Your Daily Phil: Jewish refugee groups reel as Trump halts resettlement
Good Friday morning.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: As 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation approaches, Yad Vashem prepares for the ‘day after’ survivors; Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation donates $90 million to strengthen Cleveland’s day schools; and After holding fire, major Jewish groups condemn Musk’s latest Nazi commentary. Print the latest edition here.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on how Jewish groups involved in refugee resettlement are reacting to President Donald Trump’s executive order indefinitely halting such programs and spotlight a new Jewish Agency award for Israeli children who have displayed resilience during the past 15 months of war. We also report on a new initiative by the relief group Nechama to combat disaster-related antisemitism and interview American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch about how he is approaching a second Trump administration. We feature an opinion piece by Mikayla Laufer and Shalom Orzach about The iCenter’s approach to collecting and applying data on its learners in its program design; and one by Betsy Stone on the need for Jewish education to cover “soft skills” along with Hebrew and textual study. Also in this newsletter: Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Daniel Lurie and Rabbi Cheryl Peretz.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, concludes today. Some attendees sticking around for the weekend will be attending the annual Shabbat dinner at the Kurpark.
The Jewish Funders Network is organizing a site visit to the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Sunday focused on how arts and culture programs can support social resilience.
The Altneu synagogue is hosting a dedication ceremony for its new location on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other notables are slated to attend.
The two-day JLI Leadership Summit kicks off on Sunday in Palm Beach, Fla.
What You Should Know
After less than a week in office, President Donald Trump and his flurry of executive orders have already caused a stir in the Jewish nonprofit and communal world, mainly — but by no means solely — by progressive Jews and Jewish groups, as seen in statements and strategic pivots, as well as in concrete financial actions, writes eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross.
Trump’s decision to again withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords prompted Michael Bloomberg and other philanthropic partners to step in and cover the United States’ contribution to the U.N.’s climate change arm, amounting to approximately $7.25 million — more than a fifth of its operating budget — in order to keep the environmental initiative functioning.
Jewish groups involved in refugee resettlement efforts — from national groups such as HIAS to the local Jewish family services that help place the new arrivals — told Jay Deitcher for eJP that they were not surprised by Trump’s executive order halting such programs indefinitely but were nonetheless dismayed by them. They added that even if these resettlement programs were to restart, shutting them down comes with major costs, to both the organizations and, far more so, to the refugees and their family members in the U.S. (More on this below.)
Large, national Jewish organizations have criticized the move as well, with the American Jewish Committee saying that it was “particularly concerned” by it and calling on the Trump administration to “expand and create new legal pathways for immigration.”
Mainstream groups also denounced Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of 1,500 people who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. “This decision undermines accountability and risks reinvigorating violent extremists and other insurrectionists,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. The AJC also noted that many of those involved are part of antisemitic extremist groups and that pardoning them “undermines the rule of law.”
The National Council of Jewish Women and Jewish LGBTQ nonprofit Keshet have come out strongly against an executive order that removed the concept of gender fluidity from the federal government, recognizing instead only a person’s sex at birth — male or female —in federal programs. In a joint statement, the organizations said that they planned to “fight this harmful discrimination in the courts, in Congress, and through the regulatory process.” Progressive groups have also decried the president’s order ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the U.S. government, with NJCW and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs joining a newly formed “Demand Diversity Coalition” led by the National Urban League.
But Jewish groups are not only reacting to the events of the past four days but preparing for the next four years, determining how to work with the new administration and how to counteract the policies and actions that they oppose. (Read the interview with AJC CEO Ted Deutch by our colleagues at Jewish Insider below for a glimpse into how one communal organization is looking to work with the White House to combat antisemitism.)
EXECUTIVE DECISION
Jewish groups were ready for Trump’s indefinite refugee hiatus, but say effects on families will be devastating

On Wednesday, two days into President Donald Trump’s second term, the president issued an executive order pausing refugee resettlement, canceling travel for thousands of refugees who were approved to come into the United States, leaving them stranded across the globe, including in Iran, where many Jews have been waiting anxiously to leave since 2016. For Jewish agencies that work with refugees, Trump’s actions were anticipated, and they had prepared to pivot their efforts in response to them, but for families who were awaiting parents, siblings and friends to join them in America, the effects are devastating, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy.
