Your Daily Phil: Summer daze as Jewish camps on auction block
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In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the more than two dozen Jewish summer camps heading to auction after their owners filed for bankruptcy last month, and on a new $27 million donation by the Marcus Foundation to Hillel International for leadership development. We feature an opinion piece by Ben Ehrenkranz about tapping communal institutions to organize Jewish voter turnout in response to anti-Israel political candidates, and a piece by Rabbi Laura Bellows about the need for not only physical but also spiritual communal preparedness for the increasing severity of climate events like the 2025 L.A. fires. Also in this issue: Sharon S. Nazarian, Iky Salinas and Avi Nesher.
Today’s Your Daily Phil was curated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, Opinion Editor Rachel Kohn and Israel Editor Justin Hayet. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
After an 18-year run dedicated to Israel education, the iCenter closes its doors today. Read eJP’s coverage about the closure here.
Ahead of Tisha B’Av, Anu Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv is hosting a “Leadership Mifgash” this evening, connecting American non-Orthodox Jewish leaders to Israeli Religious Zionist figures. If you’re there, say hi to eJP’s Judah Ari Gross!
The American Federation of Teachers’ annual convention kicks off this morning in Washington.
France marks Holocaust Remembrance Day today, commemorating the 1942 Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, in which Vichy police detained more than 13,000 Jews, leading to their deportation to Nazi camps.
The 46th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Jewish Film Institute, opens this evening.
What You Should Know
Since Michael and David Shabsels and their Simad Holdings declared bankruptcy last month, the many camps that they owned — along with the camps’ staff and the families that send their children to them — have been thrown into a state of uncertainty, with the summer season largely opening as normal even as the long-term futures of the camps remain unclear. Some clarity now appears forthcoming, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher.
Tomorrow, more than 60 of the brothers’ properties, including their more than two dozen Jewish overnight and day camps, will go up for sale as part of an aggressive restructuring under Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC. Already, there are over 70 potential buyers. The court set a bid deadline of July 17, an auction on July 28, a sale objection deadline of July 31 and a sale hearing on Aug. 4. The fallout from the sales could affect 20,000 campers.
News
EXCLUSIVE
Marcus Foundation invests $27 million in Hillel International professional development
In a bid to bolster Hillel International’s professional and student leaders at a fraught moment on college campuses, the Marcus Foundation announced a three-year, $27 million investment, the organization exclusively told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher today.It is the third in a series of large gifts — totaling more than $100 million — made by the foundation over the past decade aimed at improving employee retention at Hillel.
People, not buildings: The grantmaker first started supporting professional development in 2016 under the belief that Hillel’s “turnover rate was not acceptable,” Jay Kaiman, the president and director of the Marcus Foundation, told eJP. At the time, it stood at 50%; today, 90% stay in the organization. “Even though we built buildings, buildings aren’t worth anything if you don’t have good people in those buildings,” Kaiman said.
Opinion
OPERATION TURNOUT
How to beat the anti-Israel machine
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Ben Ehrenkranz of Glory Partners, a consultancy focused on voter turnout within faith communities, argues that the pro-Israel community keeps losing primaries because it buys ads instead of doing the voter turnout work that its own institutions are uniquely built for.
“Campaigns spend fortunes building what Jewish communities already have: buildings where the same people gather every week, leaders they trust, volunteer networks and membership lists. None of this requires an institution to endorse a candidate, which most cannot legally do anyway. It requires the unglamorous work of civic life: registering members, telling them when ballots are due and following up until they vote.”
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Our communities must invest in infrastructure, physical and spiritual, to respond to climate change
In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Rabbi Laura Bellows, director of spiritual activism and education at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, draws on the themes of the upcoming fast of Tisha B’Av — a time of mourning and reflection on the costs of our choices in an uncertain world, but also one of promise that how we recover is in our hands.
“The emotional and spiritual implications of climate catastrophes cause scars that can last for a long time. We need to take these effects seriously and build resources to help communities move through them.”
