Your Daily Phil: Israeli candidates duke it out over Diaspora affairs
Add EJP on GoogleGood Thursday morning!
IIn today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we recap last night’s election panel on Israel’s relationship with world Jewry. We speak with Steven H. Lavin about his $30 million donation to Hebrew University to train more physicians. We also report on a World Jewish Congress summit in Dublin where antisemitism envoys pushed social media companies to rein in online Jew hatred, and interview artist and philanthropist Barbara Hines, who discovered her Jewish roots late in life, about her first solo Israeli show. We feature an opinion piece by Seth Pinsky reflecting on the challenges of the moment for American Jewry and a piece by Sophia Adler Varon about the benefits of Jewish campus organizations and national programs taking a collaborative rather than siloed approach to serving Jewish students. Also in this issue: Michael Moritz, Evan LePatner and Sylvan Adams.
Today’s Your Daily Phil was curated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, Israel Editor Justin Hayet and Opinion Editor Rachel Kohn. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
In Baku, Azerbaijan, the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia kicks off today after a day of preparatory meetings on Wednesday. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is representing Israel at the gathering, which is also being attended by Iranian officials and figures from across the Middle East.
What You Should Know
Many Diaspora Jews who care about the future of Israel have been watching the election campaigns in Israel unfold from afar. And while Diaspora affairs do not rank high in Israelis’ concerns in the Oct. 27 election — security and the economy are the top issues — most Zionist political parties have given thought to the issue, whether in their platforms or when candidates are asked about antisemitism and Israel’s connection to world Jewry, reports Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Last night, eJP and JI, in partnership with Anu: Museum of the Jewish People and the Peoplehood Coalition, conducted an election panel at the museum, with support from Anu’s Tisch Center for Jewish Dialogue, the American Zionist Movement, Global Jewry, Belong, Masa and the Jewish Federation of Tulsa (Okla.). In a debate moderated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, eight candidates discussed how their parties plan to commit themselves to ties with global Jewry.
News
ON THE GROUND
Visiting Israel, Steven H. Lavin announces $30M gift to Hebrew U. to boost physician training
Visiting Israel this month, food processor and philanthropist Steven H. Lavin announced a $30 million donation to Hebrew University this week for a program aimed at significantly increasing the number of physicians that its medical school can train. To his chagrin, he said, the university is also awarding him an honorary doctorate in the humanities on Monday. “I told them they could find somebody better, but they got upset, so my wife told me to behave,” he told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross, speaking while visiting southern Israel. “That’s the truth. So I’ll take the degree. It’s very nice of them.”
Personal priorities: His $30 million donation to Hebrew University, he said, comes as a result of a long-standing relationship with the school and its vice president for university advancement and external relations, Yossi Gal, and a desire to merge his support for Israel with his family’s existing contributions toward medicine. “Because of the severe shortage and growing shortage of doctors — and psychologists and technicians — both before the war but also [even] more and more visibly in the aftermath of Oct. 7, we decided to focus on that area, as well as others, but that’s the primary focus right now,” Lavin said.
APP ATTACK
At WJC Dublin antisemitism forum, envoys press social media firms to crack down on Jew hatred
A new report from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America demonstrates how, even among hawkish experts in Washington, the question is increasingly not how to preserve the traditional model of military aid to Israel, but what should replace it, Matthew Shea reports for eJewishPhilanthropy‘s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Allies with benefits: “The question for policymakers is not what America owes Israel. It is what America gains from having Israel as an ally — and how much more both countries can gain by making that alliance stronger,” JINSA said in a statement accompanying the report, titled “Shifting the Center of Gravity: Transforming the U.S.-Israel Security Partnership.”
DIVINE INSPIRATION
Artist, philanthropist Barbara Hines, who discovered Jewish roots late in life, opens first Israeli show
Raised in a typical, secular Australian Christian home, artist and philanthropist Barbara Hines attended Sunday school at a local Methodist church and celebrated Christmas and Easter just like all her friends and neighbors in suburban Sydney. She knew she had been born in Germany and immigrated shortly after World War II. But what she didn’t know was that her parents, assimilated German Jews, were also Holocaust survivors and that 86 extended family members had been murdered by the Nazis, reports Judith Sudilovsky for eJewishPhilanthropy.
City of Gold: Today, Hines, an internationally exhibited painter and philanthropist whose journey in discovering her Jewish roots began in midlife when her then-teenage son began exploring Judaism, will inaugurate her first Israeli solo exhibition, “Jerusalem in My Soul,” with 30 paintings focused on the city, at the Moshe Castel Museum of Art in the Israeli settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. Hines told eJP that she plays with light, shadow and shape to bring together mystical elements, architecture and history, and her deep connection to her rediscovered Jewish heritage.
