Your Daily Phil: Jewish funders decry Israeli bill targeting foreign-funded NGOs
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we consider the dilemmas facing Jewish leaders as they balance their convictions with communal unity, and report on a letter signed by dozens of Jewish philanthropists against an Israeli bill that would levy heavy taxes on foreign-funded nonprofits. We spotlight the fundraising nonprofit Israel Friends as it marks $50 million in aid distributed since Oct. 7, 2023, and speak with Israeli tech leaders calling for “economic diplomacy” with the Trump administration. We feature an opinion piece by a group of Jewish federation and foundation leaders calling for unity, civility and collaboration in the face of the rising tide of hatred toward Jews. Also in this issue: Mark Laswell, Emily Yoffe and Michael Herzog.
What We’re Watching
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is hosting the Foreign Ministers’ Conference on Combating Antisemitism today in Jerusalem.
The Israel Democracy Institute is hosting its annual Eli Hurvitz Conference in Jerusalem today and tomorrow.
The Jewish Neighborhood Development Council of Chicago and Chicago Jewish Historical Society are hosting an event this evening at the Skokie (Ill.) Public Library honoring Sears Roebuck founder and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, including a screening of a documentary about him, “From Sears to Eternity: The Julius Rosenwald Story.” If you’re there, say hello to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Rachel Kohn.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS
Diaspora Jewish leaders find themselves in an increasingly complicated position in the wake of last week’s deadly terror attack in Washington and as the war against Hamas and domestic turmoil heat up in Israel.
On the one hand, these leaders — heads of major organizations and foundations — feel compelled to voice their positions and their concerns about international efforts to combat antisemitism, the increasingly contentious war in Gaza and the growing rifts in Israeli society.
But they are also wary of alienating parts of the Jewish community and further dividing an already polarized world Jewry, seeing Jewish unity as a critical element in Jewish security.
This balancing act has been on clear display in recent days, as prominent Jewish leaders and philanthropists have raised concerns about events in Israel, while others are calling for an end to “infighting.”
Addressing the British Board of Deputies’ plenary meeting yesterday, the group’s president, Phil Rosenberg, criticized both Israel and Hamas for preventing Palestinian civilians in Gaza from accessing food — Israel for its two-month blockade of the enclave, and Hamas for stealing the aid that has entered the Strip. “Put simply, food should not be used as a weapon of war,” Rosenberg said. “Israel must ensure the supply to Gaza, and Hamas must not steal it when it comes in. … We have been clear to Israeli leaders that we need to see aid flowing into Gaza, not a basic amount, but enough to feed the civilian population.”
With his remarks, which the local Jewish British press reported were well-received, Rosenberg broke from what had been his organization’s de facto policy of refraining from criticizing Israel while the country is at war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Rosenberg also denounced by name two far-right Israel ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom he said should “be reigned in… ideally they need to be kicked out.”
Also yesterday, a group of 64 Diaspora Jewish philanthropists, led by former British Conservative politician Sir Mick Davis, sent a letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decrying a bill proposed by the coalition that would levy an 80% tax on foreign governments’ donations to Israeli nonprofits, calling the legislation “cynical, dangerous and undemocratic.” (Proponents of the bill maintain that it is necessary to prevent foreign governments’ meddling in domestic Israeli affairs.) More on this below.
And today, a group of 31 Jewish leaders — presidents and top executives from Jewish federations, family foundations and other national and local organizations — is issuing a call in these pages for Jewish unity. More on this below.
“Our disagreements, however deeply felt, must not overshadow our shared obligation to protect and uplift the Jewish people. We are all in this together and we must stop fighting each other,” they write.
This ever-present dilemma — how to hold opposing views on critical issues without allowing it to divide the Jewish community — has taken on new urgency after a gunman demonstrated last week that combating antisemitism is a matter of life or death.
LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
Dozens of Jewish donors sign letter denouncing ‘dangerous, undemocratic’ Israeli bill targeting foreign-funded NGOs
Dozens of prominent Jewish philanthropists from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Israel sent a letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decrying a proposed bill that would impose an 80% tax on foreign governments’ donations to Israeli nonprofits, ahead of a Knesset committee hearing on the legislation later this week. The so-called NGO bill — proposed by Likud MK Ariel Kallner — also includes a provision that would allow the Israeli finance minister to exempt nonprofits, raising concerns that this would be applied based on the partisan affiliations of foreign-funded organizations. “It’s a piece of legislation itself, which I think is not the sort of legislation that you want to see in a democratic country because it grants powers of exclusion to politicians in power, which can be used in very negative ways,” Sir Mick Davis, a former chair of the British Conservative Party, who spearheaded the letter, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
Why get involved?: Describing it as an “assault on the philanthropic endeavours of Diaspora Jews,” the 64 donors who signed the letter explain their opposition to the bill on two grounds: that while it only affects foreign government donations, most of the nonprofits that it would affect have received “seed funding from Diaspora Jewish philanthropists,” and that the measure represents “a dangerous attack on the democratic foundations of the state.” The letter adds that the bill would also antagonize the allies funding the affected nonprofits “at a time when they are most needed.” The signers of the letter against the legislation come from a range of political backgrounds. They include Charles Bronfman, Angelica Berrie, Lord Stanley Fink, Susie Gelman, Sally Gottesman, Jeffrey Solomon and Dame Vivien Duffield. Proponents of the bill maintain that it is necessary in order to combat “foreign-funded legal warfare against the state,” as Kallner described it in February.
WITH A LITTLE HELP…
Israel Friends marks $50 million to IDF troops, mental health since Oct. 7 attacks
In the days after Oct. 7, 2023, as the scale of the terror attacks and the impending Israeli response became clear, 10 veteran entrepreneurs — some with backgrounds in logistics and supply chains — quickly came together to organize flights back to Israel from the United States for reservists wanting to join their units and for shipping vital non-combat aid to Israel Defense Forces, from reconnaissance drones to specially adapted first aid kits. Nearly 20 months later, the ad hoc group — now dubbed Israel Friends — has provided some $50 million in on-the-ground aid to Israel, while operating with 5% overhead, far below the normal range of 15%-35%. Modeling itself like a start-up has allowed the group to be “extremely nimble” and quickly find solutions to needs, Israel Friends CEO Kyle Banks told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky.
Immediate, personal: Earlier this month, some of the founders and eight donors who have helped raise funds for Israel Friends projects visited Israel on a five-day “Founding Ambassador Mission.” Seeing how their donations directly impacted individual lives was deeply meaningful, one of the participants, Elizabeth Marcus of Boston, told eJP. “Somebody needs a drone — it was given to them the next day. That was what this is all about. They’re not waiting to get it. [The soldiers] get it immediately. They’re thanking us, but we’re thanking them. They have no idea how much this means to us,” Marcus said, just after handing out a first aid kit to a soldier on a base where the group had sponsored a barbecue. Her comment about providing a drone within a day was not hypothetical. During the trip, an IDF soldier approached members of the mission as they were serving lunch at a rest station for troops near the Gaza border and told them that his unit’s drone had broken the day before during an operation. By the next day, Israel Friends had delivered a new one.
MEETING THE MOMENT
Israel can’t compete with its checkbook. These tech leaders have other ideas
During President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East earlier this month, he shuttled between Gulf capitals to announce major economic deals. Missing from the list of deals announced on Trump’s Middle East junket was any kind of similar agreement with Israel, which Trump did not visit on his first major trip abroad since returning to office. Economic ties between the U.S. and Israel are strong. But the country lacks the liquid financial firepower that is available to the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, which risks placing Israel at a disadvantage in the eyes of an American president who sees the world as a series of business deals. Some Israeli business leaders and innovators are now urging the country to seriously consider adopting a strategy of “economic diplomacy” to place the country more firmly on Trump’s radar, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Pitching Israel: “Founders are Israel’s best ambassadors. They travel more than diplomats, pitch to the world’s biggest investors and solve real-world problems that transcend borders,” said Jon Medved, the Israel-based CEO of OurCrowd, a global venture investing platform. “Do they have a responsibility to engage in economic diplomacy? I think they already do, whether they realize it or not.”
Read the full story here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
MESSAGE TO THE FIELD
Let’s stop the infighting: A call for unity
“We write to you today with urgency, with heartbreak and with unwavering resolve. The time to unite is now — not tomorrow or next week, but now,” 31 Jewish federation and foundation leaders write in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Learn from history: “Throughout history, when Jews failed to unite in the face of existential threats, the consequences were catastrophic. The destruction of the Second Temple was not only the result of Roman power, but also of sinat chinam — baseless hatred and infighting among Jews. We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes… We the undersigned call upon every Jewish leader — religious and secular, progressive and conservative, young and old — to find common cause in the most fundamental of obligations: to ensure the safety, dignity and future of our people. Let our disagreements not divide us into paralysis or despair. Let them sharpen our thinking and deepen our commitments.”
