Your Daily Phil: Israel’s Herzog bestows country’s top honor to Jewish leaders
Good Tuesday morning. Today is Election Day.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on a concert series organized by Hillel International and on Israeli President Isaac Herzog awarding the country’s top medal to international Jewish leaders. We feature an opinion piece by Stacie Chernerabout the value of funders looking at their grantees more holistically, and another by Rabbi Binyomin Mermelstein about how an endowment donation revitalized his school’s fundraising. Also in this newsletter: Rabbi Jonathan Muskat, Dara Kaufman and Andrew Cushnir.We’ll start with philanthropy’s role in today’s elections and the effects that they will have on Jewish nonprofits.
Today’s elections mark the culmination of heated debate, spirited advocacy and furious fundraising in what polls indicate will be a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump for the White House, as well as a close contest for control over Congress, writes eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross.
In their indirect way, Jewish nonprofits and communal institutions have played their role in this year’s elections, not by directly championing candidates, of course, but through the causes that those candidates represent: social and economic justice, reproductive rights, religious freedoms, support for Israel, democracy and more.
Jewish groups have also led nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaigns, and Jewish Community Relations Councils across the country — along with other organizations — have hosted town halls to allow candidates to speak directly to their local Jewish communities.
In addition to these nonpartisan areas, many Jewish philanthropists — including some of the most prominent ones — have also directly backed specific candidates, from Dr. Miriam Adelson’s $100 million support for Trump to Mike Bloomberg’s recent $50 million donation to Harris’ campaign.
But the election also marks an impending shift: As the results emerge, organizations and funders will gain a better sense of local, state and national priorities and where their philanthropic support will be needed most. For funders focused on reproductive rights,will today’s elections mark the start of a bitter uphill battle or of an easier path to expanded abortion access? For those concerned about rising antisemitism, what kind of support can they expect from the incoming administration and congressional leaders? In more practical terms, will the next White House work to alter the tax code to encourage or disincentivize philanthropic giving?
As it’s become trite to say, much is on the line in today’s election, but it is also only the beginning.
MUSICAL MEDLEY
Hillel celebrates Jewish joy, looks to boost engagement with ‘Yallapalooza’ concerts
As rising antisemitism and anti-Israel protests have swept across North American colleges and universities, dominating students’ lives and national media cycles, Hillel International is trying to not lose sight of the lighter, happier aspects of Jewish life on campus, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Jewish joy: On Sunday night, over 2,000 students gathered at the Upper West Side’s Beacon Theater for the first night of Yallapalooza, a three-part concert series for Jewish college students, organized by Hillel and American Jewish reggae musician, Matisyahu. “We’ve really been trying to focus on the joyful side of Jewish life,” Sarah Fried, Hillel International’s chief external affairs officer told eJP.
The Surge: According to Fried, 180,000 students engaged with Hillel’s affiliates across the country last year, the highest number in the organization’s history. Increased student need has also required Hillel to expand its logistical capabilities. “During a year when Jewish college students have faced an alarming increase in antisemitism on campus with strength and courage, it is more important than ever that we support them with opportunities where they can proudly showcase what it means to be Jewish,” Matthew Bronfman, chair of Hillel International’s board of governors, said in a statement.
Giving back: “It felt like a good time to return, to inspire some students and keep people feeling proud about being Jewish,” Matisyahu, whose band consists of old friends from The New School, told eJP.
THE AWARD GOES TO…
Israel’s Herzog to award country’s top honor to 7 Jewish leaders, a German ex-minister
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will award the country’s highest civilian honor to seven Jewish communal leaders, as well as a non-Jewish former German minister, to recognize their contributions to the State of Israel and world Jewry, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. This marks the first time that the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, which was created in 2012, will be presented solely to recipients from outside of the country.
Eight medalists: The recipients are: philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder; Julie Platt, board chair of the Jewish Federations of North America; Malcolm Hoenlein, the former executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Sir Frank Lowy, an Australian-Israeli philanthropist who survived the Holocaust and fought in Israel’s War of Independence; Sir Trevor Chinn, a British businessman and longtime supporter of Jewish and Israeli causes; Mark Leibler, an Australian lawyer whose family is active in Zionist causes; Maurice Lévy, a Moroccan-born French advertising executive; and Brigitte Zypries, a former German minister for economics and energy who spearheaded many Israeli-German governmental partnerships.