Worthy Reads
Exceptionalism’s End: In the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Jewish Funders Network’s Andres Spokoiny argues that American Jewish exceptionalism is collapsing and urges Jews to embrace political independence and invest more in Jewish education and Zionism. “Either we were never that exceptional, or our exceptionality is not as protective as we thought. In both cases, we face a painful reckoning with reality: We are more similar to other diasporas than we ever thought.”
Not Boding Well: In Jewish Insider, Marc Rod examines yesterday’s House vote on a legislative effort to end all aid for Israel, which failed but garnered support from nearly half the Democratic caucus. “And voting for the equivalent of a wrecking ball to the U.S.-Israel relationship — an amendment that even vocal critics of Israel described as flawed and a calculated political stunt by Republicans — is no longer a nonstarter for congressional Democrats. With a more carefully crafted amendment presented by a member without Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) baggage, the margin in support could have been greater.”
Great (Philanthropic) Expectations: In the Jewish Journal, philanthropist Sharon S. Nazarian recounts pulling her family’s name from a Crossroads School lecture series over post-Oct. 7 programming concerns — later funding teacher trips to a concentration camp instead — and urges Jewish donors to hold institutions accountable rather than abandon them. “Do not give up on institutions — but do not disengage from the responsibility to hold them accountable. Our giving should reflect who we are and what we stand for.”
Transitions
Mem Global has hired Alyssa Craft as the new executive director of Embark, its initiative for engaging interfaith couples…
Rabbi Diana Fersko started her new role as chief Jewish life officer at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan…
Iky Salinas joined Partners for Progressive Israel as its executive director…
Word on the Street
In its final pre-recess blitz, the Knesset passed a number of contentious laws in recent days: one restoring the Chief Rabbinate‘s monopoly on kosher certification; another stripping power from the attorney general‘s legal opinions; and a third allowing colleges and universities to offer gender-segregated master’s and doctoral degrees…
Moody’s maintained Israel’s Baa1 rating but trimmed its 2026 growth forecast to 3.7%, and warned that the country’s heavy defense spending — along with the new legislation curbing the attorney general’s power — could threaten its future credit rating…
Iran released dual Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari, a California resident who had faced espionage charges and been barred from leaving the country since December 2024 — even as other American detainees remain held, including Jewish Iranian American Kamran Hekmati, who was sentenced to prison after traveling to Israel for a family bar mitzvah…
Three senior U.S. officials connected to the Board of Peace, the Trump-led body created to resolve the conflict in Gaza, have been meeting with congressional offices this week to request $200 million for a peacekeeping force, according to two people with knowledge of the meetings. The meetings mark the first time that Board of Peace representatives have approached Congress with a funding request, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
A new report by the Yael Foundation found that 52% of the 145 Jewish schools it supports across 45-plus countries have seen rising enrollment since Oct. 7, 2023…
As the midterm elections near, Inside Political Money spotlights the political and philanthropic giving of George and Alex Soros…
The Wall Street Journal examines President Donald Trump’s network of nonprofits, PACs, and cultural institutions that has raised more than $781.9 million from wealthy donors and companies since the 2024 election…
Secure Community Network is growing its safety and threat-intelligence network in Colorado, Georgia and Pennsylvania, linking new regional analysts to its national systems in support of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, JewishColorado and dozens of smaller communities…
U.S. antisemitism envoy Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun launched the J250 Initiative, spotlighting 250 Jewish Americans — from Haym Salomon to Sandy Koufax and Jonas Salk — to fight antisemitism through education about Jewish contributions to U.S. history…
The Jewish Grad Organization bought and is renovating a Manhattan townhouse, which is set to open for the 2026-27 school year…
Scribe Quarterly interviews Rabbi Adam Mintz, who runs Project Ruth, which helps people convert to Judaism, about the post-Oct. 7 surge in Jewish conversions and Orthodoxy’s struggles with gatekeeping and welcoming converts…
A new poll commissioned by the Council for a Secure America found that a majority of Israelis support normalization agreements with Saudi Arabia (78%), Lebanon (74%) and Syria (62%); the survey, conducted last month, found 81% support among Israelis for the Abraham Accords…
At the Jerusalem Film Festival, backers of Avi Nesher‘s Oct. 7 drama “Our Loves” predicted it could become the first Israeli film to win an Oscar for Best International Feature, despite ongoing boycotts of Israeli filmmakers…
Bloomberg reports the New York Yankees are nearing a roughly $3 billion debt-and-equity financing deal with Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm’s largest US sports investment yet…
Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan he’s worried about a “well-funded” Israeli campaign to prolong the Iran war indefinitely, and argued the U.S.-Israel relationship should be treated as a normal alliance rather than one with unconditional support, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
Pic of the Day
Israeli singer Raviv Kaner performs on Sunday at an annual summer camp organized by OneFamily for children who have lost immediate family members to terrorism or war, which was held this year at the Odem Holiday Village on Israel’s Golan Heights. More than 400 children participated in the camp this year.