Opinion
MEETING THIS MOMENT
Between panic and complacency
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Jewish Future Promise’s Mike Leven and Hadara Ishak note that bequest giving jumped almost 20% last year, according to the latest Giving USA report — the third big leap in just four years.
Blueprint for change: “For years, many assumed expanding Jewish day schools required building massive stand-alone campuses costing $35 million or more. That model may work in some communities, but it cannot scale quickly enough or affordably enough to meet the moment we are now facing. But another model is emerging, one rooted in operational efficiency, scalability and smart growth. As someone who spent decades building franchise businesses and hospitality companies, I recognize a scalable model when I see one.”
SYSTEM UPDATE
Beyond silos: Rethinking how we support Jewish students on campus
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Sophia Adler Varon, manager of strategic initiatives for The Bronfman Fellowship and director of its Campus Commons program, writes about the synergy that can develop when national campus initiatives have a collaborative, communicative relationship with the on-campus professionals involved in Jewish life.
“While our team can offer specialized expertise, campus professionals hold the institutional knowledge and local context needed to help a student turn that learning into meaningful action. … When we build on each other’s strengths, students have more people in their corner, more opportunities to lead and a stronger network to carry with them beyond college.”
Worthy Reads
Late-Stage Identity: In J. the Jewish News of Northern California, venture capitalist and philanthropist Michael Moritz, the son of German Jewish refugees, says that Oct. 7 made him an “October 8th Jew,” a term for Jews whose identity the attack reawakened and that he faults the Israeli government for squandering global goodwill afterward. “Episodes five and six of the current season of “Fauda” do far more to make the case for Israel than anything Netanyahu has done since Oct. 7.”
Insufficient Focus: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, contributor and former grants manager Katherine Trujillo warns that the wave of philanthropic pledges to Trump Accounts, including a $6.25 billion commitment from Michael and Susan Dell, could let the government off the hook and widen the wealth gap. “Government answers to voters while philanthropy answers to donors. When public programs rely on philanthropy to work, private funders gain greater influence over policy. That makes it easier for government to do less.”
Major Gifts
Robert Kraft and the Kraft family donated $5 million for naming rights to the Chabad at Chestnut Mill (Mass.) which will now be called the Kraft Family Chabad at Chestnut Hill…
Len Blavatnik and his Blavatnik Family Foundation committed an additional $15 million to the Council on Foreign Relations to expand its paid Blavatnik Internship Program, bringing the foundation’s total backing of the program to $27 million…
Sandys Row Synagogue, London’s oldest surviving Ashkenazi synagogue, received £145,092 ($192,000) from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £40,000 ($53,000) from the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust to secure its future as a place of worship and learning…
The Knight Foundation donated $10 million to Public Media Co., a nonprofit that has raised about $87 million to keep 186 public radio stations on the air since Congress cut their federal funding…
Transitions
Cleveland Hillel hired Tilly Shemer as its next executive director…
Philanthropy Roundtable named Kim Dennis, Robert P. George and Carrie Coors Tynan as distinguished fellows…
Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County hired Amara Kaiyalethe as its vice president of major and transformational gifts and Sharona Thall as its vice president of philanthropy…
Ellie Kirshenbaum joined Repair the World as its senior director of talent acquisition & strategy…
For the Sake of Argument, an organization dedicated to helping Jewish communities debate and learn about Israel and belonging, hired Ariel Stein as its program and partnerships manager — its first U.S.-based staff member…
CyberWell hired Adi Ainbinder as its grants and donor manager…
Word on the Street
EEvan LePatner spoke with Fortune magazine about the foundation he started to honor his wife, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, who was shot and killed last year…
The Anti-Defamation League found Wikipedia has yet to clean up pages on Hamas, Zionism and Oct. 7 that were shaped by an alleged anti-Israel editing campaign, and 91% of one banned editor’s changes to six key articles remain live, reports Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen…
Kibbutz Be’eri opened a Sylvan Adams-funded bike park for Western Negev children this week, which will host Israel’s first qualifier for the Pump Track World Championship…
Families of Americans killed in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel said a State Department memorial event honoring their loved ones offered a meaningful recognition of their loss, with some calling on the U.S. government to take further action and investigate the attacks, reports Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea…
Literary agent Neil Blair launched High Line Publishing Studio, which will publish Jewish and Israeli authors, whom, its founders say, mainstream British publishers have shunned since Oct. 7…