National recognition: “[The past year] showcased the diverse and beautiful face of Israeli society and proved, as we have always known and believed, that all of Israel is responsible for one another, that the Jewish communities worldwide and the State of Israel share a common destiny, and that we have great friends and supporters in the world who fight alongside us against antisemitism, defend Israel’s name in the media and have long fought for Israel’s place among the nations,” Herzog told the recipients.
SURVEYS SAY
More powerful together: Gleanings from cross-portfolio evaluations
“More recently, the [The Jim Joseph Foundation has] integrated cross-portfolio evaluation into more of our work to learn about shared outcomes across different sets of grantee-partners,” writes Stacie Cherner, director of research and learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Side effects: “Through a qualitative study with the alumni of [BBYO, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Hillel International, Birthright Israel and Moishe House], we came to understand the added value of the programs, the interactions between outcomes created by the programs and the pathways that take young people from one program to another.”
Knowing more: “While learning about the Jewish education and engagement offerings of each organization is undoubtedly worthwhile, engaging in cross-portfolio evaluation provides deeper insights. We now understand both the distinct and common contributions made by each organization to participants and can identify why the experiences are so powerful.”
WORKED FOR US
Lessons learned from a day school endowment success story
“In 2019, during a pivotal morning meeting, I found myself sitting in a beautifully appointed office overlooking Boston, accompanied by the chairman and immediate past chairman of Torah Academy, the preschool-eighth grade day school where I serve as executive director. Our focus was impressing upon George Krupp, a real estate entrepreneur and major benefactor of Boston’s Jewish community and its day schools, the importance of day schools possessing an endowment. Little did I know that this encounter would lead to a groundbreaking opportunity for Torah Academy,” writes Rabbi Binyomin Mermelstein in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “[After] 15 minutes, he presented us with a $1 million endowment challenge.”
Going for it: “With ‘the wind at our back,’ relentless effort and strategic follow-ups, we successfully met Krupp’s challenge approximately one year later… Contrary to the myth that endowments negatively impact annual giving, our experience at Torah Academy proved otherwise. For many donors, this was their first significant investment in our school’s future, leading to increased overall commitment.”
Added bonus: “One unforeseen benefit to emerge from our efforts was to secure housing for our staff, a pressing need in Boston. The endowment proved crucial in securing loans and mortgages from lenders in our efforts to acquire staff housing… [To] my fellow executive directors, I urge you to recognize that endowment is not a zero-sum game.”
Worthy Reads
The Arc of an Election: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Jonathan Muskat encourages American Jews to learn from Noah’s mistake ahead of today’s election and not lose faith, no matter who wins or loses. “By this Shabbat, we may know the results of this presidential election — though maybe not with full certainty. Some of us will be elated, others deeply disappointed, and some may even think that the world is coming to an end… [If] your candidate doesn’t win, and it feels as though the world is ending, remember to keep advocating for your values. According to a Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 34:6), Noach asked God before leaving the ark, ‘Should I go out and propagate the world only to see it destroyed again?’ God reassured him, encouraging Noach to once again rebuild the world. Yet, Noach’s instinct was to withdraw. The Meshech Chochmah observes that Noach did just that — he isolated himself and ceased to be called ‘ish tzaddik,’ a righteous man, instead becoming an ‘ish adamah,’ a man of the ground, cut off from the world…. [We] must strive to remain an ‘ish tzaddik’ or an ‘isha tzaddika,’ engaged and hopeful afterward, regardless of the outcome… [As] we prepare ourselves for post-election life, let’s take this moment to thank God for the blessings of this country, despite its imperfections. May we embody emunah, faith, especially now, when it is so needed, yet so often absent.” [TOI]
Around the Web
Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot and major donor to Jewish and Republican causes, died yesterday at 95…
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency spotlights Jewish teen activists who are too young to vote but have been working on nonpartisan campaigns to get others to do so…
