Your Daily Phil: Jewish Agency CEO looking for partners, not funders
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s visit to Amsterdam in the wake of coordinated attacks on Israeli soccer fans last week, and feature an opinion piece by Sam Aboudara about how Jewish camps can help address polarization. Also in this newsletter: Rachel Goldberg-Polin,Sharon Weiss-Greenberg andSteve Schwarzman.We’ll start with newly installed Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton’s goals for his first U.S. trip in the role.
As Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton visits the United States this week for the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, his primary goal is not to raise money for his organization but to find new partners and opportunities for collaborations, he told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross shortly before leaving Israel this weekend.
Setton entered his role last month, who was selected in August to succeed Amira Ahronoviz, who announced she was stepping down as CEO in April. So the U.S. trip also offers Setton an opportunity to hold some of his first high-level meetings — with representatives from JFNA, individual federations and Jewish foundations — since taking his position.
“It’s not, ‘Will they give another million to the Jewish Agency?’ but, ‘Will they make Israel stronger and ensure the future of the Jewish people?’” he said.
“For me, this is the opportunity to see the people — after a year of war in Israel, I haven’t been traveling like I normally travel. I want to see people who love Israel and support Israel and show my gratitude for that,” Setton said.
At the General Assembly, the Jewish Agency also celebrated the 30th anniversary of its strategic partnership with JFNA, hosting a dinner on Sunday night that was attended by Jewish Agency Chairman of the Executive Doron Almog and the group’s board chair, Mark Wilf.
The General Assembly also comes roughly a week before the Jewish Agency holds its own Board of Governors meeting, in Tel Aviv, where Setton intends to lay out the organization’s strategy for the near future. “It’s my first time in the new role to address the strategic focus of the [Jewish] Agency,” Setton said.
In his meetings in D.C., Setton said he will be offering a “preview” of the Jewish Agency’s strategic plans and have an “exchange of thoughts” about what it entails, but stressed that the full details will only be presented at the Board of Governors meeting.
“Not all of the people [at the General Assembly] will come to Israel, so this is an opportunity to share and say what we are doing for the State of Israel and the Jewish people in 2025 and beyond,” he said. “But I don’t want to be in a position where I am sharing [the plans] with the Americans before people from around the world.”
A key facet of the Jewish Agency strategy will be an update to its flagship shlichut (emissary) programs, which send Israelis to Jewish communities abroad, for one year in the case of post-high school shinshinim and two to three years for post-military emissaries.
Setton said he wants to significantly expand the program, doubling the number of Diaspora communities that are reached. That will require both finding additional Israelis willing to travel abroad for extended periods and finding the communities to host them, as well as the financing to make it all happen.
One idea that Setton has to support the expansion is to create a new, shorter “model” of shlichut. Instead of a post-high shinshin spending a year in a given community, they would move between locations every three months, allowing them to develop connections with more communities. The communities would also be exposed to more Israeli emissaries.
Setton said he hopes to see Jewish organizations expand their fundraising efforts, shift away from focusing on the so-called “mega donors” in favor of broader appeals.
“We are at a point of time when we need a lot of small donations. That will be their way to connect to the Jewish community. The money is a demonstration, making more people feel that they are part of this [effort],” he said. “That’s why it’s not about fundraising, it’s about engaging more people.”
AMSTERDAM INSIGHT
‘We are lucky no one was killed,’ ADL’s Greenblatt says after meeting Dutch leaders
Following meetings with top Dutch leaders on Monday, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt emphasized that the attacks on Jews and Israelis after a soccer match featuring the Maccabi Tel Aviv team in Amsterdam last week could have become a much worse tragedy, reports Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Chilling good news: Greenblatt met with the Dutch prime minister, justice minister and national security adviser as well as leaders from the local Jewish community, sports club and Uber, drivers for which have been accused of participating in the attacks. “The one thing that I heard today from law enforcement, that I heard today from political leadership, that I heard from the Jewish community is that we are lucky no one was killed,” Greenblatt told JI. “That is a widespread sentiment that I heard and it’s chilling to think that that’s the good news.”
Leaving early: Greenblatt said that Dutch police had been prepared for unrest at the game itself — they had instituted a protest ban and sent extra police to the game to ensure that no fights broke out in the stadium. Greenblatt said the game went smoothly “and so in that regard, they handled themselves.” But the problems began, he said, because police dispersed after the game ended, allowing for the attacks in the streets to begin. “Why were they not prepared for this? I can’t say. Why did they not anticipate that the job wasn’t over until the night was over? I can’t say,” he said.
DINING HALL DISCUSSIONS
Bringing people to the table: The power of Jewish camp in a divided world
“It sounds like the start of a joke: A ceramics instructor and a baseball coach walk into a dining hall… but what happened next was much more powerful,” writes Sam Aboudara, COO and executive director of NJY Camps, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “As the evening went on, the baseball coach [who was encountering Jewish culture for the first time], gathering his courage, said, ‘Can I ask you something? And feel free to tell me to be quiet, but I know Israeli people are good, and Hamas is bad… but what’s it really all about?’ The ceramics instructor [from a kibbutz in Israel] paused, then gently asked, ‘Do you know what happened on Oct. 7?’ He didn’t really. And so, over the next 20 minutes, I watched two people, from opposite corners of life, bridge the gap, seeking understanding and connection through a conversation that they never expected to have. This moment illustrates what Jewish camp is about.”
A place to meet: “Camps provide more than just summer experiences — they create spaces of belonging, acceptance and shared purpose. In a world growing more polarized, Jewish camp is one of the few places where young people can gather, encounter differences and grow in their understanding of others and themselves.”
