Your Daily Phil: Remembering Bruce Slovin, the mastermind behind Center for Jewish History
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we we report on a Jewish nonprofit-led campaign in defense of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, speak with friends and experts about the legacy of philanthropist Bruce Slovin, who died this weekend at 89, and examine the uproar of the Toronto International Film Festival‘s decision to cancel the screening of a documentary about the Oct. 7 attacks over copyright questions regarding the use of Hamas terrorists’ footage from the massacres. We feature an opinion piece by Jason Plotkin about the role of the JCC Maccabi Games as a gateway to Jewish connection and engagement. Also in this issue: Jason Isaacs, Naomi Shemer and Aliza Lavie.
Ed. note: The next edition of Your Daily Phil will arrive in your inbox on Monday, Aug. 18, as eJewishPhilanthropy shifts to a four-day schedule for the month of August. Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s National Jewish Retreat continues today in Washington. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, former senior Treasury official Mitchell Silk and Rabbi Levi Shemtov are all slated to speak today.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS
For the past week, I have been the guest of the Tulsa (Okla.) Jewish Federation, visiting the community as its first Elson Israel fellow, a new initiative funded by and named for a son of the city, Bill Elson, who made an undisclosed gift to the federation for Israel-related programming.
Yes, you may be wondering, there is a Jewish community in Tulsa, and it is a relatively robust one at that. Its small numbers — a few thousand people — belie its significance. It is home to two major Jewish philanthropic families, the Schustermans and the Kaisers, as well as numerous smaller but still substantial family foundations, most notably the Zarrow Family Foundations.
Speaking to nearly all of the city’s Jewish institutions — its two synagogues, Jewish federation and Jewish Community Center and Jewish retirement home — I enountered there a community that has its own unique struggles and internal debates but also one that is grappling with many of the same questions that other Jewish communities are facing: How do we keep the next generations engaged in Jewish communal life and instill in them the Jewish values that we prize? How do we keep the Jewish community united when so many political and cultural and technological forces are ripping us apart? How can we help Israel, a country we care so much about, but also struggle with?
In the eight talks that I delivered over seven days — whew! — I sought to offer some thoughts on these fundamental issues based primarily on the reporting that we have done at eJewishPhilanthropy, from the latest data on the post-Oct. 7 “Surge” in Jewish engagement to innovative Jewish early childhood education models and initiatives looking to bridge the gap between American Jewish teens and their Israeli counterparts.
I also examined the myriad challenges facing the Israeli people that don’t always make the headlines focusing on the war in Gaza — from the “oncoming tsunami of war-related psychiatric illness”, the country’s overextended welfare system and shortages of bomb shelters in vulnerable communities — and the ways that philanthropy, particularly American Jewish philanthropy, can play a serious, impactful role in addressing them.
And I reflected on the history of American Jewry’s relationship with Israel and Zionism, from the two American Jews who were killed in the Battle of Tel Hai — one of the formative events in Zionist history — to the Jewish American World War II veterans who helped create and fought in the Israeli Air Force in the War of Independence. (Tulsa, it turns out, is connected to the latter story, having hosted in 1949 some 40 Israeli soldiers studying to be aircraft mechanics at the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, one of whom, Bob Golan, later returned to the city and lived there until his death in 2016.)
Leaving Tulsa, I am buoyed by the small but invested community’s concerns. Their worries for the future evince their connection to the Jewish People and their hopes for its prosperity.
LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN
Over 200 nonprofits, mostly Jewish, join defense of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Over 200 nonprofits from around the world, most of them Jewish, have released a letter in support of the Israel- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as it is facing growing criticism over its efficacy in distributing aid in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave, reports eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Nira Dayanim.
Good friends: The letter, which was spearheaded by the U.S.-based nonprofit Israel Friends, comes as GHF has faced increased criticism and scrutiny in recent weeks, following reports of a worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, and chaotic — even deadly — conditions at aid disbursement sites. “There is strong evidence that Hamas has consistently exploited the U.N. distribution system to misappropriate aid,” the letter reads. “These actions constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which expressly forbids the weaponization of aid or its use for the financial or political benefit of armed groups.”
