful films including “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” “Look Who’s Talking” and “Clueless,” Amy Heckerling turns 72… President of Harvard University, Alan Michael Garber turns 71… Mayor of El Paso, Texas, from 2013 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2025, Oscar Leeser turns 68… Professional poker player and hedge fund manager, Daniel Shak turns 67… CEO of Rationalwave Capital Partners, a venture capital firm investing in technology companies, Mark Rosenblatt… Emmy Award-winning film, television and music video director, Adam Bernstein turns 66… Mexican actor best known for his work in telenovelas and the stage, Ari Telch turns 64… Co-founder of JewBelong, Archie Gottesman… Chairman and CEO of Hertz from 2022 to 2024, following 28 years at Goldman Sachs, Stephen Scherr turns 62… Former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Mark H. Levine turns 60… CEO of the American Jewish Committee, he was previously a member of Congress for 12 years, Ted Deutch turns 60… Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs, Keith Stern… Chief judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, Matthew Hillel Solomson turns 52… Senior advisor at Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz turns 50… Head of congressional affairs at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, Eyal Naor turns 50… Former member of the Knesset who served as interior minister and justice minister, she now chairs Kardan Real Estate Group, Ayelet Shaked turns 50… AIPAC activist, Yana J. Lukeman… Vice president of sales at Harvey, Robert Warren Saliterman… Social entrepreneur, winemaker and CEO of Napa Valley’s OneHope, Jake Kloberdanz turns 43… Director of government affairs for the Port of Los Angeles, Arthur L. Mandel turns 41… CEO of Harris Media, he has worked on several presidential campaigns, Vincent Robert Harris turns 38… Adventurer, dogsled racer, advice columnist and writer, she raced in and completed the 2019 dog sled Iditarod, Blair Braverman turns 38… Las Vegas-based fashion blogger, model, DJ and writer, known as Bebe Zeva, Rebeccah Zeva Hershkovitz turns 33… Film and television actress, Dylan Nicole Gelula turns 32… Actor and singer, Andrew Barth Feldman turns 24… Mayor of Providence, R.I., Brett Smiley…