Worthy Reads
Please, Just Smile and Wave: In The Times of Israel, Rachel Goldberg-Polin writes about what she and her family need — and don’t — after the death of her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in Hamas captivity in August. “After sharing Hersh with so many for 330 days in order to help save him, he and my family have become recognizable to some. I am deeply grateful that so many took Hersh to be theirs and have been with us during this dark chapter since October 7th, 2023, the date our world turned upside-down. With that, now comes a lot of pressure, which I am trying to learn how to hold. People reach out or stop me to share their pain… I feel like I have third-degree burns on my skin, so when people grab me or try to hug me, it is not helpful for me at this time. I think this is confusing for the person offering themselves to me. I know it is coming from a benevolent place in their heart… I love you for loving the hostage families. I love you for trying to help. But please, if you want to help me, let me go on walking. When you see me and our eyes cross paths, please, oh please, just smile and wave. My knees are buckling from all the wounds people are sharing. I am just not formidable and powerful enough. Not yet. I am working on it.” [TOI]
Around the Web
Jewish National Fund of Canada has lost its appeal to retain its charitable status days before the expected deadline to disburse its remaining assets on Nov. 13; the judge hearing the appeal declared that her court was the wrong place for the case, as the Income Tax Act designated the Federal Court of Appeal as the correct venue…
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg has become the next manager of resource development at ANU-Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv…
The World Jewish Congress laid out its top six policy priorities for the second Trump administration: Emphasize and depoliticize counter-antisemitism efforts; strengthen U.S.-Israel relations and support Israel in international arenas; advance the international fight against antisemitism; support Jewish and other vulnerable students; promote peace and global stability, including containment of Iran; and commemorate Holocaust memory and legacy in U.S. society…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy takes a look at how Donald Trump’s recent election may prompt a new wave of “rage giving” to philanthropic causes that he is expected to oppose, a phenomenon that was first identified and named following his 2016 presidential election win…
A panel at the annual conference of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, D.C., discussed the likelihood of President-elect Donald Trump appointing a Jewish liaison, as in his previous term he was the only president since Jimmy Carter not to have one…
Bloomberg considers how Steve Schwarzman’s early support for Trump during the campaign is likely to position the Blackstone CEO to have influence in the new administration on economic policies…
Norwood, the U.K.’s oldest Jewish charity, raised £2 million ($2.6 million) for its programs serving people with learning disabilities at its annual dinner last week…
NPR looks at the logistical challenges facing travelers in and out of Israel, and how the dearth of available and reliable flights has led to a windfall for El Al…
Israeli airline El Al’s near monopoly on flights between Israel and the US may soon be over as Israir, Israel’s low-cost airline, is now awaiting final approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a new route between Ben Gurion Airport and Newark Liberty Airport…
German airline group Lufthansa, which includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, has extended its suspension of Tel Aviv flights until Dec. 15…
The New York Times highlights a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine that found an increase in alcohol abuse among Americans following the COVID-19 pandemic…
University of Southern California President Clare Folt announced she is stepping down at the end of the academic year…
Paris plans to deploy 4,000 police officers and more than 1,500 stadium workers to manage security efforts during an upcoming UEFA Nations League soccer match between Israel and France on Thursday…
Norway will increase its funding for initiatives related to antisemitism awareness and education, including educational trips for students to concentration camps and hate crime training for police…
Presidential historian Tevi Troy was named a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute…
Pic of the Day
More than 200 bicycle riders set out from Kibbutz Almog in the Jordan Valley to raise money for Jerusalem’s child rehabilitation Alyn Hospital as part of the institution’s 24th annual Wheels of Love fundraising drive.
This year’s ride is being held in memory of Yakir Hexter, a former participant, who was killed in action in Gaza in January. His father and brother are taking part in the event.
Birthdays
University of Chicago professor, he won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on alleviating global poverty, Michael Kremer…
Co-founder and dean of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky… Professor emerita of history at Columbia University and expert on Japan, Carol Gluck… Author and senior fellow at USC’s Annenberg School, Morley Winograd… Accountant and former PwC partner in Phoenix, Ariz., Steven M. Scheiner, CPA… Former New York state senator, he is a descendant of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the former Ashkenazic chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Stephen M. Saland… Sportscaster for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, after more than 50 years at NBC and ABC, Al Michaels… U.S. senator (D-RI), Jack Reed… Attorney in Brooklyn, Bernard C. Wachsman… Member of the New York State Assembly since 2006, her district includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Linda B. Rosenthal… Author of young-adult fiction and winner of the 2015 National Book Award for “Challenger Deep,” Neal Shusterman… Author, journalist and former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton, Naomi Rebekah Wolf… Mayor of Oakland, Calif., until 2023, Elizabeth Beckman “Libby” Schaaf… Rabbi of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, Róbert Frölich… Partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, Sanford E. (Sandy) Perl… White House chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients… British journalist and political correspondent for BBC News, Joanne “Jo” Coburn… Senior vice president and general manager of MLB’s Minnesota Twins from 2016 until last month, Thad Levine… Member of the Knesset until 2019 for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Robert Ilatov… Restaurant critic and food writer for the Boston Globe, Devra First… Israeli fashion model and actress, Nina Brosh… Former member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party, Eliyahu Hasid… Campus support director at Hillel International, Aviva Zucker Snyder… Actress best known for her roles on “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Kelly Kruger… Co-founder of Purple Acorn, Dave Weinberg… Assistant professor of Jewish studies at Oberlin College, Matthew D. Berkman… Director of strategic talent initiatives at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Spencer F. Lucker… New Jersey-based primary care physician known as Doctor Mike, he is an internet celebrity on YouTube and Instagram, Mikhail Varshavski… Activist in the fight against antisemitism on college campuses throughout the U.S., Adela Cojab… Catcher in the Washington Nationals organization, Cameron J. Stubbs…
