Your Daily Phil: Jewish Agency charts a course for its future
Good Monday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem. We examine the expansion of the Jewish early childhood education initiative EarlyJ to Los Angeles and look at who got a passing grade on the Anti-Defamation League’s new report card on campus antisemitism. We feature an opinion piece by Deborah Isaac and Michael H. Laufer about what’s at stake in the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections, and another by Daniel Braunfeld and Jessica Fisher about what the Hartman Institute has learned after three cohorts of its teen fellowship. Also in this newsletter: Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Adam Solender and Einav Zangauker.
What We’re Watching
The Jewish Agency for Israel kicked off its Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem yesterday. The gathering continues through tomorrow, when it will honor Dr. Miriam Adelson for her support for the Jewish Agency over the years and for her work on behalf of Israel and the hostages in Gaza over the past 16 months. Read more about the Board of Governors meeting below.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now summit kicks off this morning in New York for two days of sessions and speakers. This morning at the opening plenary, the organization’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, will deliver a speech. If you are there, say hi to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim!
The Voice of the People — Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s new Jewish peoplehood initiative — kicked off the first gathering of its 150-person council on Sunday in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. The conference, which runs through next week, will bring together all 150 members of the council for extended discussions and debate on topics related to Israel and the Jewish people.
What You Should Know
The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem, which kicked off yesterday with a day of speeches and presentations for some 170 governors, continues today with committee discussions to develop the policies and strategies that will guide the Zionist organization through to its centennial.
“Today, we have a full day of strategic planning and resetting our mission — how we build for the next five years and into the future,” Mark Wilf, the board chair, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross this morning.
“Our board has always been a huge example of the power of collective action, and since Oct. 7, we’ve been a big part of that. And now we have a kind of resetting in terms of the future and how we begin to have a big role in strengthening the continued resilience [of the Jewish people] and building towards a stronger Jewish future around the world and in Israel,” he said, noting that the Jewish people were in the midst of “a very challenging time, perhaps our most challenging time since 1948.”
Wilf, who has headed the board since 2022 and has played leadership roles in a host of Jewish organizations, said the organization was focusing on a number of key areas going forward, including support for victims of terror, reconstruction efforts in northern and southern Israel, aliyah programs and global Jewish education and connectivity initiatives.
Wilf acknowledged that the Jewish Agency has ambitious plans going forward in many different areas, but said that the organization had the resources needed to take them on. “We’ve been blessed with a tremendous outpouring of support from the worldwide community, particularly in the wake of [the Oct. 7 attacks]. So fortunately we’re able to address and grow all [those] areas,” he said.
This includes a planned expansion of the organization’s shlichut (emissary) program — a particular area of interest for the Jewish Agency CEO, Yehuda Setton, who previously served as director of its shlichut department.
“We have over 2,300 shlichim, which is the largest number ever, in communities around the world, whether that’s in summer camps, in schools, JCCs. On college campuses, we have our Campus Israel Fellows,” Wilf said. “So there’s so many points of contact between Israeli young people and Diaspora young people that I think is going to be a platform for youth engagement and support for Israel.”
“Shlichut and partnership and building peoplehood across boundaries and across the world is a huge priority for the Jewish Agency. It’s part of building new resilience and building the strength among young people particularly, so there’s a great and strong foundation for the Jewish future,” he said.
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
Bay Area’s EarlyJ expands to Los Angeles to boost local preschools with $3 million grant
EarlyJ, an initiative to improve Jewish early childhood education first launched in the Bay Area, is expanding its reach to Los Angeles, following a $3 million grant from the Rodan Family Foundation, which is looking to deepen its work with young Jewish families, reports Ayala Or-El for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Get ‘em while they’re young: In the Bay Area, EarlyJ supports 48 Jewish preschools, nearly 600 educators and over 2,500 children, contributing to a 7.9% increase in Jewish preschool enrollment. Now, it hopes to do the same for L.A. To start, EarlyJ plans to reach 51 Jewish preschools, including synagogue-based programs, Chabad houses, Jewish community centers and more. “Our goal is to increase the number of children enrolled in Jewish early childhood education,” Sharona Israeli-Roth, founding president and executive director of EarlyJ, told eJP. “This is where we lay the foundation for Jewish identity in the Diaspora. It is crucial for both parents and children to begin their Jewish journey early, as many will later transition to public schools. These preschool years might be the only time they are immersed in a Jewish environment, forming friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.”
