Your Daily Phil: L.A. wildfires hit local synagogues
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the wildfires hitting Los Angeles and on Barak Hermann being tapped to lead the JCC Association of North America, and we interview ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt following his appearance in the Knesset yesterday. We feature an opinion piece by Will Eastman urging funders to channel more support toward making Jewish education financially accessible to all. Also in this newsletter: Mark Zuckerberg, Ira Gewanter and Elizabeth Tsurkov.
What We’re Watching
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will present the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor at 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) to eight Jewish communal leaders — including Ronald Lauder, Julie Platt and Malcolm Hoenlein — as well as a non-Jewish former German minister, at a ceremony in the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky will be there — say hi!
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is hosting its “Lox and Legislators” breakfast this morning at Washington Hebrew Congregation in the capital.
A new Israeli documentary series about post-Oct. 7 Jewish life in the United States, “Jews in America — Torn Identity,” is being aired on Israel’s Hot 8 documentary channel starting today. The series was made with support from the Ruderman Foundation, Hot 8 and the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund and the Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts, Tel Aviv.
Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s outgoing special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, is in Israel today and tomorrow for her final visit to the country before departing her position later this month.
What You Should Know
Tens of thousands of Angelenos have been evacuated from their homes and many more have been instructed to prepare to do the same as a massive wildfire fueled by high winds broke out in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and nearby Eaton Valley in Los Angeles yesterday, spreading to encompass nearby areas as well as firefighters struggled to contain the blaze, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
The Jewish Federation Los Angeles opened its call line for members of the community to reach out for assistance. The organization said it was coordinating with local law enforcement and other L.A. Jewish organizations. “We will continue to provide updates as events unfold and are mobilizing resources for those affected,” the federation said in a message to local residents.
“We are fielding calls from so many community members who have lost their homes. Our hearts go out to them tonight,” Joanna Mendelson, the senior vice president of community engagement at the federation, wrote on X.
The Eaton fire destroyed the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in Pasadena, with a local reporter on the scene saying that the building “crumbled” as the fire raged, with gusts of wind causing the flames to burn hotter and “just melting” the concrete and metal structure.
Chabad of the Pacific Palisades said that its center and several cars that were parked in its lot were burned in the fires, as were the menorahs that were outside the center. “Thankfully, we evacuated our over 100 children at our early childhood center earlier, and we’re in touch with all the families,” Rabbi Zushi Cunin, director of the Chabad, told a local television station last night.
With help from the volunteers, the Chabad also removed all of its Torah scrolls on Tuesday. “We’re connecting many of the people who still need assistance with the first responders, and they’ve been responding and connecting with them,” Cunin said. “We’re so grateful to the outpouring of love of so many all throughout the community and throughout the world.”
TRANSITIONS
Baltimore JCC’s Barak Hermann tapped to lead JCC Association
After a 10-month search, the JCC Association of North America has tapped Barak Hermann — CEO of the JCC of Greater Baltimore — to serve as its next president and CEO, the organization announced on Tuesday, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim. Hermann succeeds Doron Krakow, who stepped down as CEO in March after seven years to focus on his family and Israel. Jennifer Mamlet, the executive vice president of the organization, has served as acting president and CEO through the search process.
Learning together: Speaking to eJP after the announcement of his appointment, Hermann identified strengthening Jewish unity and literacy as some of the core priorities he brings to the position. “We might have different ways we live Jewishly, there might be different ways we connect Jewishly, but I’m all about unity and not uniformity,” he told eJP. “I just care deeply that Jews feel connected to each other… feel like they’re responsible for each other.”
Q&A
Greenblatt: How the Jewish community can address the post-10/7 antisemitism ‘inferno’
In a hearing in the Knesset yesterday, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt acknowledged that the Jewish community had fallen short in its efforts to combat the “inferno” of antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks and subsequent war in Gaza and called for fresh methods to address the issue. Following his testimony, Greenblatt sat down with Melissa Weiss of eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider for a wide-ranging interview.
JI: So let’s talk about the need to do things differently. Because that was the headline yesterday in our sister publication eJewishPhilanthropy, that was the thing that really stuck out to us. What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working. What is being reevaluated?