BARUCH DAYAN EMET
Bruce Slovin, visionary philanthropist behind Center for Jewish History, dies at 89
As a child, Bruce Slovin stood every Friday at the Myrtle Avenue Station in Brooklyn holding two Jewish National Fund pushkes, the trademark blue charity boxes. At the Orthodox Jewish school he attended, whichever student raised the most money was rewarded with a miniature Torah. After attaining a massive collection of these tiny scrolls, he was banned from the competition for winning too much. Those were the roots of his philanthropic life. Slovin, a lawyer, businessman and Jewish philanthropist who was the mastermind and founding chairman of the Center for Jewish History, died on Sunday at 89, reports eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Jay Deitcher.
Indebted to him: Slovin, who has been credited with almost single-handedly saving the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research from financial insolvency, has served many roles across the Jewish philanthropic world, including trustee of the Beth Israel Medical Center, the Park East Synagogue and Educational Alliance and member of the board of directors of the American Jewish Historical Society. But what he will likely be best remembered for is his idea of bringing numerous Jewish organizations — including YIVO, the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute and the Yeshiva University Museum — together into a single building on Manhattan’s West 16th Street under the banner of the Center for Jewish History in 2000. “He appreciated the significance of history, and made a major impact on Jewish culture and life,” American Jewish historian Jonathan Sarna told eJP. “Everyone who benefits from the CJH, stands in his debt.”
FESTIVAL FIASCO
Jewish groups, Canadian politicians fume as film festival cancels Oct. 7 documentary
Pro-Israel groups and Canadian politicians expressed outrage on Wednesday after organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival canceled an invitation to show the documentary “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, at its upcoming festival, citing the use of Hamas footage of the attacks that had not been approved for use by the terror group, reports Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
‘Completely absurd’: “The Toronto International Film Festival’s reasoning for canceling the October 7 documentary screening is completely absurd and transparently dishonest,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement. “Pulling a movie because footage wasn’t cleared for copyright by a terror group is so ridiculous that it would almost be laughable — if it weren’t so deeply, shamelessly disturbing.” In an open letter, Creative Community for Peace, a nonprofit that mobilizes prominent members of the entertainment community to oppose boycotts of Israel, wrote that “instead of advancing peace, TIFF has chosen to amplify hate.”
Read the full story here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
Walking it back?: In a statement released last night, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey recognized the concerns, expressed “sincere apologies for any pain” caused and said he is “committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available.” He also noted “the urgent need for compassion amid rising antisemitism and Islamophobia,” underscored by Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza.
MOMENTS THAT SHAPE US
On and off the playing field, JCC Maccabi Games play a crucial role for Jewish teens
More than 60% of young athletes participating in the JCC Maccabi Games are not engaged in other Jewish programming for teens, more often than not due to the demands of competitive youth sport schedules, writes Jason Plotkin, executive director of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., and one of the heads of Detroit’s delegation at last week’s JCC Maccabi Games in Pittsburgh, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “For many of these teens, including the 3,000 who participated in this summer’s Games in Tucson and Pittsburgh, the JCC Maccabi Games are their primary Jewish experience. That makes the opportunity not only meaningful, but essential.”
Sparks fly: “In a world that often pulls us in countless directions, the JCC Maccabi Games serve as a powerful reminder of what it means to be rooted — in identity, in values and in community. These moments of shared purpose and connection remind us that Jewish life is not just something we inherit; it’s something we actively shape. Whether on the field, in the dorms or through quiet conversations between events, our teens are discovering the strength and beauty of belonging to something larger than themselves. And for those of us privileged to help guide them, it is both a responsibility and a profound joy to witness the sparks of leadership, identity and pride begin to take hold.”
Worthy Reads
Learning from the Data: Writing on the think tank’s website, American Enterprise Institute fellow Samuel J. Abrams reflects on eJewishPhilanthropy’s recent report on a study finding increased engagement among Jews affiliated with Chabad. “TChabad’s growth is not the result of slick marketing or ideological conformity. It is the product of presence, accessibility, and genuine welcome. … By contrast, much of denominational Judaism operates on a transactional model. … In an age of declining affiliation and growing demand for flexibility, that model is increasingly out of step. … For communal leaders and philanthropists, the lesson is straightforward. Investing in buildings without investing in outreach is a losing bet. Funding programs without building the relational infrastructure to deliver them misses the mark. Assuming that heritage alone will keep people engaged ignores the reality that continuity must be cultivated daily.” [AEI]
Happy Worker, Happy Life: In The Atlantic, Arthur C. Brooks examines how managers can better use science to increase worker happiness and thus productivity. “The premise that workers would be more productive if they were happier makes intuitive sense, and many studies demonstrate that it is so… What leaders really need are data that break down the specific factors associated with employee happiness, translate them into management actions, measure these factors in actual companies, and link everything to the firm’s performance. Only then could you devise a truly effective management strategy.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
The United Jewish Organizations social services nonprofit broke ground on new headquarters yesterday in the of Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y….
