Your Daily Phil: Northern exposure: New Hezbollah attacks derail recovery efforts
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we interview the head of a northern Israeli region about how the renewed attacks by Hezbollah are setting back recovery efforts. We spotlight the Israeli nonprofit Social Delivery, which clears away businesses’ unwanted goods and brings them to people in need — particularly those displaced by the current war. We feature an opinion piece by Ruthie Bashan spotlighting the distinctive struggle experienced by many Israelis living abroad in the wake of Oct. 7 and back-to-back wars in Israel, and one by Shlomi Ravid delving deeper into the idea of Jewish “people-building.” Also in this issue: Rabbi David Wolpe, Dario and Daniela Amodei and Julián Castro.
What We’re Watching
National Review and the Republican Jewish Coalition are co-sponsoring a daylong symposium on antisemitism in Washington. Speakers include White House antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, Brandeis Center founder Ken Marcus, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and a number of senators.
A group of Jewish organizations is hosting the “I Believe Israeli Women Summit” today on the sidelines of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women events in New York City. Speakers include Ali Gostanian, the director of the I Believe Israel Women initiative, as well as Meredith Jacobs, the CEO of Jewish Women International, and Talia Kaplan, the executive director of Seed the Dream Foundation.
Jewish Federation Los Angeles is holding its annual Interfaith Passover Seder this evening in L.A., where Mayor Karen Bass and other local elected officials are slated to speak.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD FROM EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS
With news coverage from Israel on the war against Iran focusing primarily on the Iranian missile attacks against Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, the far more dramatic and deleterious impact of Hezbollah’s rocket and drone strikes on northern Israel has largely been overlooked. Since Hezbollah joined the fray last Monday, the kibbutzim, moshavim and towns along the Lebanese border have been pounded by rocket and drone attacks, with communities like Margaliot experiencing 48 air-raid sirens over the past week.
When Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, the leaders of northern Israeli communities hoped that they could begin what they knew would be a difficult process of bringing back the residents that fled the area a year prior. Last month, the northern Galilee city of Kiryat Shmona launched a new hub for local businesses, offering financial advice and training. And in January, Tel Hai College received its final approvals to become a full-fledged university, with the hope that it would serve as an economic engine for the region, bringing in well-educated faculty and staff and driving innovation.
In the Mevo’ot HaHermon Region, Mayor Beni Ben Muvchar told eJewishPhilanthropy last night that some 90% of residents have since returned to their homes after the ceasefire went into effect. (The numbers are significantly lower in other municipalities; in Kiryat Shemona, some 10,000 people, representing roughly 40% of the city’s residents, haven’t returned.) The renewed fighting doesn’t just send those repopulation efforts back to zero. “We’re now in minus,” said Ben Muvchar, who also serves as chair of the Eastern Galilee Regional Cluster, which represents 18 regional councils. “We didn’t think that the next round would come so quickly,” he said. “It’s so disappointing, so disappointing.”
With schools and businesses closed because of the fighting, the families that are staying behind are facing greater challenges, Ben Muvchar said. Before the fighting began, the welfare services in his region had 441 open files. Over the past eight days, that has grown to more than 700, he noted. As the fighting persists, these numbers are likely to rise, particularly as Jewish Israelis prepare for the often costly holiday of Passover.
Ben Muvchar said that receiving philanthropic assistance has been much more difficult during this round of fighting compared to the previous one, which he credited to general burnout. “It’s totally different from the last time. People in philanthropy are tired. Maybe it’s harder for them,” he said. “It’s not even close to what it was the last time.” Ben Muvchar added that some philanthropists and foundations were still assisting, offering, as an example, Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, which he said were helping raise money for entertainment programs for residents.
“There’s less money, and more families in need of help,” he said. “But we’re a strong community, and we won’t leave our homes this time. There’s no chance that we’ll leave our houses, even if we have to spend hours in the shelters.”
HELP ON THE WAY
With Israelis displaced and stuck in bomb shelters, Social Delivery brings aid where it’s needed
The idea is straightforward: Some people have things they don’t need; other people need things they don’t have. The Israeli nonprofit Shinua Hevrati (Social Delivery) steps into the gap between the two, helping remove unwanted items — a clothing company with an unsellable surplus of merchandise; a relocating start-up getting rid of its office furniture — and delivering them to people in need: families in poverty or a teen afterschool program. As Israel enters its second week of missile and drone strikes across Israel, displacing hundreds of people and exacerbating financial struggles, Social Delivery — a play on the Hebrew phrase shinui hevrati (social change) — is stepping in to fill those growing needs, reports Rachel Gutman for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Care packages: “When there are frequent sirens, people need to stay in the shelters. So we provide mattresses, bed sheets, pillows, blankets — things that make it easier for them to stay.” Medi Nachmias Baruch, Social Delivery’s manager of resource development and strategic development, told eJP. Even as Israeli children spent the Purim holiday in shelters last week, Social Delivery brought them special care packages to lift spirits. “To date, we have distributed thousands of items of clothing and hundreds of mattresses, pillows and blankets.” Current delivery locations include Hatzor HaGlilit, Rishon LeZion, Akko, Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, Tzfat, Beit She’an, Tiberias, Kibbutz Manara, Maalot-Tarshiha, and the Arab cities of Majd al-Krum and Shefa-Amr — with more being added. So far, the organization has provided support to some 2,000 people evacuated from their homes.