BETTER GRADES
Second ADL report card shows modest improvement in campus antisemitism
The atmosphere for Jewish students on college campuses nationwide has somewhat improved in the last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s second annual Campus Antisemitism Report Card, released today, reports Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
A’s and F’s: Forty-six percent of previously graded schools improved, while only 9% declined. The ADL gave 36% of schools an “A” or “B” in this year’s report card, up from 23.5% in 2024. It assessed 135 schools — 50 more than last year — using 30 evaluation criteria to assign letter grades from A to F. The schools that received “A” grades were Brandeis University, CUNY Queens College, CUNY Brooklyn College, Elon University, Florida International University, University of Alabama, University of Miami and Vanderbilt University. Failing schools were California Polytechnic State University, DePaul University, Evergreen State College, Haverford College, Loyola University New Orleans, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Portland State University, Scripps College, The New School, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Illinois Chicago and University of Minnesota.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
WORLD ZIONIST ELECTIONS
Want your voice heard in Israel? It’s time to vote (in America)
“One of us has held leadership positions in the Orthodox community. The other has done the same within the Reform movement. Despite this difference, we join in encouraging all Jews of the United States to vote in the upcoming World Zionist Congress election, which will take place between March 10 and May 4. We do so because we are unified in our belief that Jews throughout our country have a responsibility to vote for the sake of Israel’s future,” write Deborah Isaac, president of the American Zionist Movement, and Michael H. Laufer, AZM’s national board chair, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Seismic shifts: “The seismic crises of the last five years since the 2020 World Zionist Congress have raised the stakes to arguably their highest level in the history of the relationship between American Jewry and Israel. Starting with the COVID-19 pandemic and extending to today’s continuing trauma from the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and the ongoing war against Hamas, fault lines threaten to divide the Jewish people… Voting in the election is Zionists’ most powerful opportunity to have our voice heard in Israel and make an impact in Jewish communities worldwide. The 152 representatives who are to be elected from the U.S. — about one-third of the total Congress — will make key decisions about the allocation of over $1 billion annually.”
EMBRACE THE COMPLEXITY
It’s time to take teens seriously: Lessons from 3 years of the Hartman Teen Fellowship
“Jewish teens are searching for Jewish connections and new experiences. They are also looking to be taken seriously as thinkers, learners, and leaders. They want to meet and engage with the wider Jewish world, with Jewish thinkers and leaders and with other teens like them. They need more opportunities to do this. Today, against the backdrop of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, Israel’s multifront war and rising antisemitism around the world, Jewish teens are asking hard questions, and they need more spaces to explore answers,” write Daniel Braunfeld, the outgoing director of teen initiatives at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and Jessica Fisher, the institute’s director of teen and educational initiatives, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Big bet pays off: “Three years ago, the Shalom Hartman Institute made ‘a big bet on teens’ with the launch of the Hartman Teen Fellowship. The premise of our program is that we take teens seriously; we give them tools to develop their own thinking; we enlarge and enrich their worlds and worldviews; and we partner with them in grappling with their Judaism, Jewish identities and relationships to Israel… Three years of the Hartman Teen Fellowship have shown us that teens are eager for big ideas, tools to sharpen their own thinking and teachers and peers who will challenge them to think even bigger. Our ‘big bet on teens’ is already paying off, and we are eager to see the Jewish future our fellows are already building.”
