Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar arrived in the U.S. yesterday for his first state visit to the country since taking office in November. He is slated to meet with American officials, as well as American Jewish leaders (after a similar sit-down earlier this month).

The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition is hosting a seminar today for rabbis navigating topics around Israel and antisemitism in High Holiday sermons.

Chabad is hosting a speed-dating event for more than 10,000 Jewish singles across five continents, which it says is “guided by local Chabad rabbis and matched by a Yale-backed algorithm.”

A QUICK WORD WITH EJP’S JUDAH ARI GROSS AND NIRA DAYANIM

With the next convening of the World Zionist Congress two months away, the clock is ticking for the American Zionist Movement to allocate the 152 seats allotted to U.S. delegates (out of a total 525), a normally speedy process that has been delayed considerably by rampant voter fraud in this year’s elections, which affected more than 10% of the total votes cast. The deadline for certification is set for the end of this month.

Since the polls closed in May, the U.S. Area Election Committee has been working its way through a list of complaints related to the campaigns — both those tied to voter fraud and to other alleged improprieties — many of which were then appealed to the AZM Tribunal, a judicial body. Many of the tribunal’s rulings have, in turn, been appealed to the Zionist Supreme Court, the ultimate judicial authority in the Zionist movement.

Perhaps most significantly, this includes a series of sanctions imposed by the AEC against several of the slates that were found to have committed voter fraud in the election. Last week, those sanctions — which included having the votes thrown out and being forced to pay financial penalties — were overturned by the tribunal, sending the case to the Zionist Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on the matter this week. (Read the Reform and Conservative movements’ slates joint response to the tribunal decision below.) 

At the end of last week, the AZM Tribunal also struck down a ruling by the AEC banning firebrand Ronn Torossian, chair of the far-right Betar USA group, from serving as a delegate on the Zionist Organization of America Coalition’s slate because of his repeated, occasionally threatening, verbal attacks on fellow candidates throughout the election, particularly those affiliated with the Kol Israel slate, which filed the complaint against Torossian.

The tribunal reversed that decision, allowing Torossian to serve as a delegate, though this may still be appealed. (“We are meeting with our attorneys to determine best next steps,” David Yaari, chair of Kol Israel, told eJewishPhilanthropy today.)

Torossian told JTA, which first reported on the ruling, that he was “pleased with this decision” and said that he would attend the next congress in October “organized and ready to defend revisionist traditional Zionism from those who seek to subvert it.”

The tribunal, which ruled unanimously, albeit with two recusals, based its decision on a strict reading of the election rules, which proscribe “demeaning or denigrating comments” against other slates, not individual candidates on those slates. The judges also determined that the rule applies only to public campaigning, so Torossian’s private messages to opposing candidates could not be considered disqualifying, “however inappropriate or even threatening said communications may be.”

In their ruling, the judges stressed that the decision “should not be viewed as condoning any of the communications, or Mr. Torossian’s choice of language or any of Mr. Torossian’s conduct.” They also recommended that the AEC consider new ways to “discourage such communications and conduct in future elections.” 

If this all sounds somewhat confusing and ambiguous, that’s because it is. The World Zionist Congress, which marks its 128th birthday on Friday, is one of the largest bureaucracies in the Jewish world, containing a dizzying array of institutions, bylaws and subcommittees. It is also far from transparent, with its judicial rulings only being sent to a small cadre of leaders rather than being made available to the wider public.

And yet this opaque, arguably anachronistic body is far from insignificant, controlling a roughly $1 billion annual budget, exclusive contacts with the Israeli government and a global footprint. We will be watching.

