Your Daily Phil: Surging on: JFNA survey finds increased engagement persists
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on a Jewish Federations of North America survey finding that “the Surge” has slowed somewhat but is continuing, and on the slates calling for better accountability after thousands more suspect votes were discovered in the World Zionist Congress election. We feature an opinion piece by Steven Windmueller laying out next steps for what he calls the third stage of American Jewish life, and one by Rabbi Joshua R.S. Fixler looking at the age of artificial intelligence through a Jewish lens. Also in this newsletter: Clive Gillenson, Donna Gilbert and Yonatan Dean Chaim.
What We’re Watching
Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s day to memorialize fallen soldiers and victims of terror, begins tonight. At 8 p.m. local time and again tomorrow morning, a siren will sound across the country. Ceremonies will be held across the country this evening, including an English-language event hosted by Masa Israel Journey in Latrun, outside of Jerusalem.
The American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum wraps up in New York today.
What You Should Know
“The Surge” is here to stay — for now at least and at a slightly slower pace. So the Jewish Federations of North America has found in a follow-up survey to last year’s study on the spike in Jewish engagement in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
The survey, which was released this morning, found that while the increased engagement that was documented in the months following the attacks has dimmed over the past year, it remains relatively high, with roughly a third of the respondents — 31% — saying that they are engaging more with the Jewish community than they did in the past, compared to 42% who said so last year.
“A year and a half after the Hamas attacks on Israel upended Jewish life, we would have expected to see a significant return toward the status quo, but the Surge has shown staying power,” Mimi Kravetz, chief impact and growth officer for JFNA, said in a statement. “People continue to feel the pain of this moment and relatedly, continue to seek connection, but the data carries an important reminder that the Surge is not going to last forever. If we are going to meet people’s needs, our community cannot wait — we must step up and respond now.”
Last year’s study provided quantitative data that backed up the anecdotal evidence that was already emerging from synagogues, organizations and other institutions of increased engagement and provided the nomenclature that continues to be used to describe the groups that are increasing their involvement in Jewish communal life post-Oct. 7.
Though JFNA released its top-line data on Tuesday, the organization is still analyzing the results and will be sharing relevant findings to the relevant organizations, denominations and institutions.
The study found that respondents who identified themselves as already being “very engaged” and “not at all engaged” were the most likely to report that they were now more involved in Jewish communal life than in the past, compared to those who said they were “somewhat engaged” or “not very engaged.” To JFNA researchers, the fact that 19% of “not at all engaged” respondents were reporting that they were now becoming more active in the Jewish community was one of the most significant findings, given that this group is by definition difficult to reach.
The survey found that Jewish organizations appear to be succeeding in making themselves welcoming to these newcomers. When asked to select three descriptions about how they felt about their new experiences in the Jewish community, 90% of respondents used at least one positive description. The most common answers were “included,” “inspired” and “comfortable”; the least common — each getting less than 3% of the responses — were “alienated,” “turned off” or “excluded.”
The study also found that young families — respondents aged 18-34 with children — while still only amounting to a relatively small percentage of increasingly engaged respondents (7%), represented a greater share of them now than they did in last year’s, when they were 2%. It was not immediately clear what accounted for this increase.
“Parents want information, resources and a like-minded community for themselves and their families. They are deeply worried about their children’s experiences of antisemitism and of Jewish life,” the researchers wrote, based on follow-up qualitative interviews with respondents.
The study also found an 11 percentage point decrease in concern about antisemitism — from 90% last year to 79% now — which the authors said may reflect a normalization of antisemitism.
BAD BALLOTS
Calls grow for accountability as more suspect votes found in Zionist Congress election
Three weeks after initial indications surfaced of fraudulent votes in the World Zionist Congress elections — and with less than a week until the polls close — slates across the political spectrum are calling for increased scrutiny and election integrity after another wave of suspect votes was revealed in a meeting last Thursday. Earlier this month, some 1,900 votes were flagged for irregularities, resulting in the votes being dismissed. But over the last three weeks, the number of suspect votes has increased significantly. Now, some 8,000 additional votes are under investigation, bringing the total to around 10,000 — nearly 6% of all votes cast as the election approaches the 170,000-vote mark, sources speaking on the condition of anonymity told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Now or later?: The American Zionist Movement, which runs the elections, confirmed that the investigation into voting irregularities is continuing and that additional “irregular votes have been identified and isolated,” though it did not comment on the number of suspect ballots. “We remain absolutely committed to upholding the integrity of the election and ensuring that no improper votes will be counted in the final results,” AZM said. In response to these latest discoveries, representatives from a wide array of slates told eJP that they were calling for greater accountability from the U.S. Area Election Committee, which oversees the election, though the timelines and other details for that enforcement vary. Some slates are calling for immediate action, while others say they are withholding judgement and say they are waiting for the results of the AEC’s investigation, which will only be completed after the voting period has concluded on May 4.
WINDS OF CHANGE
The third stage: An American Jewish revolution is upon us once more
“American Jewry’s initial stage of community development took place over the period of 1880-1920 with the formation and evolution of our legacy institutions. The ‘second American Jewish revolution’ (1985-2025) produced boutique organizations, social media platforms and virtual educational opportunities that helped to reshape the Jewish communal landscape over a 40-year period,” writes Steven Windmueller, professor emeritus of Jewish communal studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
What happens now?: “This is a revolutionary moment that is challenging the leadership capacities of our community and will fundamentally test the viability and legitimacy of our communal system. One needs to understand that there is a growing sense of concern and frustration involving the capacity of umbrella delivery systems, such as our denominational bodies and federated structures, to serve their constituent groups. Correspondingly, advocacy organizations are facing pushback in connection with advancing the community’s political interests and social values concerns; with religious and educational structures in reaching and serving new generations of Jewish learners; and with communal and philanthropic institutions in effectively and efficiently managing our resources and in delivering critical dollars… In constructing the Jewish path ahead, we will require a more strategic, systematized response to the demographic, political and educational tasks before us.”
