Your Daily Phil: Jewish aid groups get warm welcome in Venezuela despite its frosty ties with Israel
Add EJP on GoogleIn today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the unexpected warm welcome that Israeli and Jewish aid groups have received in Venezuela following last month’s earthquakes, and spotlight Alma, Tel Aviv’s home for secular Jewish study, which has found a lifeline after nearly having to shut down earlier this year. We feature an opinion piece by Rabbi Josh Bolton sharing lessons from his time as executive director of Brown RISD Hillel and a piece by Jay Strear focused on the findings of a new survey about leading in turbulent times. Also in this issue: Frayda Leibtag, Noa Argamani and Michael Solomonov.
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Correction: Yesterday’s edition of Your Daily Phil included an incorrect headline for the story about the appointment of the new head of Keren Hayesod. The headline should have read, “Eli Vered Hazan appointed world chair of global fundraiser Keren Hayesod.”
What We’re Watching
Bankrupt camps owner Simad Holdings, which went under last month and may face criminal proceedings, has started selling its properties to cover its debts. Read eJP’s coverage about the bankruptcy and its potential effects on the Jewish camping world here.
The Knesset is expected to vote today on a contentious bill allowing universities to offer gender-segregated master’s and doctoral degrees before parliament dissolves for recess on Friday.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD FROM eJP’S NIRA DAYANIM
After twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela last month, Israeli and Jewish relief groups scrambled to send help — first search-and-rescue teams and then longer-term aid. They were not sure how they would be received in the South American country, which cut all diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009 under then-President Hugo Chavez and maintains ties to some of the world’s biggest sponsors of antisemitism, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
“But the truth is, we are really able to work as Israelis, and I think again, if there’s one very hopeful thing, as a result of this tragedy, is that there’s a beautiful bridge that’s being built,” Yotam Polizer, CEO of IsraAid, told eJP.
Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.
News
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Alma, Tel Aviv’s home for secular Jewish study, gets a lifeline
Alma, the Home for Hebrew Culture, one of Israel’s few secular institutions of Jewish study, nearly collapsed this year — but has been saved, for now at least, by an unlikely alliance of alumni, artists and Tel Aviv’s City Hall, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Justin Hayet.
‘The Alma method’: In an effort to stay afloat after amassing a huge municipal tax debt, earlier this year Alma’s founder, former Knesset member and educator Ruth Calderon, launched a crowdfunding campaign to keep the institution alive, raising NIS 265,679 ($89,134) from nearly 1,000 Israeli supporters — evidence, she argued, of the hunger Israelis have for a secular Judaism. “People are not against knowing or owning their Judaism, but they want to get to know it in a way that respects their way of life. Before we complain about the unattachment of unaffiliated Jews, we should try the Alma method,” Calderon said.
Opinion
REAL TALK
10 reflections for my Hillel successor
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, based on the actual letter he wrote for the incoming executive director of Brown RISD Hillel, Rabbi Josh Bolton shares insights about stewardship, communication and other leadership lessons gained during his seven years in the role.
“Seven years from now, you’ll probably write a letter like this to the person who succeeds you. I hope that when you do, you’ll have different reflections to share. That will mean you’ve become not the steward of my Hillel, but the steward of yours.”
SURVEY SAYS
Stepping up, not burning out: Jewish leadership in a time of chronic crisis
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, leadership consultant Jay Strear writes about changing how power is practiced inside our institutions.
“The story emerging from the Nonprofit Leadership Diagnostic Survey is not one of bad actors, but of good people under immense pressure, often acting from unspoken fear. The invitation of this moment is not simply to be more resilient as individuals, but to become more differentiated as systems; to grow boards, executives and funders who can live inside disagreement and danger without abandoning mission or each other.”
Worthy Reads
Resilience’s Silent Story: In Time magazine, Frayda Leibtag argues that Israel’s wartime economic boom, mainly driven by the country’s tech sector, is real but narrow, leaving most ordinary Israelis to bear the war’s financial and psychological toll largely on their own. “Resilience is among the traits Israelis prize most, and it may also be the most expensive word in this story. The price it exacts from ordinary Israelis rarely reaches the headlines.”
All-In on Outcomes: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nadine Abraham makes the case that foundations should shift from funding programs to funding outcomes — citing a New Jersey family foundation’s pilot, run with her organization Social Finance, that tied grant payments to results and drove a $1.4 million increase in unclaimed tax credits claimed by low-income families. “It’s whether funders are willing to rethink not just what they support — but how.”
PEN Name and Shame: In The Wall Street Journal, author Meg Keene addresses a recent article from PEN America that detailed the isolation of Israeli and Jewish writers following the Oct. 7 terror attacks, the publication of which prompted the resignation of the organization’s president. “PEN can see the discrimination; it struggles to name it when the targets are Jews and Israelis and the method is anti-Zionist exclusion.”