The Haredi news outlet Shtetl summarizes eight statewide election races with implications for the New York Haredi community…
Dara Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, has been appointed to the commonwealth’s Commission on Combating Antisemitism by Gov. Maura Healey…
Jewish Insider examines the Chicago Jewish community’s lingering concerns about antisemitism on the city’s board of education after the resignation of its president over antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts…
The estate of Stan and Alta Barer donated $45 million to the University of Washington School of Law, expanding the global sustainable development program at the couple’s namesake Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development…
The Times of Israel looks at the impact of Israel’s 2025 budget and the tax-related measures expected to come into effect if it is passed by the government…
Rabbi Alexander Goldberg was installed as the rabbinic leader of the Guildford, England, Jewish community, its first rabbi in nearly 750 years, when the town’s Jews were expelled in 1275…
In a video interview CityBiz talks to Andrew Cushnir about his new role as president and CEO of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore…
Temple Emanuel of South Hills, in Pittsburgh, has changed its bylaws, doing away with a standard membership dues model in favor of “individualized giving,” introducing a staff-led model of governance and welcoming non-Jews onto the congregation’s board….
The Times of Israel spotlights Jewish Russian dissident Pavel Kushnir, 39, an anti-Putin and LGBTQ rights activist and an accomplished classical pianist, who became the first political prisoner in modern Russia to die in a hunger strike in July…
Chabad rabbis in Russia attended a two-day annual gathering this weekend in Istra, outside Moscow,where they discussed halachic and communal issues…
Lebanese-Canadian citizen Hassan Diab, who was convicted in absentia in a French court and sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in a 1980 terror attack on a Paris synagogue that killed four people, has been hired as a lecturer in the sociology department of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada…
Trader Joe’s has become a battleground as Israeli products, including the popular Israeli peanut snack Bamba, are at the center of a BDS campaign led by anti-Israel activist organization CodePink…
Atlanta Jews are on high alert as protests against a new police and fire training complex known by detractors as “Cop City” have been joined by anti-Israel protesters…
Minneapolis champion of Jewish causes Sheila Paisner died in August at 93. She was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years, Dr. Hy Paisner…
Former Maryland State Sen. Ida G. Ruben, a pathbreaking Democratic lawmaker, died on Friday in Bethesda at 95…
Pic of the Day
Hadar Benaych (left), Mai Sebba Givon, Hanan Hassan and Betzalel Gross assemble a Tikkun Olam Makers’ Toddler Mobility Trainer, a specialized open-source-design wheelchair for children ages 1 to 6, in a kibbutz near Jerusalem last week.
They are four of the 19 members of the 2024-25 TOM Fellowship Program on Israeli college campuses, who are joined by 81 fellows from 57 universities from around the world, who will focus this year on creating and distributing open-source solutions for people with disabilities.
Birthdays
Jerusalem-born pianist, she has performed with major orchestras worldwide, Orli Shaham (seen with her husband, David Robertson)…
Singer, poet and actor, best known as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, Art Garfunkel… Co-founder and chairman of Rexford Industrial Realty, Richard Ziman… Television and film critic, Jeffrey Lyons… French public intellectual, media personality and author, Bernard-Henri Lévy… Economist and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University where he remains a university professor, Jeffrey Sachs… Israeli ceramic artist and sculptor, Daniela Yaniv-Richter… Psychologist and wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu… Director at The Gottesman Fund, Diane Bennett Eidman… Music producer and entertainment attorney, Kevon Glickman… Former Prime Minister of Israel, now leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid… Former regional director of AJC New York, now CEO at Healthcare Foundation of NJ, Michael Schmidt… Senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, Benjamin Wittes… Host, anchor and correspondent for CBS News and CBS Sports, Dana Jacobson… General counsel of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Keath Blatt… CEO and organizer of Los Angeles-based Aesthetics and Edits, Tara Khoshbin… Legal correspondent at Business Insider, Jacob Shamsian… Operations director at Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate, Talia Katz…