Worthy Reads
Not an Aberration: In The Washington Post, Mark Laswell points out that the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim last week took place during a period when antisemitic incidents are rife, high-profile and often met with apathy by the greater public. “Even without this devastating news, the past week would have been notable in the tide of global antisemitism that, confoundingly, flowed from Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. Or at least the week was remarkable in its particulars; something similar could be written, changing only the details, almost anywhere you look on the calendar. … As it happens, antisemitism is the theme of a powerful, thoroughly disquieting and timely play now onstage in London. John Lithgow stars in Mark Rosenblatt’s ‘Giant’ as the children’s author Roald Dahl, secure in his fame and marinating, as is gradually revealed, in his detestation of Jews. The play is set in 1983 during a real-life career crisis for Dahl: He has written a book review that veered from assailing Israel into airing rancid views about Jews generally, and his publisher is alarmed by the potential impact on sales of his new book, ‘The Witches.’” [WashingtonPost]
How We Got Here: In The Atlantic, Reihan Salam and Jesse Arm put last week’s murder of two young Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C., in its larger context. “[Gunman Elias] Rodriguez didn’t invent this worldview. It has been cultivated for years — by groups that venerate terrorists, by academics who excuse anti-Jewish hate as anti-colonial resistance, and by students chanting ‘Intifada’ while shutting down bridges and storming campus buildings… What we’re witnessing is an issue not with Israel, but with America. When violence aimed at Jews — or those seen as aligned with them — is dismissed, excused, or rationalized, it undermines the civic norms that hold our society together. Elite institutions that once upheld liberal pluralism now indulge a form of identity politics that prizes grievance over justice. Some of the ugliest reactions to the D.C. shooting treated the murders as incidental — or even deserved. That’s not just moral failure. It represents a worldview that treats violence as politics by other means. ” [TheAtlantic]
Remember Her Right: In The New York Times, Yasmina Asrarguis — who first met D.C. shooting victim Sarah Milgrim on an interfaith trip to Morocco about nine months ago — discourages attempts to “co-opt” Milgrim’s murder while ignoring her principles in life. “The alleged killer, Elias Rodriguez, reportedly told police officers, ‘I did it for Gaza,’ after shooting Sarah, the Jewish girl from Kansas who wanted a Middle East in which Palestinians and Arabs, Muslims and Christians, can live in dignity next to the Jewish people of Israel. In his bullets, the killer could not have seen all that Sarah was, all that she believed in. Her Jewish identity was flattened into a target. In her murder he picked exactly the sort of person who might have altered the future. But just as the extremist misunderstood Sarah, so too do many of those who profess to weep for her loss. Those who mourn Sarah should reflect on her ideals, learn from her life’s work and aim as she did on creating the fragile groundwork for Middle East peace. It was a future she helped prepare for, one conversation, one relationship at a time.” [NYTimes]
‘The Ultimate Deadline’: In The Free Press, veteran journalist Emily Yoffe reflects on themes of ambition and mortality, poised in time between her mother’s death in January at 89 and her own 70th birthday this fall. “Ambition is an elixir as intoxicating and potent as love. It’s a force that gets you out of bed in the morning — and also wakes you up at 3:00 a.m., your brain churning with ideas, desires, fear of falling short. It’s the drive to see what you can do in the world, and to make the world notice that you are doing it… And then I found myself sitting at my mother’s bedside and getting a glimpse of the abyss. I had my revelation: Ambition can only get you so far. There’s something liberating about being freed from the scramble. It feels almost subversive to ignore email in the middle of a workday and instead read a book or take a long walk with a friend… I’ve been talking a lot to friends about the different ways they are going about letting go. One frequent sentiment is the relief many of them feel at being released from the hunger that drove them so hard for so many years. There is something soothing about knowing that whatever we accomplished — and whatever we didn’t — it’s done. But we are not quite done, and if we’re lucky enough to hold off the abyss for a while, we have the chance to figure out another way to be.” [TheFreePress]
Word on the Street
The Covenant Foundation announced the recipients of this year’s Covenant Award, which honors three outstanding Jewish educators: Sarah Atkins, director of Camp Kadimah in Canada; Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses, director of lifelong learning at Romemu in New York City; Rabbi Micah Lapidus, director of Jewish and Hebrew studies and school rabbi at the Alfred & Adele Davis Academy in Atlanta…
The Trump administration is preparing to cancel the federal government’s remaining federal contracts — worth an estimated $100 million — with Harvard University…
Israel’s emotional support ERAN hotline has received over 500,000 calls since Oct. 7, 2023 — 66,000 from soldiers, reservists and their families. According to a report released by the nonprofit, 31% of calls dealt with loneliness, 25% mental distress, 19% relationship issues, 4% violence or sexual abuse and 3% financial hardship…