Tax Incentives: In The Times of Israel, Mijal Bitton proposes a 21st-century take on ma’aser sheni, one of the tithes mandated by the Torah during the seven-year sabbatical cycle in Israel. “Unlike other tithes, this one wasn’t given away. Families brought 10% of their crops to Jerusalem and were tasked with eating them there in a state of holiness. If transport was too hard, they could redeem the produce for money, bring the money to Jerusalem, and spend it on food and drink for a celebratory family meal. In effect, ma’aser sheni was a Jewish family tax: a mandated investment in pilgrimage, memory, and education. The money or produce stayed with the family — but it could only be used in Jerusalem, in a way that sanctified the family’s time together and drew them into the orbit of Torah, Temple, and community. … [W]hat if we revived the Jewish family tax today? What if we had to dedicate 10% of our income to designing a family educational program that could change our children’s lives? And even if it wasn’t exactly 10% — what if we committed each year not just to vacations, but to investing in transformative family experiences?” [TOI]

A Time to Serve: In his Substack “Orthodox Conundrum Commentary,” podcast host Rabbi Scott Kahn contrasts the attitude of Haredi leaders in America — who recently declared a day of prayer in response to “ominous plans” to draft Israelis engaged in Torah learning — with the example of Haredi soldiers in the IDF’s Chashmona’im Brigade. “This brigade was created to allow ultra Orthodox individuals to serve in the army while maintaining a Chareidi lifestyle. While too many apparently believe that it is some kind of Trojan horse, designed to lure unsuspecting Chareidim into a secular existence, those who actually joined the brigade describe it in glowing terms. … This is real unity: supporting and celebrating those Chareidim who simultaneously refuse to abandon their lifestyle and recognize that defending the People of Israel is not a contradiction to religiosity, but instead represents the highest manifestation of that religiosity.” [OrthodoxConundrumCommentary]

‘Practical People’: In Vanity Fair, Evgenia Peretz examines the evolution of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative from a more openly progressive foundation to one seemingly more closely aligned with the current Republican administration. “The mission was to fix almost everything. On the science front, CZI would help ‘cure, prevent, and manage all disease over the next century.’ … On the ‘promoting equality’ front, they would remake public education and take on immigration and criminal justice reform, housing, and community. …  And then Trump was back. … According to another source, when a question was raised at CZI about Meta’s $1 million contribution to Trump’s inauguration, the response came down: That’s Meta’s prerogative and it has nothing to do with CZI. Curiously, however, the moves CZI then took were precisely in line with what Zuckerberg needed to remain in good favor with the current administration. … Chan has done what she felt she had to do, according to sources who know her intimately. ‘I think at the end of the day they are both practical people’ is how one close friend puts it.” [VanityFair]

Philanthropist Joseph Sanberg, who founded the green-banking startup Aspiration Partners, pleaded guilty to a $248 million fraud scheme, facing up to 40 years in prison…

The Chronicle of Philanthropy examines why there have been fewer major philanthropic gifts so far this year and how that may change in the second half of 2025…

The Magen David Yeshivah, a Jewish day school in Brooklyn mainly attended by members of the Syrian Jewish community, is requiring students’ parents to prove they are registered to vote before the school year begins ahead of New York City’s mayoral race…

Robert Kraft gave his first political endorsement on Friday night to his son, Josh Kraft, who is running for mayor of Boston; until now, the elder Kraft said he has kept out of the campaign to make clear that his son has traveled “a path that he’s forged as his own”…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the $300 million estate owned by Lynda and Stewart Resnick — the most expensive private home in the United States — as the property goes up for sale…

Donors from the Satmar Hasidic community in Monroe, N.J., pledged $1 million for bail to secure the release of an Israeli Haredi man who was jailed for refusing a draft notice…

The Times of Israel profiles This is My Earth, an Israeli-founded nonprofit that uses crowdfunding to purchase land around the world whose biodiversity is at risk…

The Department of Homeland Security, citing alleged “terrorist ties,” canceled dozens of grants issued to Muslim organizations primarily through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program…

Politico reports that Texas Democrat James Talarico has been receiving funds from a PAC supported by Dr. Miriam Adelson, apparently as part of her push to expand her casino empire’s footprint in the Lone Star State…

The Anti-Defamation League and the Academic Engagement Network criticized the American Association of University Professors for moving “even further away from its mission” after its president called for the United States to not send even defensive munitions to Israel amid its war against Hamas, which he called a genocide in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…

A Georgia man was fired after he and his wife were filmed shouting antisemitic insults at a neighbor whose daughter, an Israeli police officer, was killed in a terror attack in 2023…

Australian police arrested a second suspect in the December 2024 arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue… 

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to not seek the death penalty for the man accused of murdering two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington earlier this year…