JG: [We] aspire to have — and I believe we do — a very data-driven approach, and yet, whereas we’re thinking about it on the front end, I don’t think we’re doing a sufficiently effective approach on the back end… So all of this, and the moment we’re in, leads me to say we have to step back and rethink and reconsider and have the humility to acknowledge it all wasn’t working the way that we hoped… I think the State of Israel has done this very effectively. I think the State of Israel historically has done the equivalent of after-action reports, learned from the 2006 Lebanon engagement, learned from Guardian of the Walls in 2021 and you saw that in the way that they approached this conflict. And that’s what I talked about in my remarks. We need to do the same.
Read the full interview here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
Meta analysis: Jewish groups, including the ADL, are looking skeptically at Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement yesterday that Meta/Facebook was ending its third-party fact-checking policies in favor of a “community notes” model, with fears that this could lead to an increase in antisemitic content on the platform, reports Haley Cohen for Jewish Insider.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Imagining tuition-free Jewish day schools
“The start of a new year inspires us to dream — to envision a better future for ourselves, our families and our communities,” writes Jewish communal professional Will Eastman in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “As we imagine what is possible in the new year, we also often marvel at the great things that happened last year and think about how we can build on or replicate them.”
Lead the way: “The Jewish community can take pride in remarkable philanthropic achievements in 2024, including the fact that Jewish philanthropists gave the two largest gifts of the year: Ruth Gottesman’s $1 billion gift to Albert Einstein Medical School, and Michael Bloomberg’s similar contribution to Johns Hopkins Medical School, which made both institutions tuition-free for medical students… In these challenging times, with Israel under attack and antisemitism rampant, there is a compelling case to make to encourage philanthropists to channel a greater share of their support towards Jewish education. And when one bold philanthropist makes the decision to establish the first tuition-free day school, like Dr. Gottesman did for Einstein Medical School, others will follow their lead.”
Worthy Reads
Plan Ahead: In Inside Philanthropy, Celia Wexler highlights the importance of succession planning and shares some advice from the experts. “[E]ven for old, established nonprofit organizations or foundations, it doesn’t take a lot to disrupt operations if a few key people leave or die unexpectedly. And yet, according to a recent survey of public charities conducted by BoardSource, to be published this year, only about 35% of the nonprofits surveyed have a succession plan for CEO transitions. Likewise, a little under a third have a written emergency plan if an executive departs unexpectedly. Far fewer — under 15% — have a written policy guiding succession planning for board leadership. Monika Kalra Varma, president and CEO of BoardSource, said that the lack of planning isn’t entirely surprising. ‘The nature of nonprofits is that we’re constantly in sort of a crisis mode,’ making it difficult to make time to do this type of thinking. But planning for the unexpected loss of key staff or board members should be high on the list of board priorities, she added. ‘We have to do better.’” [InsidePhilanthropy]
An Alternative to Burnout: In The New York Times, Oliver Burkeman answers Ezra Klein’s questions about his new book, Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts. “I think that burnout is best understood as having the component of a lack of meaning — that you’re not only working incredibly hard, but it doesn’t seem to get you any closer to the imagined moment when you’re actually going to feel on top of everything and in control — like you can relax at last… We really feel an extreme pressure — from inside and from the culture and from all sorts of sources — to overcome our built-in limitations. To fit more into the time that we have than anyone ever could. To exert more control over how things unfold. Because we feel that we must just to keep our heads above water in the modern world. But I say that we can’t, because there are built-in limitations. There’s always going to be more that you could meaningfully do with your time than the time you have to do it. You’re never going to be able to feel confident about what’s coming in the future — because it’s in the future. And I think throwing yourself at that wall again and again and again — and never getting to that place of feeling in control — is a thoroughly dispiriting and fatiguing way to live.” [NYTimes]
Getting His Voice Back: The Associated Press’ Melanie Lidman spotlights Israeli news anchor Moshe Nussbaum, who is using artificial intelligence to return to the studio despite the debilitating effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which has hindered his ability to speak. “‘It took me a few moments to absorb it and to understand that it is me speaking now,’ Nussbaum told The Associated Press via text message. ‘Slowly, slowly, I’m understanding the incredible meaning of this device for everyone with disabilities, including me.’ Nussbaum will report his stories, and then write them up, using an AI program that has been trained to speak using Nussbaum’s voice. He will be filmed as if he were presenting, and his lips will be ‘technologically adjusted’ to match the words. People with speech disorders have used traditional text-to-speech technology for years, but those voices sound robotic and flat, and lack emotion. In contrast, AI technology is trained using recordings of a person’s voice — there are thousands of hours of Nussbaum speaking thanks to his lengthy career in TV and radio — and it can mimic their intonations and phrasing. Thrilled by the possibilities the technology affords him, Nussbaum said he is also worried about the ease with which the technology could be used by bad actors to spread fake news and falsehoods.” [AP]