The Board of Deputies of British Jewish announced the launching of the British Jewish Culture Month next year with the inauguration of the planned annual event set to run May 16-June 14, 2026…
Hundreds of people attended the funeral for Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli embassy researcher killed with his partner Sarah Lynn Milgrim in last week’s deadly shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum, in Jerusalem’s Beit Zayit neighborhood. In an interview with Jewish Insider after the funeral, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog praised Lischinsky as an ideal staffer…
Argentinian President Javier Milei will travel to Israel next month to receive the Genesis Prize, marking his commitment to Israel and the Jewish People, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced today; the group also noted that the $1 million award that comes with the prize, which will be presented on June 11, will be donated to programs to “encourage Latin American countries to develop closer ties with Israel”…
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began delivering an undisclosed amount of truckloads of food to new aid distribution sites for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, saying the volume will increase daily. John Acree was named as GHF’s interim executive director following the resignation of the previous leader over concerns about Israeli restrictions…
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused the Israeli government of setting up two shell companies, backed by taxpayer money, to fund the humanitarian aid effort in Gaza; the Prime Minister’s Office denied the claim…
Tens of thousands of religious Zionists marched through the Old City at the Jerusalem Day Flag March yesterday, with some shouting racist chants and clashing with Palestinian shopkeepers and police…
Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced bipartisan legislation last week aimed at eliminating loopholes used by museums and other stakeholders to continue possessing Nazi-looted artwork that Jewish families have been trying to recover, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
The California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee unanimously passed Assembly Bill 715, sponsored by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, which seeks to address antisemitism in K-12 schools in the state; the bill aims to strengthen protections against discrimination, ensure curricula and instructional materials are free of antisemitic bias, expand complaint procedures, increase accountability for school districts and establish a state antisemitism coordinator…
The Walder Foundation has launched its inaugural Walder Fellowship for 15 Jewish women from Israel and the U.S. at Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa., funding a leadership-focused executive Ph.D. program in Jewish studies…
The Lucille & Jay Chazanoff Sunrise Day Camp in Staten Island, N.Y. — the only free summer day camp in New York City for children with cancer and their siblings, which is operated by the Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC — has been awarded $550,000 in New York state funding…
Kingsley Wilson, a deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense who has come under fire from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Jewish communal organizations for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, has been promoted to serve as the department’s press secretary, the Pentagon announced on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
Moldova extradited to the U.S. a Georgian national and Eastern European neo-Nazi group leader who had instructed an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and distribute poison-laced candy to Jewish children…
Florida’s St. Petersburg Catalyst interviews Eric Stillman, the new president and CEO of the Florida Holocaust Museum…
Charges of racial harassment against a Jewish man were dropped this month after he was arrested last September over a placard mocking Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a counterprotest and being questioned by police about offending pro-Hezbollah protesters…
A survey by Out for Change, an organization that helps those leaving the Haredi community, finds that, contrary to popular belief, two-thirds of former Haredim continue to identify as observant or traditional and many report still having good relationships with family…
The Netzah Yehuda Organization, which facilitates Haredi military service, held a first-of-its-kind meeting last week for Haredi mothers whose sons serve in the Israel Defense Forces…
Former BBC executive and TV presenter Alan Yentob, who was of Iraqi-Jewish descent, died on Saturday at 78…
Filmmaker Michael Roemer, who with his sister was rescued by the Kindertransport during World War II and whose work included “Nothing But a Man” and “The Plot Against Harry,” died last Tuesday at 97…
German-born documentarian Marcel Ophuls, whose film “The Sorrow and the Pity” debunked the myth of a widespread French resistance to the Nazis during WWII, died last weekend at 97…
Writer Leslie Epstein, whose novel King of the Jews received widespread acclaim, died last Sunday at 87…
Transitions
Danya Leshed is leaving her position as senior advisor for Diaspora affairs to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to take on the role of director of resource development at Sheba Medical Center…
Zeddy Lawrence is stepping down as executive director of the Australian Jewish organization Zionism Victoria…
Pic of the Day
Israelis attend the national ceremony in honor of Ethiopian Jews who died en route to Israel in the 1980s during “Operation Moses,” yesterday on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem.