The same, but more so: Although Trump also massively cut refugee resettlement numbers during his first term, the actions time around were put into place much more quickly, Trip Oldfield, CEO of Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Long Beach and West Orange County near Los Angeles, whose organization provides refugee resettlement services, told eJP. “He’s essentially doing exactly what he did last time, although he’s much better prepared this time, because he’s had a few years to plan,” Oldfield said of Trump. “The Biden administration took two years to get the [refugee resettlement] program up and running,” he said. “We really only had a viable refugee resettlement program in the U.S. two years of the last eight years, and now this is going to do exactly the same thing again. You spend all this money developing a refugee program in the U.S., and then you just demolish the system.”
WORTHY TRIBUTES
Jewish Agency honors father and son slain in Oct. 7 attacks with award for children who demonstrated resilience during the war

The Jewish Agency is launching a new award in honor of both Ofir and Nitzan Libstein, the mayor of the Gaza-adjacent Shaar Hanegev region and his son, both of whom were killed by terrorists in the Oct. 7 attacks, honoring children who demonstrated exceptional resilience and resourcefulness during the war, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky.
Our greatest hope: Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, the head of the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror, told eJP that this award was a fitting tribute for Nitzan Libstein as he had overcome post-traumatic stress disorder as a child and become a leader in his community. “Nitzan was able to come back from his post-trauma and to help other children and teenagers going through the same thing,” she said. “I think the most important thing about the resilience award is that hope is always there and these children and teenagers and youth movements are the hope for all of us.”
SHELTER FROM THE STORM
After flood of antisemitism post-Hurricane Helene, relief group Nechama adds program to combat disaster-related hate

As relief organizations mobilized to provide aid in North Carolina in September following the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Helene, they found themselves facing another storm: a wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the crisis. In response to a resurgence of the Jewish weather-control myth, Nechama —- the only national Jewish disaster relief organization — is creating a program to stem the tide of such antisemitism, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
One shot: Though still in the process of implementation, Nechama has hired a staff member — Tzlil McDonald — focused specifically on the initiative, is currently forming an advisory board committee, bringing together experts with interest in the subject matter and engaging in conversations with community leaders and leadership of other disaster relief organizations that are passionate about combating antisemitism. The nonprofit also plans to create programming that brings members of communities impacted by disasters to volunteer alongside their staff onsite and learn about Nechama and the Jewish community. “Nechama might be, for their entire life, the only Jewish organization they ever interact with. It’s a very unique opportunity we have when we show up on site,” Shlomo Rozenek, Nechama’s director of finance and administration, told eJP.
TED TALK
AJC CEO Ted Deutch urges Trump to appoint White House antisemitism coordinator, develop new national strategy

As President Donald Trump’s administration, and the new GOP-controlled Congress, take shape, much is still unknown about how they’ll approach the domestic antisemitism crisis that has accelerated since Trump’s last term in office. American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch has some recommendations, reports Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider. In an interview this week, Deutch urged the Trump administration to follow the Biden administration in issuing its own national strategy to combat antisemitism, as well as appoint a White House official responsible for combating antisemitism full-time.
Three steps: “The president can send a very strong signal by appointing someone to serve in that capacity, to focus on the challenges that we’re seeing across the country domestically,” Deutch said. “And there is — as our call to action against antisemitism makes clear — a need for us to tackle antisemitism using a whole-of-society approach. And the White House can help drive that.” Deutch also urged the Trump administration and Congress to ensure sufficient funding for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the division responsible for investigating and litigating complaints of antisemitic discrimination on campuses. He also urged the Trump administration to make it a “very high priority” to nominate a State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, to replace former Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
HEADS UP
We are not just counting people — we are making them count

Demographic information like age, geographic location and level of education are “raw facts that help us begin to understand the individuals we serve,” write The iCenter’s Mikayla Laufer, director of data strategy and campus partnerships, and Shalom Orzach, a senior educator and consultant, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “These data points are essential because they provide a foundation for understanding who someone is, where they come from and the context in which they live.”
