Walk anywhere on the Brandeis University campus and you will catch sight of the university seal, a blue and white shield stamped in the middle with the word “Emet,” truth in Hebrew. Encircling the shield is a quote from Psalms: “Truth even unto its innermost parts.” With so much disinformation circulating about Israel’s war with Hamas and uncertainty as to what constitutes antisemitism, the seal’s message about seeking the truth set the tone for the recent “Navigating Israel and the Rise of Antisemitism” seminar, a partnership between JCC Association of North America, Brandeis University, and Boundless Israel, which was held at the university from July 14-17 and was attended by 50 JCC leaders representing two dozen JCCs across North America, reports Jay Deitcher for eJewishPhilanthropy.

Main connection: In North America, there are 172 JCCs serving over 1.5 million people every week, a third of whom are not Jewish.The Jews who are members are often not connected to other Jewish organizations or temples. For the JCC Association and the partners on this project, that makes JCCs a key vector in addressing an underserved population. “That is an incredible opportunity to humanize Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state to a group of individuals who may not interact with the Jewish community in any other way,” Rachel Fish, special adviser to the Brandeis University Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education and co-founder of Boundless, a think-action tank looking to revitalize Israel education and combat Jew hatred, told eJP.

A non-Jewish problem: One of the core themes was that using the term antisemitism can be confusing for people who may not understand how it manifests in the 21st century. There were representatives from Fuente Latina and National Black Empowerment Council presenting and a focus on how to cultivate allyship. “You don’t solve antisemitism only by focusing on educating Jews,” Fish said. “Antisemitism, Jew hatred, very much, is a non-Jewish problem, and you need to build meaningful relationships and understanding of this issue with the non-Jewish community.”

Strengthen Jewish life: Two weeks after the seminar, the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, a community that went through the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history in 2018, partnered with other local Jewish organizations and an interfaith organization to bring Shufuni, young musicians from the Gaza Envelope, to perform. In 2025, they are scheduled to host the Maccabi Games. The seminar reinforced how important this work was, Jason Kunzman, CEO of JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, told eJP. “One of the big outcomes was reaffirming our commitment to vibrant, engaged and active, proud Jewish communities,” Kessel said. “We don’t want to be in the business of fighting antisemitism. We’re in the business of growing and strengthening Jewish life.”

Read the full report here.

The Israeli emergency response service United Hatzalah has appointed Dr. Ehud Davidson as its new CEO, succeeding Eli Pollak, who leaves the role after five years, the organization announced yesterday. Davidson, the former CEO of Israel’s Clalit Health Services — one of the country’s largest health-care providers — and former head of several Israeli hospitals, signifies United Hatzalah’s continued efforts to professionalize and to gain recognition as a major force in the Israeli medical system, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.

‘Continue to advance’: “I want to welcome the incoming CEO, Professor Ehud Davidson, who brings with him great professionalism in the field of medical management in the State of Israel,” United Hatzalah founder and President Eli Beer said in a statement. “Under Professor Davidson’s leadership, we will continue to advance the second largest emergency organization in the State of Israel,” Beer said, referring to the organization’s long-standing rivalry with Magen David Adom, the country’s official ambulance service. “And we’ll continue to pioneer rapid emergency medical care nationwide, assisting those in need with unparalleled professionalism and even faster response times.”

Not leaving: Pollak, the son of a Haredi politician, was among the founders of United Hatzalah, alongside Beer, serving in a variety of roles with the organization. In 2019, he became CEO of the organization, leading it through the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure, he expanded the operation’s crop of volunteers to include more women and non-Jews. He helped oversee United Hatzalah’s efforts to bring infirm and elderly immigrants to Israel as they escaped the war in Ukraine. He has also led the organization through Oct. 7 massacres and the past 10 months of war. Pollak told staff that he intends to remain with the organization as its deputy CEO. “I am proud to conclude five years in which I led the organization through some of the biggest crises and challenges that the State of Israel has known,” Pollak said in a letter to employees and volunteers.

Read the full report here.

“In the days after Oct. 7, apologists for Hamas wasted no time in starting their gaslighting campaign, claiming that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. A Wider Bridge, which mobilizes the LGBTQ community to fight antisemitism and support Israel and its LGBTQ community, expected months of anti-Israel activity within the larger queer community fueled by this gaslighting campaign,” writes Ethan Felson, executive director of A Wider Bridge, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.

A proactive effort: “A Wider Bridge began our efforts to keep Pride safe for Jews and supporters of Israel at the start of 2024. We began by mobilizing our mission alums and other supporters and we joined with groups like the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents, Jewish Federations of North America, Community Security Initiative, Keshet, Secure Community Network, World Zionist Organization and many others to ensure that Pride leaders, elected officials, public safety agencies and others were aware and prepared.”

United against hate: “During Pride, LGBTQ leaders in more than 100 cities around the world proudly waved our Jewish Inclusive Pride Flag, carried signs or posted stickers proclaiming that there is No Pride in Antisemitism… LGBTQ community leaders, elected officials, public safety leaders and the rank and file of the LGBTQ community demonstrated what a small fringe the gaslighters represent. While the Queers for Palestine movement was loud and created headlines — media coverage providing an outsized impression of their size and clout — they were and remain a fringe minority.”

Read the full piece here.

“A pregnant pause. As a literature major and self-proclaimed wordsmith, I love that phrase,”  writes Rachel Honeyman, founder of the branding and web design agency honeybebold and member of the board of directors of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “It carries weight and substance that a regular old pause simply can’t. It’s a pause that actively takes up space and looms with possibility — or dread.”

Holding our breath: “Since Oct. 7, the Jewish community at large has been in a prolonged pregnant pause, a particularly apt description last month when we passed the nine-month mark since that horrific day. In many ways, our lives are at an anticipatory standstill. We wait each day for news of the hostages, check and recheck lists of soldiers who’ve been killed to see if they’re familiar and read daily reports of the latest antisemitic incidents happening around the world. We hold our breath, our lungs and hearts filled with hope, despair, tragedy, defeat, tears, anger and grief… Ten months feels like an impossibly long time for our people to sit with these feelings, utterly helpless to change the circumstances, try as we might.”

Private struggles: “[M]illions across the spectrum of the Jewish community have continued to experience the anguish of miscarriage or stillbirth, of yet another negative pregnancy test, of watching their friends build their families seemingly easily — all while dealing with the same ongoing heartbreak we’ve all been experiencing since Oct. 7… 1 in 6 people experience some form of infertility, and at least 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss. That’s not to mention the countless others whose paths to parenthood are more challenging than most, like people who haven’t found a partner with whom to have a child, LGBTQ+ couples, those who’ve lost a child, and people building a family through adoption or surrogacy — just to name a few.”

Consider your words and actions: “[A] common refrain across social media and from the pulpit has been that the best defense or revenge against our enemies is to make more Jewish babies. This message is a slap in the face for anyone who’s struggled to bring said babies into the world. How can we be unified as a community when we so blatantly ignore the needs of so many of our own? … Now, as the period of mourning we entered nearly three weeks ago culminates with Tisha b’Av on Tuesday, and we continue to exist within the pregnant pause we’ve been trapped in for 10 months, I urge you to remember those vacillating between hope and despair for months or years on end. ”

Read the full piece here.