Worthy Reads
Higher Ground: In The Times of Israel, Diana Bletter spotlights Maayan Gabai, an Israeli man with cerebral palsy who recently scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for Jerusalem’s Shalva nonprofit. “[Gabai, 24,] completed the eight-day trek up Africa’s tallest mountain with 29 other people who raised more than NIS 1,000,000 ($281,000) for the nonprofit organization Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The arduous trek challenged all the climbers. But only Gabai, who has cerebral palsy, walked with crutches through the ice and snow. ‘That wasn’t even the most difficult challenge,’ Gabai said. ‘It was walking for 18 hours straight with freezing feet.’… Gabai’s mother, Dina, told The Times of Israel that Maayan took his first few faltering steps at three years old. At six, he received crutches to enable him to walk. She said that when he was learning to walk, he fell all the time. ‘Each time he fell, I turned my head and cried so he couldn’t see me, and I told him, “Get up by yourself,”’ Dina said. ‘If we felt sorry for him then, now he would always be in a wheelchair.’… ‘The climb took me to the limit,’ said Gabai, who now likes to share his personal story with others. ‘It showed me that the limit you think you have is not the actual limit… There’s still farther you can go.’” [TOI]
A Crisis Unfolding: In a Jerusalem Post opinion piece, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, president and rosh yeshiva of the Ohr Torah Stone network, argues for the Jewish community to address Israel’s struggling mental health system.“If a physical illness were sweeping our communities leaving thousands struggling with a widespread yet untreated condition, we would not hesitate to act. We would mobilize resources, raise funds, and build infrastructure to ensure that people could get the care they need. Israel proved this during the COVID pandemic when the government swiftly mobilized resources to protect public health. Mental health must be treated with the same urgency. The question is no longer whether our communities should respond – it is how. This is not just an issue for therapists or psychologists to address. Every Jewish institution – schools, synagogues, summer camps, and learning programs – must make mental health a priority… And perhaps most importantly, leaders – rabbis, educators, and community heads – must lead by example. It is one thing to say mental health matters; it is another to create a culture where people feel truly comfortable seeking help. This should include leaders also availing themselves of mental health support. Efforts like these require real investment. Budgets must be adjusted, funds must be raised, and programming must be intentional.” [JPost]
Poison Ivy: In The Free Press, Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, explains why she turned down a teaching position at Columbia University. “First, I am not convinced that the university is serious about taking the necessary and difficult measures that would create an atmosphere that allows for true inquiry. Second, I fear that my presence would be used as a sop to convince the outside world that ‘Yes, we in the Columbia/Barnard orbit are fighting antisemitism. We even brought in the former Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.’ I will not be used to provide cover for a completely unacceptable situation. Third, I am not sure that I would be safe or even able to teach without being harassed. I do not flinch in the face of threats. But this is not a healthy or acceptable learning environment. On too many university campuses, the inmates — and these may include administrators, student disrupters, and off-campus agitators as well as faculty members — are running the asylum. They are turning universities into parodies of true academic inquiry.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
Canadian-Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams was named the head of the World Jewish Congress in Israel…
Former hostage Emily Damari said in a social media post that she had been operated on at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital hours after being taken captive on Oct. 7; Damari, who lost two fingers and was also wounded in her leg during the attack at her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, received corrective surgery in Israel over the weekend to alleviate pain from her injuries…
The Irving, Texas, City Council is considering zoning changes for a 182-acre site, mostly owned by a company tied to Las Vegas Sands Corp., whose largest shareholder is Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson. The changes aim to lure the Mavericks from Dallas with a high-intensity mixed-use area, potentially for an arena or indoor theater…
At last night’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles: The Israeli-Palestinian film “No Other Land,” which tells the story of Israeli home demolitions in the West Bank village of Masafer Yatta, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature last night…
Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “A Real Pain,” about two Jewish cousins who travel to their grandmother’s birthplace in Poland…
??Adrien Brody, who won the award for best actor for his performance as a Holocaust survivor and architect in “The Brutalist” — and who won the same award in 2003 for his role in “The Pianist” — said in his acceptance speech, “I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war, and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and of othering” …
And Mikey Madison, who is Jewish, nabbed the best actress award for her lead role as an exotic dancer and escort in “Anora”…
Israel assumes the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance today, succeeding the United Kingdom. Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will serve as the IHRA chair during Israel’s presidency, which will last until February 2026…
The National Library of Israel recently acquired a rare medieval French manuscript titled Mezukak Sheva’atayim, meaning “distilled repeatedly,” using recent donations from the William Davidson Foundation, the Zucker and Kraus families and Sid Lapidus…
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s board approved $536,000 in grants for 15 organizations focused on antisemitism and young adult engagement…
As Jewish Press of Tampa Bay founder and owner Karen Dawkins prepares to retire after almost 40 years, the newspaper will be published in a collaborative effort between the Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation and the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast….