“The closing celebration marks the end of camp, which is one part of a support process that continues throughout the year,” OneFamily CEO Moshe Saville said in a statement. “Kaner’s performance gave them a shared moment of joy, connection and energy within a space that makes room for coping and for lives that continue to grow.”
Birthdays
Yizhar Nitzan Shai, former Israeli minister of science and technology, now a venture capitalist, turns 63
Julian A. Brodsky, one of the three co-founders of Comcast Corporation, he served as its chief financial officer and vice chairman, turns 93
Judge Sidney H. Stein, senior U.S. district court judge for the Southern District of New York, turns 81
Pinchas Zukerman, world-renowned violinist, violist and conductor, turns 78
Betsy R. Sheerr, president of an eponymous communications firm, public speaker and coach
Daniel Singer “Dan” Bricklin, co-creator of the first-ever spreadsheet program (VisiCalc), he currently serves as the chief technology officer of Alpha Software, turns 75
Douglas J. Feith, former high-ranking civilian official in the Pentagon during the Bush 43 administration, now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, turns 73
Rabbi Keith Stern, senior rabbi since 1997 at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton Centre, Mass.
Alyse Golden Berkley, Los Angeles-based attorney, she is the president emerita of the L.A. chapter of the Jewish National Fund
Cynthia D. Shapira, past vice chair of the board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America
Anthony Julius, British solicitor, he represented Princess Diana in her divorce and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt in a libel case, turns 70
Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning playwright and screenwriter, turns 70
Gordon David Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the EU in the Trump 45 administration, turns 69
Andrea Fischer Newman, former airline executive at Northwest and Delta
Douglas Alan Herzog, former president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, turns 67
Matthew Bronfman, businessman and philanthropist, owner of interests in many Israeli firms including IKEA Israel, turns 67
Jonathan Mann, Canadian journalist, he worked for CNN International for 30 years, turns 66
Dr. Brian S. Gross, Weaverville, N.C.-based distiller
Jim Rosenberg, chief of staff of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago
Victoria Rivka Zell, Chicago-based entrepreneur and philanthropist
Ariel Mace Solomon, former NFL offensive lineman, turns 58
Rabbi Joshua Kulp, senior scholar at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center Yeshiva, turns 56
Jonathan Jantz, founder of Pinkitzel, a cupcake cafe, candy boutique and gift store
Anna Smashnova, Israeli former professional tennis player, in 2003 she was ranked 15th in the world, turns 50
Jim Banks, U.S. senator (R-IN), turns 47
Shane Goldmacher, national political correspondent for The New York Times
Steven Max Levine, co-founder of Los Angeles-based Meteorite and Health Action Alliance
Scott Raymond Arogeti, White House liaison to the Jewish community in the Bush 43 administration, now managing partner at Arogeti Endeavors
Matthew Kassel, features reporter for Jewish Insider
Eric M. Reiner, founder and managing partner at Vine Ventures
Chantal Low Katz, registered nurse and an internationally board-certified lactation consultant
Leonard Gold, executive producer of “Blind Spot,” a documentary on campus antisemitism