Transitions
Former hostage Noa Argamani joined Eric Reiner’s Vine Ventures as an intern…
The Orthodox Union’s youth movement, NCSY, named Rabbi Uri Jaskiel as its new chief operating officer starting July 14, replacing Daniel Gordon as he moves to lead operations at OU Kosher…
Robin Gofine has been appointed national executive director of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, a role she’ll hold alongside her existing position as executive director of NCJWC’s Toronto chapter…
Gabe Stutman, who previously was news editor for J. The Jewish News of Northern California, will now be reporting at the newsletter Inside Political Money as its senior reporter…
Caleb Watney was hired by Coefficient Giving as its managing director of public policy…
Word on the Street
Warren Buffett has halted his charitable donations to the Gates Foundation following the release of files detailing Bill Gates‘ past ties to Jeffrey Epstein; instead, he has redirected his mid-year $6 billion Berkshire Hathaway stock gift entirely to four family foundations…
Wiz founders Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik are in early talks to buy Herzliya Medical Center after Tshuva’s exclusive bid stalled over the Health Ministry’s demand that Clalit control the hospital…
Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, who is a member of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich‘s Religious Zionist Party, announced today that he will not run in the upcoming national elections…
Jewish Insider profiles Avi Loeb, who was tapped by President Donald Trump last month to lead the White House’s new Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Science Advisory Council…
Nickolay Mladenov and Aryeh Lightstone, respectively the high representative for the Board of Peace and the body’s senior advisor, met in Brussels earlier this week with rabbis representing Jewish communities across the Islamic world, including the chief rabbi of Iran, Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports…
Israel’s Cabinet approved NIS 1.3 billion ($431 million) in funding for newly authorized West Bank settlements…
A local Colorado news station highlights the legacy of Jewish settlers who arrived in southern Colorado as early as 1865 and left a lasting civic and architectural legacy in Trinidad, Pueblo and Colorado Springs…
The predominantly Haredi central Israeli city of Bnei Brak is facing backlash over plans to gender-segregate two major streets despite a 2017 High Court of Justice ruling declaring the practice illegal…
The House of Representatives passed permanent daylight saving time, prompting Orthodox Jewish groups to warn it would make morning prayers more difficult in the winter as the fight moves to a skeptical Senate, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Michael Solomonov‘s CookNSolo Restaurants is closing six Goldie and Federal Donuts locations, which owner Steve Cook attributes to economic factors and not an anti-Israel boycott campaign…
In a Times of Israel opinion piece, genocide law expert Menachem Rosensaft accuses U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose of distorting Holocaust history, arguing his claim that few Poles betrayed Jewish neighbors ignores well-documented willing Polish collaboration in their killing and betrayal…
Michael Katz, who was severely injured in an Iranian missile strike in April, died yesterday at 82…
Pic of the Day
Seventeen young Arab Israeli women receive certificates and flowers on Sunday after completing the Masar leadership and academic preparation program run by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, in partnership with Israel’s Education Ministry.
In total, 160 Arab Israeli men and women participated in the program’s eighth cohort, despite regular interruptions because of this year’s war with Iran. Two of the participants were selected to receive NIS 10,000 ($3,300) scholarships for leading social initiatives.
“At first I sat at home and was afraid like everyone else, but I felt uncomfortable staying home when I knew there were people who needed help,” one of the scholarship recipients, Mariam, who plans to study social work, said in a statement. “I reached out to the Masar program coordinator and asked to find a place to volunteer. Once I started volunteering at the emergency hotline, I would show up almost every day, from morning until night. There were long days, but knowing that I was helping people was all I needed.”
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that all graduates receive a scholarship; only two did.
Birthdays
Michael “Mike” Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2021-2025, turns 74
Baron Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, member of the British House of Lords, he is a professor, medical doctor, scientist, television anchor and Labour party politician, turns 86
Kobi Oshrat, Israeli composer and conductor, he composed and conducted the winning entry at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, turns 82
Mickey Appleman, professional sports bettor and poker player, he is a four-time winner of World Series of Poker bracelets, turns 81
Dr. David Harris Lippman, physician and life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
Rabbi Dovid Schustal, co-rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., one of the largest yeshivas in the world, turns 79
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, congresswoman from Florida for 30 years ending in 2019, turns 74
Elliot Gerson, senior fellow at the Aspen Institute
Feris M. Greenberger, retired California-based appellate attorney
Miriam Baron “Mimi” Jankovits, executive director of Friends of OU (Orthodox Union) Israel
Julie Beren Platt, immediate past board chair of The Jewish Federations of North America
Richard Harold Steinberg, professor at the UCLA School of Law, turns 66
Jodi Schneider, former political news director at Bloomberg
David Nicola Cicilline, member of Congress (D-RI) until 2023, his mother is Sabra née Peskin, turns 65
Andrew Lewis “Andy” Josephson, anchorage-based attorney, a member of the Alaska House of Representatives since 2012, turns 62
David Miliband, former U.K. Labour party MP including three years as foreign secretary, now CEO of NYC-based International Rescue Committee, turns 61
Gilbert S. Palter, co-founder and chief investment officer of Toronto-based EdgeStone Capital Partners, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms
Dafna Rechter, Israeli actor and singer, she is the 1991 and 1998 winner of the Ophir Award (Israel’s Academy Award) for best actress, turns 61
David S. Felman, senior advisor at investment bank Greif & Co., he was the CFO of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Sam Kalmowicz, senior business development representative at Atera, he served for eight years as the Florida synagogue initiative director of AIPAC
Irin Carmon, senior correspondent at New York magazine, she is a co-author of Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, turns 43
Tomer Kapon, Israeli actor, he played Boaz in Season 1 of “Fauda”, turns 41
Ari Aster, filmmaker and co-founder of the Square Peg film production company, turns 40
Liana Baker, managing editor of the U.S. deals team at Bloomberg
Alexander Lasry, deputy assistant secretary for travel and tourism at the U.S. Department of Commerce during the Biden administration, now CEO of the FIFA World Cup 26 NYNJ host committee, turns 39
Jonathan Steven “Jon” Falk, senior vice president of campus solutions at Hillel International
Ariel Zirulnick, independent journalism consultant
Jori Epstein, senior NFL reporter at Yahoo Sports, she is also the author of a biography of a Holocaust survivor