TRAUMA RESPONSE
Naming the psychological crisis of Israelis living abroad
“Trauma research and trauma funding share a common assumption: exposure equals impact. You were in the attack, or you weren’t. You lost someone, or you didn’t. This binary has shaped which populations we treat, which communities we fund and which pain we consider legitimate,” writes Ruthie Bashan, a trauma-informed clinical social worker and nonprofit leader specializing in community resilience and healing-centered philanthropy, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
An unmet need: “But the Israelis living in New Jersey, Toronto, Berlin and London who have been unable to sleep since Oct. 7, 2023, do not fit this model. They were not exposed in the conventional sense, and yet their nervous systems are not behaving as though they are safe. In a deeply meaningful way, they are not: they remain embedded — historically, emotionally and biologically — in a people under existential threat, and their bodies know this even when their zip codes say otherwise. The result is a community carrying a real and cumulative trauma burden with no recognized framework, no dedicated services and no philanthropic attention, because we have not yet given what they are experiencing a name. I want to offer one.”
CRACKS IN THE FOUNDATION
Why embracing Jewish Peoplehood is a matter of urgency
“A few weeks ago, I published an op-ed in eJewishPhilanthropy titled ‘How the language of Jewish Peoplehood can move us forward from the current crisis’ (Jan. 15). In that piece, I proposed shifting our focus toward revisiting the constitutive values of Jewish Peoplehood and providing fresh answers to foundational questions,” writes Shlomi Ravid, founding director of the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education and the editor of The Peoplehood Papers, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “In response, some readers asked: Why now? What has changed? What is the urgency?”
What’s at stake: “So much has changed in Israel and the Jewish world since Oct. 7, 2023, raising questions about some fundamental aspects of what it means to be a part of the Jewish People. For instance, to what extent does our sense of mutual responsibility include the duty to express and share concerns and disagreements with Israel’s policies? In the context of our collective ethos, how should we address issues that seem to be in conflict with what we believe defines our unique identity? … While ‘peoplehood,’ ‘shared fate’ and ‘destiny’ may sound abstract, they are the scaffolding of our communal and global enterprise. They define who we are, our responsibilities and our collective aspirations. When these foundations are in disarray, our ability to build trust and inspire a sense of worth is impaired. Furthermore, a lack of clarity and consensus about our collective vision jeopardizes not only our unity but our ability to create the destiny we want to see.”
Worthy Reads
Good Medicine: In The Times of Israel, Alon Tal shares his gratitude for Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital after his elderly mother’s midnight ER visit led to a few days of inpatient treatment, all in the middle of the war with Iran. “[W]ar imposes all sorts of inconveniences on Israeli society. The health system is also inconvenienced, but it is robust and staffed by people who don’t have a thimbleful of self-pity for their crazy circumstances. They just want to heal people. Anyone who is unwell – regardless of their religion, race, gender or medical condition – is truly welcome at Hadassah Hospital. It is a model of how decent and effective the rest of Israel could be, if we could just stop for a minute and learn a thing or two from this amazing place – a place that understands that what unites us is far more important than what divides us. The truth is that Hadassah Hospital doesn’t just cure the sick who seek its services. Those of us who accompany the infirm are also affected: we leave a little bit more hopeful about the world and our country’s future.” [TOI]
Serious Fun: In The Atlantic, Rabbi David Wolpe gives a tongue-in-cheek response to a recent statement by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s team that the politician “believes in Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself.” “Given this statement, I feel it is appropriate to affirm that I believe that Gavin Newsom also has the right to exist, and I further believe that California itself has the right to exist. … Many insist that California is a colonial enterprise, and much of it was stolen from its original inhabitants, the members of the liberal-arts faculty of UC Berkeley. … I raise these points about indigeneity because the word has a contested meaning: To some, it means ‘deserving,’ and to others, including, possibly, Governor Newsom, it means ‘not Jewish.’ … In my magnanimity, I will continue to conditionally grant the right to exist to both California and its current governor. But I’ve got my eye on them.” [TheAtlantic]