Actor Jason Isaacs was tapped to host the annual fundraising drive for the United Kingdom’s Holocaust Educational Trust…
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency spotlights the Romanian Jewish community amid growing antisemitism fears in the country following a divisive national election…
More than 6,700 Jewish singles participated in a virtual dating event on Tuesday that was organized by Partners in Torah, Aish, DateNight AI and CoronaCrush, alongside 30 other organizations…
A woman who sprayed a foul-smelling liquid on Jewish marchers at Montreal’s Pride parade was arrested following the incident; a member of the local anti-Israel activist group Faction Against Genocide, in Solidarity said the substance, which smelled like urine, was nettle extract…
Cable industry pioneer and philanthropist Leonard Tow, who with his wife, Claire, funded journalism initiatives at a number of New York City universities, died at 97…
Major Gifts
The National Library of Israel received this week the original manuscript of Naomi Shemer’s song “Al Kol Eleh,” (“For these things”), which was gifted by the family of Ruth Nussbaum, Shemer’s sister, for whom the song was written…
Pic of the Day
Aliza Lavie, an Israeli author and former Knesset member, speaks about Fanny Neuda, a 19th-century Jewish Czech female prayer leader, at the Maisel Synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic, last week. The presentation, which Lavie organized with Andrew Keene, a board member on many Reform organizaation, was part of a new Jewish female prayer initiative launched by Lavie, based on research from her 2008 work, A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book.
While in Prague for the event, Keene also presented a Torah scroll, which had been donated by Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Ala., to the recently revived Czech congregation Ec Chajim (pronounced “etz chayim”).
Birthdays
Filmmaker and producer, she is the executive director of DOC NYC, a major documentary film festival in New York City, Raphaela Neihausen…
Social media influencer, Dorothy Katz Wiggins turns 100… American-born British novelist, biographer, journalist and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Frederic Michael Raphael… Former attorney general of New Jersey and chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Samson… Historian and vice president of alumni relations for MLB’s New York Mets, the press box at Citi Field is named in his honor, Jay Edward Horwitz … President of the Hampton Synagogue until 2024 and former board member of the UJA Federation-New York, Carol Levin… Member of the New York State Assembly since 2005, Charles D. Lavine… Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Ester R. Fuchs… Professor of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, Henry Brem, M.D…. U.S. District Court judge in South Carolina, he is the co-author of a book on the early Jews of Columbia, S.C., Judge Richard Mark Gergel… Turkish-born economist and professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Dani Rodrik… Home fragrance and décor guru, Harry Slatkin… Lecturer at Purdue University, Martin J. Sweet… Winner of three Pulitzer Prizes as a journalist, Adam Goldman… Vice president at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Jeremy Scott Wynes… Professional tennis player for 15 years, primarily a doubles specialist, now an assistant athletic director, Scott Lipsky… Senior advisor to President Donald Trump, Boris Epshteyn… Ukrainian-born actress, she moved to Los Angeles at the age of seven and has appeared in dozens of films, Mila Kunis… Opinion editor at eJewishPhilanthropy, Rachel Kohn… Internet entrepreneur and former CTO at Facebook, he is the co-founder and CEO of Quora, Adam D’Angelo… Retired lacrosse player, he played for ten seasons in Major League Lacrosse and for Team Israel in 2018, Maxwell (Max) Oren Seibald… Principal at Marcus & Associates Executive Recruiters, Jacob Lefkowitz… Member of Knesset for Otzma Yehudit, he serves as the minister for the development of the periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, Yitzhak Shimon Wasserlauf… Ryan Smith… Dylan Cooper… Tim Carney…