Greater than the sum of their parts: “As valuable as that information is, however, it only tells part of the story… Informational data helps us identify gaps, trends and opportunities, while relational understanding ensures that the educational opportunities we create are learner-centered and culturally relevant… By balancing the measurable with the immeasurable, we create a framework that respects both the facts of a person’s life and the essence of who they are. This approach ensures that we do not reduce individuals to mere statistics but honor them as complex, whole human beings with stories that deserve to be seen, heard and understood.”
STRUGGLE MUSCLES
Education and soft skills: The support we all need

“During the pandemic, many of us worried about learning loss. Would our children be able to ‘catch up’? Would they be forever challenged by lesser instructional experiences?” writes retired psychologist Betsy Stone in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “But the measurable educational loss of content knowledge — in reading and math skills, for example — is not the only problem we face today.”
Something essential is missing: “Our children lost ‘soft’ skills: the ability to sit, to listen attentively, to stay on task. They are more distractable. They complain of feeling ‘unsafe’ when often they are simply unable to tolerate their own discomfort… I know there are lots of wonderful curricula out there, written by scholars who know both pedagogy and content. What I hope for is curricula that recognize the special needs of this time. We can and must teach our children — and their parents — to be members of a society that values character, kindness and the ability to struggle with complex problems.”
Worthy Reads
An End Would Be a Beginning: In The Times of Israel, Rachel Goldberg-Polin looks ahead to the next stages of the hostage-release deal and what lies beyond. “In the Torah portion Vaera, which we will read this Shabbat, G-d describes the four stages of redemption from Egypt that will be performed. This deliverance will manifest in us becoming a nation in the Land of Israel. Part of experiencing salvation is opening the door and going forward. Memory is important in grounding us, but only looking backwards can also do what it did to Lot’s wife. It can doom us to being frozen forever. Today, as I tear the tape to put on my chest with the number of days it has been since October 7th, I dream not only of the captives returning to Zion. I dream of using my tape, one day soon, very soon, to seal things. I dream of using my tape…as tape.” [TOI]
A Promise Kept: In the Jewish Journal, Marian Merritt shares the tale of a journey of discovery that began with a sepia-toned photograph of a woman swinging a golf club in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza. “In the late 1990s, I asked my father-in-law, John F. Merritt — who has since passed — about the picture that hung on the wall of his Century City home. Who the heck was that woman, I had to know. As he explained it, the elegant golfer was his late Scotland-born mother Ruth Davida Wolffe, who would later marry his father, a rabbi from the U.S. Midwest. My questions sent me down a path that uncovered a fascinating chapter in my husband’s family history; one that ties him to early Zionism, a ‘Maccabean Pilgrimage’ and Jewish settlers in Nairobi, Kenya. It also pointed me to a piece of unfinished business: a bequest made in 1917 which had not yet been fulfilled.” [JewishJournal]
For You Were a Stranger: In Inside Philanthropy, Adam Strom highlights the role funders can play in making children of immigrant families in the U.S. feel safe at school today. “Immigrant-origin youth now make up 26% of the school-age population in the United States, a figure that continues to grow… Protections that had previously designated schools as safe zones where immigration enforcement was avoided — policies upheld by the Department of Homeland Security — were rescinded on January 21, the first full day of the new administration. This decision has heightened fears among immigrant families and educators, creating an environment of uncertainty and anxiety… Philanthropy can support partnerships to develop educational ecosystems that include schools and community organizations and address immediate needs, such as legal aid and mental health services, while fostering long-term belonging through programs and initiatives that build cross-cultural understanding and connections… Another area ripe for philanthropic investment is advocacy. Supporting efforts to protect schools from becoming sites of immigration enforcement and to promote policies that ensure equity and inclusion can have a transformative impact. Advocacy can also amplify the voices of immigrant students and their families, empowering them to shape the policies and practices that affect their lives.” [InsidePhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Ahead of Monday’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish Federations of North America announced that it was issuing $3.3 million in grants to support agencies that deliver social services to Holocaust survivors and other older adults with a history of trauma, and their family caregivers…