Call for Accountability: In light of the role they played in legitimizing Jeffrey Epstein as a philanthropist, fundraising professionals need to be held to higher ethical standards, writes Pradnya Haldipur in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. “In the search for accountability in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, nearly every day brings fresh evidence of how the convicted sex offender used philanthropy to ingratiate himself with elite institutions. The scholars that Epstein wooed are getting skewered for their seeming naivete, but why hasn’t anyone asked about the fundraisers who were involved? After all, it is not the job of a geneticist or a theoretical physicist to be an expert in donor due diligence. It is the job of the fundraising team to support, protect, and set standards for the institution, including protecting faculty from exactly the kind of manipulation that Epstein conducted so smoothly. When we don’t hold these people accountable for their failures — and ask them to make amends for their mistakes — the reputation of all professional fundraisers takes a dangerous hit.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Jewish Insider spotlights siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei and the AI company they co-founded, Anthropic, which recently refused to allow the Pentagon to use its technology for mass domestic surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons and was subsequently designated a national security “supply-chain risk”…
A new survey by the Jewish People’s Policy Institute finds that “connected” U.S. Jews are more supportive of the American-Israeli war against Iran than Americans in general, but less supportive of it than Israeli Jews…
The New York Times reports on the growing impact of billionaire donors in federal and local electoral campaigns…
The Latino Community Foundation, led by former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, pledged to build a $250 million endowment and expand grantmaking across the Southwestern states…
Team Israel was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic following its 10-1 loss to the Dominican Republic on Monday; the Israeli team earned itself an invitation to the 2030 WBC…
A suspected terror attack was thwarted outside a synagogue in Oslo, Norway, on Friday…
The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board again rejected a proposal for a virtual Jewish charter school, though its members said that they only did so because they were legally required to; the rejection is expected to be appealed, paving the way for a Supreme Court ruling, which could lead to state funding for religious charter schools…
A fire department in Oklahoma turned down a $250,000 donation from Google, which was offered as part of a local debate over the construction of a data center in the area…
A kosher concessions stand is setting up shop at Camden Yards for the Baltimore Orioles’ upcoming season; Birdland Kosher will sell ballpark and American Jewish fare, including hot dogs, chicken nuggets, soft pretzels, hot pastrami sandwiches on rye, potato knishes and chocolate chip cookies…
The two Pennsylvania men who allegedly hurled improvised explosive devices toward a protest against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will face federal charges for “ISIS-inspired terrorism,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…
Australia will grant asylum to five members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team who had been in the country when the war broke out; the move came after President Donald Trump called on Canberra to help the women and offered them asylum in the U.S….
Less than one year after releasing the song “Heil Hitler,” Ye (formerly Kanye West) is set to headline a premier concert venue in Los Angeles…
Clinical psychologist and philanthropist Michael Maling of Chicago died recently at 73…
Comic book colorist Tatjana Wood, who survived the Holocaust in hiding at a Quaker school in the Netherlands before immigrating to the U.S. and becoming an award-winning artist, died at 99…
Pic of the Day
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Rabbi Ari Weiss, CEO of Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell University (left); Dr. Steven Grinspoon; Winifred “Winnie” Grinspoon; Harriet Harkavy; Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International; and Michael I. Kotlikoff, Cornell’s president, break ground on Sunday on Harkavy Hall, the school’s new Grinspoon Hillel Center for Jewish Community. The Hillel has raised more than $37 million from over 1,300 donors toward its $54 million goal for the new center.
“Hillel makes such a difference in students’ lives, and I wanted to invest in a space that reflects the warmth and depth of that community,” Grinspoon Hillel Co-Chair Bonnie Altman said in a statement. “Cornell deserves a Hillel building that truly matches its greatness, and I am honored to help make that a reality.”
