Shahar Brukner was a student at the Harvard Kennedy School, getting his master’s degree in public policy analysis, when he started his own nonprofit, a fellowship that aimed to bring financial resources to Israeli students studying in the U.S. But in order to do that, Brukner had to raise the money. “Right from the beginning, there’s so many difficulties that fundraisers face in this world around basic questions,” Brukner told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Melissa Weiss. “Like, ‘What funders care about what I’m doing? How could I get to know about them? How can I connect with them? Are there any other nonprofits that are doing what I’m doing? Maybe I can collaborate with them?’ Answering these questions took a lot of time. It was extremely hard and [there was] nothing [in terms of] really centralized data in one place.”

Coming together: Brukner, alongside co-founders Simon Dickson, a HKS classmate, and Tom Huberman, an alum of the IDF’s elite 8200 intelligence unit, set out to create a solution. What resulted was impala, a platform that serves as a database for publicly available data on foundations and nonprofits — some 2 million of them. The platform scrapes details from the IRS 990 forms — mandatory paperwork for U.S.-based nonprofits — as well as the websites and annual reports of nonprofits and foundations. Impala came out of “the idea of creating a network platform for the nonprofit sector — one place where every nonprofit and every foundation and every funder can get the information that they need to understand [what] this sector looks like,” Brukner explained. 

Increased visibility: The platform will launch its partnership with the Jewish Funders Network (JFN) in a Zoom event on Wednesday. Brukner had shown JFN leadership an early demonstration of how impala works, and, he said, “it was clear” from the initial conversations that there existed the potential for collaboration. When it launches this week, more than 20,000 entities — all JFN members and their grantees, both Jewish and non-Jewish — will receive free access to impala’s premium edition for two years. Support for the project came from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Glazer Foundation, the DARE Foundation and the Jewish Funders Network’s board chair, Marcia Riklis, who collectively are providing $525,000 over two years. “With impala, we finally have visibility into the entire Jewish philanthropic sector and can better understand JFN’s place in it, reveal opportunities for collaboration and unite everyone — Jewish foundations and nonprofits — in one place,” Riklis said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

“As one of the greatest Jewish educational interventions since the day school, the summer camp, the Zionist movement, the yeshiva and the Talmud itself, Taglit-Birthright Israel is often targeted,” writes Gil Troy, a professor of North American history at McGill University, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.

Frat party?: “Critics stereotype Birthright’s Israel trips as the Jewish world’s big, fat, mindless, propagandistic frat party. But the caricatures clash: faultfinders have to choose between bashing Birthright Israel as a mindless romp or as serious indoctrination. Beyond their inconsistencies, these crude cartoons insult over 800,000 overwhelmingly satisfied Birthright alumni, treating them as patsies in either scenario. They also disrespect the thousands of top-notch educators who have made Birthright Israel’s educational vision thoughtful, subtle, contextualized, person-centered and genuine.”

Model of constructive identity-building: “I admit. I am biased. I have chaired Birthright Israel’s education committee as a lay leader since 2010. From that vantage point, I have been honored to participate in many of the most pressing debates shaping Birthright Israel’s curriculum, while watching the program evolve educationally to meet our participants’ changing needs. As one of the bright spots in the Jewish world, running a nonpartisan, inspiring Israel program people are happy to join, Birthright Israel offers a model of constructive identity-building and Israel-associating, that transcends the politics and passing headaches of any particular moment.”

Tackling the hard stuff: “Thanks to Birthright Israel’s current educational leaders, who have continuously updated the project’s philosophy and approach … I have been lucky to work with my own dream team of educators over the years… Perhaps most surprising is that, during this highly polarized era, we have tackled all kinds of explosive issues, while keeping it civil. We have debated how to teach about Israel’s tensions with its neighbors and its broader geopolitical place in the world. We have addressed the challenges of how to engage Israeli Arabs within our various program offerings, and complement such initiatives with rigorous staff-training protocols. We have grappled with pedagogies regarding how to experience Shabbat, Israeli politics, the Holocaust, Jewish values, or social diversity to young adults, many of whom keep growing – as studies show – less Jewishly-literate and more Jewishly-distant.”

Read the full piece here.

“Antisemitism is rearing its ugly head at the City University of New York. Jewish students at the 25 colleges that make up the CUNY system have repeatedly experienced harassment and discrimination as a result of their faith, including Zionism,” writes Avi D. Gordon, executive director of Alums for Campus Fairness, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.

Words are not enough: “Public outcry has reached a fever pitch. Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez is feeling the pressure and finally saying the right things. But his words are not enough. To combat the antisemitism epidemic, CUNY must take meaningful action to treat the disease itself, not just the symptoms.”

IHRA standard: “Chancellor Matos Rodríguez clearly got the message. Based on his change in attitude and media blitz over the last few months, he at least recognizes that he has a public relations problem on his hands. But beyond platitudes and a token investment in programming, there is not much to be excited about. CUNY has not changed a single policy. The chancellor announced a new reporting tool for antisemitic incidents, but will not define antisemitism. He still refuses to adopt the internationally recognized definition, as countless other colleges and universities have done. Alums for Campus Fairness has engaged with schools around the country on this specific issue. Dozens of campuses have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance standard. CUNY has not.”

Read the full piece here.

“As humans, we make great use of the natural resources that surround us. A tree can offer its fruit to eat, leaves for shade and limbs to build, and yet it also presents an opportunity to behold vivid hues and bold strokes, beautiful blossoms and formidable vistas that enliven the human experience,” writes Ilana Fodiman-Silverman, director of Moed, a community organization in Zichron Yaakov, Israel, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. 

Not just sustenance: “The Torah describes the first trees which sprouted up in the Garden of Eden from the vantage of the human observer. Genesis 2:9 reads: ‘And from the ground, God caused every tree to grow that was nehmad (pleasing) to the sight and tov (good) for eating.’ These trees are presented with both visual and gastronomic benefits. Eating is tov (good), a word that appears repeatedly as God pronounces satisfaction at the end of the days of creation. In contrast, the visual sensation is labeled nehmad. 

Spiritual significance: “The almond tree holds particular prominence in the Tanach and beyond as a symbol of spiritual significance… The almond branch also plays a role in one of Van Gogh’s most celebrated paintings….”

Read the full piece here.