The Associated Press spotlights Naftali Fürst, who was 12 years old when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz; Fürst’s granddaughter and her family survived the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they lived…
With the last of the Holocaust Survivors now dying, French Jewish leaders are using various methods such as school trips to Auschwitz, TikTok and interactive projects to reach out to the younger generation to ensure the history of the Holocaust is not forgotten…
Jewish groups are criticizing Elon Musk for making repeated jokes about the Holocaust on his social media platform, X…
Jewish Insider interviews philanthropist and incoming San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie…
Rabbi Cheryl Peretz has been promoted to the vice dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies of the American Jewish University…
Moment Magazine looks at the history and tenuous future of South African Jewry and the new challenges they are facing since Oct. 7, including the threatened arrest of South African citizens serving in the Israeli military and returning to South Africa; that threat is based on a 2006 signed, but not yet implemented, law that forbids citizens from serving in foreign militaries passed to counter South African mercenary activity following the fall of the apartheid regime…
Eight Wikipedia editors accused of disruptive behavior, six pro-Palestinian and two pro-Israel, have been barred from editing articles on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after a ruling by the platform’s Arbitration Committee. The committee also implemented new rules to prevent distortions and promote civility in debates over Israel-related content…
Iraq’s foreign minister confirmed that Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped by an Iraqi militia group in March 2023, is alive and that Baghdad is working on securing her release…
Newman’s Own foundation CEO Alex Amouyel urged, in a TED Talk on Thursday, more companies to donate 100% of their profits to charity, offering guidance to those interested in donating all or part of their profits to social causes and provided options for companies committing smaller percentages or exploring charitable contributions…
“The Brutalist,” a new film starring Adrien Brody as a Holocaust survivor in the U.S., garnered 10 Oscar nominations; “September 5,” a film about the 1972 Munich Olympics, was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, while “A Real Pain,” about two Jewish cousins who visit their grandmother’s childhood home in Poland, received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Kieran Culkin; Timothée Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unkown”…
Rabbi Moshe Herson, regional director of Chabad-Lubavitch of New Jersey and former dean of the Rabbinical College of America, died on Jan. 23 at 90…
Pic of the Day

A scribe writes a Torah scroll yesterday that was commissioned in honor of Ran Gvili, whose body is being held captive in Gaza, at an event outside of Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel — the site of the massacre at the Nova music festival.
The event was held amid the implementation of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage-release deal. Under the agreement, a group of four hostages are slated to be freed tomorrow; their identities have yet to be released by Hamas.
Birthdays

Founder of an online software training website acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 for $1.5 billion, Lynda Susan Weinman, celebrates her birthday today…
FRIDAY: Canadian architect and urban renewal advocate, Phyllis Barbara Lambert… Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond… 2011 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, professor at Technion and Iowa State University, Dan Shechtman… Chairman of the Sazerac Company and of Crescent Crown Distributing, William Goldring… Professor of modern Jewish history at New York University, Marion Kaplan… Senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and chairman of the Tikvah Fund, he was previously an official in the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump 45 administrations, Elliott Abrams… Professor of alternative dispute resolution and mediation at Hofstra School of Law, Robert Alan Baruch Bush… Ukrainian-born comedian, actor and writer, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1977 and is noted for the catchphrase “What a country,” Yakov Smirnoff… Conductor, violinist and violist, who has performed with leading symphony orchestras worldwide, Yuri Bashmet… Vice president of strategy at LiveWorld, Daniel Flamberg… Burlingame, Calif.-based surgeon at Peninsula Plastic Surgery, Lorne K. Rosenfield, M.D…. Beryl Eckstein… Senior correspondent at Newsmax, Rick Leventhal… Former CEO of Ford Motor Company, and now on the boards of Hertz and Qualcomm, Mark Fields (his family’s original name was Finkelman)… B’nei mitzvah coordinator at Temple Beth Am of Los Angeles, Judith Alban… Former HUD secretary and OMB director, now the President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, Shaun Donovan… Co-founder and executive director of Protect Democracy, Ian Bassin… Chief legal officer at Ripple Fiber, Joshua Runyan… Sporting director for Hapoel Jerusalem, Yotam Halperin… Founder and CEO at TACKMA and a principal at Schottenstein Property Group, Jeffrey Schottenstein… Former regional director of synagogue initiative at AIPAC, Miryam Knafo Schapira… J.D. candidate at Brooklyn Law School, Michael Krasna… Musician and former child actor, Jonah Bobo…