“This is the second year that this moving memorial ceremony is being held in the shadow of war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a speech at the ceremony. “Thus, the bravery of those who perished on the journey from Ethiopia joins the bravery of their offspring — the male and female soldiers of the IDF and security forces — who battled and fell for the sanctity of the nation and the homeland.”
Birthdays
CEO and director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Mark Goldfeder, celebrated his birthday yesterday…
MONDAY: Public speaker, teacher and author, Richard Lederer… Journalist and educator, the mother of the late Susan (former CEO of YouTube), Janet (anthropologist and UCSF professor) and Anne (co-founder of 23andMe), Esther Hochman Wojcicki… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-IL) since 1999, Janice Danoff “Jan” Schakowsky… Former senior vice president of news at NPR, after a lengthy career at the New York Daily News, The New York Times and the Associated Press, Michael Oreskes… Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and director, Richard Schiff … Co-founder and CEO of Mobileye which he sold to Intel in 2017, he is also a professor at Hebrew University, Amnon Shashua… NYC real estate developer, board member of The Charles H. Revson Foundation and a former commissioner on the NYC Planning Commission, Cheryl Cohen Effron… Former brigadier general in the IDF, she has been a member of the Knesset for the Likud since 2009, currently serving as minister of transportation, Miriam “Miri” Regev… Counsel in the government affairs practice of Paul Hastings, Dina Ellis Rochkind… Photographer, her work has appeared in galleries and been published in books, Naomi Harris… South Florida entrepreneur, Sholom Zeines… Program officer for media and communications at Maimonides Fund, Rebecca Friedman… Former minor league baseball player, he has become one of the leading agents for NBA players, with five contracts of over $100 million each, Jason Glushon… Executive editor of Ark Media, she is the author of a book last year on the 1929 origins of the current Israeli-Arab conflict, Yardena Schwartz… Co-founder of Stories Abroad Tours, Arielle Gingold… Assistant professor of law at Wayne State University Law School, Benjamin L. Cavataro… Toronto-born Israeli actress and singer, best known as the protagonist of the Israeli television series “Split,” Melissa Amit Farkash… Strategic partnerships and engagement manager at U.S. Pharmacopeia, Morgan A. Jacobs… Catcher in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Garrett Patrick Stubbs… Eytan Merkin…
TUESDAY: Retired professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, he is the author of 80 books, Philip Kotler… Founder of Val d’Or Apparel and Cannon County Knitting Mills, Martin “Marty” Granoff… CEO of British real estate firm Heron International, he was knighted in 2024, Sir Gerald Ronson… Senior U.S. district judge for the Central District of California, Christina A. Snyder… Retired in 2014 as school rabbi and director of Jewish studies at The Rashi School, a K-8 Reform Jewish school in Dedham, Mass., Ellen Weinstein Pildis… Partner in the D.C. office of ArentFox Schiff, he wrote a book about the struggle for Jewish civil rights during the French Revolution, Gerard Leval… Jewish Renewal rabbi, analytical psychotherapist and author, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone… Former MLB pitcher (1978-1982) who played for the White Sox and Pirates, he is now a financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management, Ross Baumgarten… Owner of a 900-acre plant nursery in Kansas, he is a former MLB pitcher (1979-1990) and was an MLB All Star in 1979 and 1982, Mark Clear… Marriage counselor, therapist and author, Sherry Amatenstein… U.S. ambassador to Argentina during the Biden administration, he served for six years as chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Marc R. Stanley… Beverly Hills-based immigration attorney, founder and chairman of the Los Angeles Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, Neil J. Sheff… General manager of Phibro Israel and co-founder of LaKita, a nonprofit crowd-funding platform for Israeli public schools, Jonathan Bendheim… Workplace and labor reporter at The New York Times, Noam Scheiber… Stage, film and television actor and producer, Ben Feldman… Director of development at the Livingston, N.J.-based Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, Grant Silverstein… “Science of Success” columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Benjamin Zachary Cohen… Director of legislative affairs and policy at General Atomics, Katherina (Katya) Dimenstein… Assistant district attorney for Bronx County, Joshua A. Fitterman… Reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 2012, Andrew Seidman… Emily Cohen…