According to data analyzed by the nonprofit Yotzim L’Shinui, 15.3% of young men and 11.9% of young women leave Haredi society by age 30 — more than was previously believed…
New York City will invest $30 million in a new quantum research lab at New York University in exchange for 15% of any profits from what the lab develops, the first deal under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s revamped Economic Development Corporation…
Morocco opened the Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture earlier this week, featuring galleries on synagogues, Hebrew schools, rabbinical courts and life-cycle traditions…
According to a new Israel Democracy Institute poll, 72% of Jewish Israelis want the next government to pass a law drafting Haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces, and 71% want a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7…
Former Trump attorney Alina Habba told President Donald Trump that former Kennedy Center head Ric Grenell never deposited a $5.6 million donation from her husband, prompting a White House review…
Yaakov Shahar, owner of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team, is seeking $100 million for the club. His earlier deal to sell a 50% stake to American investors collapsed six months ago and investment bank Raine Group is now canvassing buyers…
Billionaire Patrick Drahi is putting $25 million into expanding the airport on Nevis, the Caribbean island where he lives, with a longer runway and parking for private jets…
The Wall Street Journal reviews the Jewish Museum in New York’s exhibition that sets medieval Prague’s Jewish ritual art beside Christian reliquaries from St. Vitus Cathedral to show how much the two traditions shared…
Jewish members of the U.K.’s Green Party are planning to sue the party for discrimination over its recent passage of a measure declaring Zionism to be a form of racism…
The Justice Department’s page for the first stop of its national antisemitism tour, in Southfield (Mich.) directs visitors to a Zionist Organization of America registration page seeking donations, which former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter calls improper and ZOA’s Michigan chapter says covers security costs…
Fred Lokoff, who built Bryn Mawr Stereo into a regional electronics chain and co-founded a foundation honoring his late daughter to support early childhood educators, died at 92…
Richard Katz, an Atlanta-area entrepreneur and Marine veteran who provided the initial funding for the Richard and Jean Katz Temima High School for Girls, died at 95…
Pic of the Day
Holocaust survivors, age 90 and above, gather at the Tiberias restaurant in Midtown Manhattan yesterday for an annual birthday celebration organized by the nonprofit The Blue Card. Thirty-four survivors attended the event, where they received “mini makeovers” as well as gifts and a festive meal.
“This is truly one of those occasions where we are celebrating life,” Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, said in a statement. “To celebrate a 100th birthday with someone who survived the Holocaust is an extraordinary joy. These survivors were once children whose futures were nearly stolen from them. Today, we celebrated a century of life and reminded them how deeply they are loved.”
Birthdays
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig, founder and dean of the Talmudic University of Florida in Miami Beach, turns 84
Jack Newman, retired from the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1996, he is a mediator and arbitrator, turns 87
Haim Saban, media mogul, major donor to the Democratic Party and producer of “Power Rangers,” turns 82
Barbara Corday, television executive, writer and producer known for co-creating “Cagney & Lacey,” turns 82
Alan D. Bersin, senior advisor at Covington & Burling, he was commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the Obama administration, turns 80
Lawrence John Miller, comedian, actor, podcaster and columnist, turns 73
Mindy Hersh, Miami-based mental health counselor and senior executive producer of the My Survivor Film Project
Alain Cohen, owner of Los Angeles-based Got Kosher? Bakery, turns 71
Yossi Shelley, Israeli ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, turns 69
Darrell Steven Steinberg, former mayor of Sacramento, Calif., turns 67
Neil Kugelman, founder and CEO of Refinement Services, a provider of software for precious-metal redemption retailers
Mitchell “Moyshe” Allen Silk, former U.S. Treasury official, he is reported to have been the first Hasidic Jew to hold a Senate-confirmed administration position, turns 65
Andrew Fawer, founding partner of Equalitas Capital and managing director at Allegiant Real Estate Capital
Shai Franklin, director of national government relations at Gotham Government Relations & Communications, turns 61
Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and chief executive of the global investment firm Citadel, turns 58
Stu Loeser, press secretary to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, now a political communications strategist, turns 53
Melissa Batya Cohen Biden, documentary filmmaker, she is married to Hunter Biden, turns 40
Jesse Levine, director of racquet sports at Shell Bay in Boca Raton, Fla., and former professional tennis player, turns 39
Elizabeth Kenigsberg, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker
Mitch Glasser, second baseman on Israel’s National Baseball Team from 2017 to 2021, turns 37
Heiko Stoiber, director of strategic initiatives at the Modern Art Museum in Shanghai