The U.K.’s Jewish News spotlights hedge fund leader and former Man Group CEO Lord Stanley Fink, who credits his upbringing for his charitable mindset and donates most of his income to charity…
Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, told Israel’s Channel 12 news that the U.S. Department of Justice-led Task Force to Combat Antisemitism will soon file federal hate crime charges against campus activists “supporting Hamas and intimidating Jews”…
The New York Times reviews Jewish Country Houses, a chronicle of homes and estates across Europe that are or had been owned by Jewish families…
The conservative pro-Israel group Israel365 will honor former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon at an event in Dallas on Saturday after he was criticized for making a gesture that resembled a Nazi salute last week at the CPAC conference. Akiba Yavneh Academy, the Jewish day school where the event was originally scheduled to be held, canceled the booking shortly after it was announced that Bannon was to be the speaker…
Ideas such as Nazi salutes and anti-immigrant conspiracies once thought to be the realm of far-right extremists are now becoming part of the mainstream, warn groups that monitor extremism…
Adam Solender has been named chief philanthropy officer for the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts…
The New York Times Magazine profiles Einav Zangauker, whose son, Matan, is being held captive in Gaza and who has emerged as one of the most strident critics of the Israeli government’s efforts to secure the hostages’ release, despite once being a supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
In an opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post, Michael Masters, national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network, makes the case for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Programs as it faces a funding crisis…
The Marin County (Calif.) school district apologized for showing a video in a mandatory social justice session featuring a woman wearing a “resistance is not terrorism” T-shirt with Leila Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group who was involved in two plane hijackings…
Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, who formerly served as Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, died at 71…
Ottawa real estate attorney and Canadian Jewish community leader Sol Shinder died on Feb. 10 at 90…
Pic of the Day
A Chabad member helps a teenager put on a set of tefillin yesterday at the Bedford Armory in Brooklyn, N.Y., as part of the Hassidic movement’s CTeen International Shabbaton, which was held over the weekend. According to Chabad, 1,241 teens wrapped tefillin in two hours, which it said was a world record.
“I’ve wrapped tefillin before, but never like this,” David Wasserman, who traveled to New York for the convention from Kansas City, said in a statement. “To be part of a world record isn’t just cool — it’s meaningful. Every single one of us is making a commitment together. We’re saying that no matter where we’re from, whether it’s Hong Kong or Kansas City, this mitzvah connects us. And that’s something I’ll carry home with me.”
Birthdays
Australian residential property developer, colloquially known as “High-Rise Harry,” builder of more than 77,000 residential units, Harry Triguboff…
Former justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, Dalia Dorner… Professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, author of 32 books and the editor emeritus of Dissent magazine, Michael Laban Walzer… Researcher in Yiddish language at Sweden’s Lund University’s Centre for Languages and Literature, Henrik Lewis-Guttermann… Best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of financiers and politicians, Ron Chernow… President of CBS News until 2021, she is currently president of See It Now Studios, Susan Zirinsky… Retired chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman, he served as president of AIPAC, Michael Kassen… Fashion designer and businessman, he is the founder and former CEO of an eponymous publicly traded company, Steve Madden… NPR personality and the host and producer of the radio and television show “This American Life,” Ira Jeffrey Glass… Former director of policy for New York State under Andrew Cuomo, David Yassky… Israeli economist and diplomat, he served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.A.E. from 2021 to 2024, Amir Hayek… MLB pitcher until 2001, then a pitching coach, his 557 appearances rank second in career games pitched by a Jewish pitcher, Scott David Radinsky… Co-founder and co-president of Clarity Capital, David Steinhardt… Executive vice president and general counsel at Eli Lilly and Company, Anat Hakim… Founder of Bunk1, he is a co-owner of the Miami Marlins, Ari Jack Ackerman… President and founder of Heppin Biosciences, his research focused on autism-related genetics, Brett S. Abrahams, Ph.D…. Screenwriter and columnist in the Israeli newspaper Globes, Efrat Abramov… British rabbi who has run for mayor of London and mayor of Manchester, Shneur Zalman Odze… Acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York for the first 24 days of the second Trump administration, she recently resigned the post rather than dismiss charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, she is a member of the Federalist Society and a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Danielle R. Sassoon… Vocalist for indie-pop band Lucius, Jess Wolfe… Senior communications manager for Uber, Freddi Goldstein… Member of AJR, an indie pop multi-instrumentalist trio, together with his two brothers, Ryan Metzger…