Word on the Street
The Secure Community Network is endorsing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security — a significant stamp of approval from the national Jewish community…
Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion has launched the first cohort of its virtual rabbinical program in a bid to address its diminishing enrollment; the first class has 10 members…
In an opinion piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Rev. John I. Jenkins argues that the growing institutional neutrality at colleges and universities is a “copout,” and academic institutions should express their convictions rather than hiding behind a facade of impartiality…
Glendale, Wis.-based A.B. Data, whose co-managing director Bruce Arbit is a past president of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, has donated an office building — estimated to be worth roughly $1 million — to the federation…
Iron Nation, founded by Israelis Chen Linchevski, Gil Friedlander and Jason Wolf to support Israeli startups after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, is raising a second fund offering profit-driven investment while backing Israeli high tech. Having surpassed its $20 million goal, the first fund has already invested in over 20 companies…
The investment research firm Morningstar amended its policies for ESG (environmental, social, governance) assessments to exclude human rights issues connected to “disputes concerning contiguous territories” after Jewish groups argued that this resulted in anti-Israel bias in its ratings…
The Heritage Foundation think tank plans to “name and shame” volunteer Wikipedia editors whom it accuses of publishing antisemitic content, using facial recognition and a database of hacked credentials to identify contributors working under pseudonyms…
Justin Cohen, news editor at the British Jewish News, explains in an opinion piece for the outlet why it hosted an event with Palestinian-American peace activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib…
The Department of Education has launched a Title VI antisemitism investigation into Sarah Lawrence College following a complaint filed in March 2024 by the campus Hillel chapter, alleging that the college created a hostile environment for Jewish students following Oct. 7, 2023…
A judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Jewish students against Haverford College under Title VI, which alleged that the Philadelphia-area institution had created an antisemitic, hostile education environment for them…
Ira Gewanter has been named director of major gifts for the Mid-Atlantic Region at the American Friends of Magen David Adom…
A Western diplomatic team and local Iraqi groups are reportedly working to secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli researcher who was kidnapped by an Iran-backed terrorist group in Iraq in 2023…
The Center for Jewish History in Manhattan was selected to join Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator Program to strengthen its digital infrastructure…
Jewish groups remember Olga Meshoe Washington, a Christian Zionist and vocal supporter of Israel, following her sudden death earlier this week…
Peter Yarrow, who found fame as part of the Peter, Paul and Mary folk trio, died yesterday at 86…
Pic of the Day
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in Pasadena, Calif., is seen engulfed in flames last night, as massive wildfires sweep through large parts of the greater Los Angeles area.
Birthdays
Actor, screenwriter and director, Sam Levinson…
Sociologist at the American Enterprise Institute, Charles Murray… Senior U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Florida, now on inactive status, Alan Stephen Gold… Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a guitarist and founding member of the Doors, Robby Krieger… Moscow-born classical pianist, living in the U.S. since 1987, Vladimir Feltsman… Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning composer, he is a professor of music composition at Yale, David Lang… Founder and chief investment officer of Pzena Investment Management, Richard “Rich” Pzena… Israel’s ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Rafael Harpaz… Co-founder and co-owner of Pizza Shuttle in Milwaukee, Mark Gold… Violinist and composer best known for her klezmer music, Alicia Svigals… VP of wealth services at the Alera Group, he was an NFL tight end for the Bears and Vikings (1988-1994), Brent Novoselsky… Founder and president of D.C.-based Professionals in the City, Michael Karlan… Lobbyist, attorney, patron of contemporary art and philanthropist, Heather Miller Podesta… Former state senator in Maine, Justin Loring Alfond… Singer-songwriter, musician, and actress, she was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis… Former director of U.S. public policy programs for Meta/Facebook, now a partner in Lev Collective, Avra Siegel… Managing editor in the Nashville office of Vaco, Ross M. Schneiderman… Retired professional soccer player, he is now a partner in the Columbus, Ohio-based Main + High Investments, Ross Benjamin Friedman… Principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Skylar Paley Brandt…