Former Major League Baseball all-star Kevin Youkilis recalled dancing to “Hava Nagila” after the Boston Red Sox won the 2007 World Series on the premiere episode of “Game Changers,” a new webseries by the Anti-Defamation League and Maccabi USA…

Shelly Zegart, a founder of the Kentucky Quilt Project who sought to connect the craft to the American experience, died on July 22 at 84…

Television and theater actor Jerry Adler, whose credits included “The Sopranos” and “The Good Wife,” died on Saturday at 96…

S. Lee Kohrman, a mainstay of the Cleveland Jewish community and longtime board member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, died last Wednesday at 97…

Ben J. and Dorit Genet donated $1.6 million to the Israeli Modern Orthodox Ohr Torah Stone network for its women’s seminary in the central Israeli city of Lod, which will be renamed Lod Midreshet Dorit – A Division of Lindenbaum…

The London-based Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation provided a total of $1.2 million to two STEM-focused schools in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Ronson Afridar and Henry Ronson… 

Ariel PJ Stewart was named the next managing director of North America for the Bronfman Fellowship…

Stephanie Cornell will step down as executive director of the Walton Family Foundation; she is the fourth head of the $7 billion grantmaker in less than a decade…

Seth Korelitz was hired as the next dean of school of the Detroit-area Farber Hebrew Day School… 

University student fellows of the accessibility nonprofit Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) from around the world gather in Atlanta last week for a four-day orientation seminar, in which they built mini-mobility devices for local toddlers with disabilities. 

“TOM’s motto is affordable and accessible for anyone anywhere and our goal is to help millions of people in a distinctly Jewish and Israeli manner. While TOM originated in Israel and is primarily supported by American Jewry, we want to help people around the world including across the Mideast, wherever needed,” TOM’s founder and president, Gidi Grinstein, said in a statement.

Musician, singer songwriter, author and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco, he and his sons recorded a version of the “Mi Sheberach” prayer of healing in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, Jeffrey Scot Tweedy… 

British novelist, he is known for writing comic novels that revolve around the dilemmas of Jewish characters, Howard Jacobson… Bass guitarist and co-lead singer of Kiss, his birth name is Chaim Witz, known professionally as “The Demon” and Gene Simmons… Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration from 2009-2016, she now serves on the board of directors of Stewart Title Co., Deborah “Debbie” Matz… Chairman of the board emeritus at the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Lorin M. Fife… CEO of The Joel Paul Group, a division of Merraine Group, specializing in executive recruitment for the nonprofit sector, William Seth Hochman… Former member of the Knesset for the Blue and White party, he is a retired major general in the IDF, Elazar Stern… Former program director at the St. Paul, Minn., JCC, Manfred “Fred” Haeusler… Former Trump fixer, he was the key prosecution witness in the 2024 Trump criminal trial brought by the Manhattan DA, Michael D. Cohen… Professor of mathematics at Harvard University (tenured at age 26, the youngest ever), pianist and chess national master, Noam David Elkies… Former Canadian MP, now vice president for external affairs and general counsel at Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Richard Marceau… Regional marketing director at UJA-Federation of New York, Suzanne Schneider… Executive director at the Religious Zionists of America, Alicia Post… Actress and musician best known for playing Melanie “MelRose” Rosen on the Netflix series “Glow,” Jaclyn Tohn… Director of development for South Florida’s Jewish Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Sarah Schreiber… Founder and managing partner at Commonweal Ventures, Nathaniel Loewentheil… Director of state and local government relations at multinational conglomerate Philips, Evan Hoffman… Managing director in the D.C. office of SKDK, Daniel Barash… Canadian actress, Stacey Farber… Director of product marketing at LinkedIn, Sam Michelman… Founder and CEO of DLP Labs, Ryan Kuhel… Founder and CEO at the Center for Intimacy Justice, Jackie Rotman… Senior director of editorial strategy and operations at Axios, Neal Rothschild… Jane Wasserman… Investigative counsel for the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Jenna Lifhits Berger… Operations and accounting specialist at HealthSource Distributors, Adam Aryeh Friedman… Israeli singer-songwriter, Eden Hason… Carina Grossmann… Robert Cohen…