SATURDAY: Senior partner of The Mack Company and a director of Mack-Cali Realty, David S. Mack… Israeli peace activist and author, David Grossman… Editor-in-chief of The National Memo, Joe Conason… Retired in 2023 as dean of the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Naamah Kelman-Ezrachi… Senior vice president and senior portfolio manager in the Los Angeles office of Morgan Stanley, Robert N. Newman… Actress and television director, Dinah Beth Manoff… Los Angeles resident, Helene S. Ross… Agent at Creative Artists Agency, Michael Glantz… Chief correspondent and executive editor for CBS News “Eye on America” franchise, Jim Axelrod… Former member of Knesset for Yesh Atid, he served as minister of education, Shai Moshe Piron… Founding partner of merchant bank Finback Investment Partners, John Leachman Oliver III… Member of the Canadian Parliament from Montreal since 2015, he won 12 medals in swimming at the 2013 and 2017 Maccabiah Games, Anthony Housefather… Author of multiple novels, she is a writer-in-residence in Jewish studies at Stanford University, Maya Arad… Toronto-born actress, Mia Kirshner… National political reporter at the Washington Post, Michael Scherer… Director of finance and operations at JQY, David Newman… President of Ukraine since 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky… Member of the U.S House of Representatives (D-FL), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick… Benjamin L. Newton… Managing vice president of executive operations for the National Association of Manufacturers, Mark Isaacson… Member of the Arizona House of Representatives until 2023, Daniel Hernández Jr.… Actress, writer and director, Pauline Hope Chalamet… Assistant director of foreign policy at JINSA, Ari Cicurel…
SUNDAY: Investigative journalist and D-Day veteran, Morton Mintz … Actor, film director and playwright, Henry David Jaglom… Pioneering computer scientist, Barbara Bluestein Simons, Ph.D…. Cookbook author and journalist, she has been referred to as the “matriarch of Jewish cooking,” Joan Nathan … Singer-songwriter, socialite and political fundraiser, Denise Eisenberg Rich… Economic and social theorist, author of 23 books, Jeremy Rifkin… New Haven, Conn.-based personal injury attorney, Herbert Ira Mendelsohn… Publishing professional, Agnes F. Holland… Professor emeritus of modern Judaic studies at the University of Virginia, Peter W. Ochs… Two-time Emmy Award-winning film and television director, Mimi Leder… President of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Rabbi Marc Schneier… Senior rabbi of Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Ammiel Hirsch… Argentina’s largest real-estate developer, president of Chabad Argentina, president of Hillel Argentina and president of Taglit Birthright Argentina, Eduardo Elsztain… Co-founder of the Laura and Gary Lauder Family Venture Philanthropy Fund, Laura Heller Lauder… President of HSK Consulting, Hilary Smith Kapner… Former CNN anchor and correspondent for 12 years, author of two books, she runs a website and newsletter focused on uplifting and positive news, Daryn Kagan… Co-founder of Boardroom One, Brent Cohen… Actress, comedian and television screenwriter, Claudia Lonow… Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for most of 2023, Kevin McCarthy… Major-General (res.) in the IDF, now serving as director general of the Ministry of Defense, Eyal Zamir… Senior strategist and consultant at Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach, Jill Weinstock Deutch… Oakland County (Mich.) clerk and register of deeds, Lisa Brown… Educator and scholar, Raizi Chechik… Middleweight boxing champion, he retired in 2003 with a 37-1-1 record, now a credit union loan officer, Dana Rosenblatt… Retired tennis player, Justin Gimelstob… Actress, she hosted The CW reality series “Shedding for the Wedding,” Sara Rue (born Sara Schlackman)… Of counsel at Morrison Cohen LLP, previously an Obama White House Jewish liaison, Jarrod Neal Bernstein… Senior advisor at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and president of the Palm Collective, Tamar Remz… Former Olympic figure skater, now head of athlete success at Grandstand, Emily Hughes… Blues and jazz musician, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton… Former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Jonathan Aaron Regunberg… Co-founder and CEO of Folio, Fay Goldstein…