Birthdays
Co-founder of Twitter and then Jelly, which he headed from 2014 until its acquisition by Pinterest in 2017, Christopher Isaac “Biz” Stone turns 52…
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he played for the San Diego Chargers of the AFL and then for the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, Ron Mix turns 88… Long Beach, Calif., general surgeon, Leonard M. Lovitch, MD… Former chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, he and his family are the subject of multiple lawsuits relating to the opioid crisis, Richard Sackler, MD turns 81… Author and publisher of the Phoenix Scottsdale Jewish Friendship Trail Guidebook, Michael Alan Ross… Senior cryogenics engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz., he is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona, Lawrence Sobel… Founder and CEO of Cambridge, Mass.-based Pegasystems, Alan N. Trefler turns 70… Editor-at-large of Mishpacha Magazine, Binyamin Rose turns 70… Founder of two Israeli companies, Strategy3i Ltd. and Fluenzy, Jeffrey Kahn turns 68… Winner of four gymnastics medals in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, now in the reverse mortgage business in Sarasota, Mitch Gaylord turns 65… Record producer, former co-president of Columbia Records and a co-founder of Def Jam Records, Frederick Jay “Rick” Rubin turns 63… Financial journalist for CNBC and one of the co-hosts of its morning show “Squawk on the Street,” David Faber turns 62… Executive director until 2024 of the America Israel Friendship League, Wayne L. Firestone turns 62… Stage, screen and television actor, he is the son of novelist Norman Mailer, Stephen Mailer turns 60… Investigative reporter for The New York Times since 2000, Danny Hakim… Former White House official in the Clinton administration, she is now the first lady of Pennsylvania, Lori Shapiro turns 53… Real estate agent on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing,” Josh Altman turns 47… Former IDF officer, then a financial executive, Aliza Landes… Former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department, now executive director at The Vandenberg Coalition, Carrie Filipetti… Actor and director, he is the son of Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, Sawyer Avery Spielberg turns 34…
SATURDAY: Executive vice chairman emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm I. Hoenlein… Mediator and arbitrator, he is a past president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Howard S. Fredman… Academy Award-winning producer and motion picture executive, Zvi Howard Rosenman… Midtown Manhattan physician, affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital, specializing in nephrology and internal medicine, Mark H. Gardenswartz, MD… Laureate conductor of Orchestra 914 from 2002 until 2018, Michael Jeffrey Shapiro… Far Rockaway, N.Y., resident, Maurice Lazar… President and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was previously president of the Atlanta Braves and then the Washington Nationals, Stan Kasten… Publisher of Baltimore Jewish Life, Jeff Cohn… Recently retired after 18 years as the CEO of the Charleston (S.C.) Jewish Federation, Judi Corsaro… Artist Israel Tsvaygenbaum… Director for policy and government affairs at AIPAC, David Gillette… 25-year veteran of the Israeli foreign service including a three-year stint as DCOM at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, now a scholar-in-residence at American University in Washington, Dan Arbell… Executive vice president and chief program officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Becky Sobelman-Stern… One of Israel’s top soccer players of all time, successful on both Israeli and European teams, Eli Ohana… Co-founder of Brilliant Detroit, Carolyn Bellinson… Actor, comedian, director, writer and producer, Pauly Shore… Voting rights and election law attorney, Marc E. Elias… Mid-Atlantic regional director for AIPAC, Tara Brown… Managing director of Pickwick Capital Partners, Ari Raskas… Canadian actress, her stepfather is a rabbi, Rachelle Lefevre… New York City Police Commissioner since November, Jessica S. Tisch… Experimental jazz guitarist, bassist, oud player and composer, Yoshie Fruchter… Venezuelan journalist, writer and TV and radio presenter, Shirley Varnagy Bronfenmajer… Libertarian political activist, radio host and author, Adam Charles Kokesh… Comedian, writer, actress and illustrator, best known for co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central series “Broad City,” Abbi Jacobson… Account executive at Google, Andrew Friedman… Sportscaster and sports reporter who covers the New York Mets for SNY, Steven N. Gelbs… Vice president of government and industry relations at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Stephanie Beth Cohen… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA-51) since 2021, Sara Josephine Jacobs… Ob-Gyn physician in Atlanta, she is married to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alisha Sara Kramer… Israel-based director of growth marketing at SchoolStatus, David Aryeh Leshaw… Actress and model, Julia Garner…
SUNDAY: Member of the North Carolina Senate for 32 years, Marshall Rauch… Chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, Barry Diller… Mayor of Irvine, Calif., Larry Agran… Host of the Food Network program “Barefoot Contessa,” and former OMB staffer for Presidents Ford and Carter, Ina Rosenberg Garten… Actor, comedian and singer, he is best known for his portrayal of the android, Lieutenant Commander Data, in the “Star Trek” television series and four subsequent films, Brent Spiner… Journalist, novelist and author, Michael Zelig Castleman… U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)… Washington Secrets columnist at the Washington Examiner, Paul Bedard… Science fiction publisher and author, Selina A. Rosen… Rabbi at the Pacific Jewish Center (the Shul On The Beach) in Venice, California, he is also a practicing attorney, Shalom Rubanowitz… Sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four major professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), Kenny Albert… Movie and theatre actress and screenwriter, known for the 2001 film “Kissing Jessica Stein,” Jennifer Westfeldt… Tony Award-winning actress, a semifinalist on Season 6 of “Dancing With the Stars,” Marissa Jaret Winokur… Basketball coach for many Israeli teams over more than 20 years, Dan Shamir… Actress and comedian, Lori Beth Denberg… Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose stage name is Mayer Hawthorne, Andrew Mayer Cohen… Assistant professor at Clemson University, Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, Ph.D.… Senior staff writer at GovCIO Media and Research, Ross Gianfortune… U.S. senator (R-Alabama) since 2023, Katie Boyd Britt… Television and radio host, David Pakman… Deputy special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism during the last three years of the Biden administration, Aaron Keyak… Actress and musician, Zosia Russell Mamet… Former Team Israel baseball catcher, he is now director of business development at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nicholas Jay “Nick” Rickles… Avi Katz…