MAN VERSUS MACHINE
The rehumanizing project: A Jewish response to artificial intelligence
“It’s true that if our intelligence is the only characteristic that makes us human, it won’t be long now before the machines can beat us at that game — or at least fake it so well we call the game a draw — but human beings are more than just intelligence,” writes Rabbi Joshua R.S. Fixler, an associate rabbi at Congregation Emanu El in Houston, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Uniquely human: “When we engage in Judaism, we engage in rehumanizing projects that make it clear how we are much more than mere machines. A machine cannot make meaning or wonder. An AI cannot rest, nor can it pray. It cannot take pride in its growth. It cannot be inspired. It cannot be grateful. It cannot marvel at the miracle of creation or hope for a better tomorrow. An AI can do a great many tasks, but all of the qualities mentioned above are uniquely human. We need to reawaken these human traits if we are to overcome the forces that deny our uniqueness and diminish our worth. We must reengage in this great rehumanizing project so that the 21st century will not be the age of thinking machines, but the age of moral humans.”
Worthy Reads
Can’t Shake It: In The Washington Post, Clive Gillenson considers the millennia-old existence of antisemitism. “In the end, no theory can fully explain antisemitism, because it is not based on a rational cause. It adapts to each era’s anxieties and insecurities. When Jews are poor, they are despised as beggars; when they are rich, as exploiters; when they are religious, they are portrayed as fanatics; when they are secular, they are dangerous radicals. In every situation, antisemites have no problem adapting their prejudices. Thus, antisemitism, if it is about the need to have someone else to blame, may well not be about Jews at all. Jews have survived because they have no choice but to survive, and in doing so, they have outlasted every empire, ideology and movement that sought to erase them. Perhaps antisemitism still exists only because humanity has so often needed it.” [WashPost]
Don’t Forget DAFs: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, David L. Wheeler encourages nonprofits to incorporate donor advised funds into their fundraising outreach. “DAFs are growing in popularity. Barriers to entry — such as minimums for opening an account — are dropping, and the number of DAF sponsors is rising, with more than 1,000 now in the United States, according to a 2024 report by Chariot and K2D Strategies. Chariot provides nonprofits with a tool they can embed in their websites to streamline DAF giving, and K2D Strategies is a marketing and fundraising agency. Fundraisers are well aware of the power of DAFs. Twenty nonprofits surveyed for the Chariot/K2D Strategies report found that from 2019 to 2023, their donations from DAFs grew 214 times faster than non-DAF revenue. These gifts were 19 percent larger, and retention among supporters who gave through DAFs was stronger. With all this opportunity, consultants and marketers believe DAF donors need more of fundraisers’ attention.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Not Just Me, But We: In Blue Avocado, Michael Lukens explores how collective leadership can operate in an organizational setting. “I firmly believe that too many nonprofit leaders see themselves as the answer to troubling times — that they can steer the ship alone and that their staff should unquestioningly trust in their ability to do so. They are wrong. The answer to surviving troubling times is to trust in each other as a staff and to steer the ship together. That is where collective leadership comes in… Collective leadership is not communal leadership. It is also not ‘Do what you are told.’ Instead, it is ‘Who knows this area best? How can they help us make this decision?’ At its most basic, collective leadership is a management style in which authority and accountability are more broadly distributed to create spaces for more staff to participate in leadership functions. Instead of top-down decisions made by a few executives, decisions are made by teams or individuals with designated areas of responsibility. The leadership of the organization is shared among many more people. Collective leadership features interconnected teams working together to run the organization efficiently.” [BlueAvocado]
Word on the Street
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced an expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza that will include a “large-scale evacuation of Gaza’s population from combat zones” as well as the seizure of “large areas that will be incorporated into Israel’s security zone”…
A new report from Giving USA and the fundraising firm Dunham+Company reveals that Millennial donors are increasingly becoming an essential source for charities, contributing 18% more to charity than Gen Xers. In 2024, Millennials gave an average of $1,617 annually, compared to $1,371 from Gen X. This marks a growing gap, as Millennials were already giving more in 2021…
The Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments yesterday in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, a case to determine if American victims of Palestinian terrorism can sue the PLO and Palestinian Authority for their payments to terrorists and their families…
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, awarded a $5 million endowment to Dr. Chi-Yuan Hsu, chief of the division of nephrology at University of California San Francisco Health…
Judah M. Cohen has been named provost of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, while Karen E. H. Skinazi has been appointed director of the Louchheim School of Judaic Studies, HUC-JIR’s undergraduate program at the University of Southern California…
The Wall Street Journal examines the efforts of hostage families to draw White House attention to their efforts to secure the release of their loved ones, utilizing relationships with high-profile individuals including Dr. Miriam Adelson and commentator Ben Shapiro…
National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz spoke on Tuesday to the new House Jewish Caucus, discussing reproductive rights; Katz was the group’s first guest speaker since the caucus was formed…
Irene Butter — a child Holocaust survivor, educator, peace activist and author — has been awarded the 2025 Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance…
David Piegaro, a Jewish pro-Israel Princeton University senior accused of assault during an anti-Israel campus demonstration last year and the only student from the school to face criminal charges related to the protests, was found not guilty after a two-day trial…
The Capital Jewish Museum is collecting and displaying artifacts highlighting Jewish federal employees as federal layoffs stir job insecurity in Washington. The exhibit also explores how Jewish employees integrated their faith into daily work, such as participating in agency minyans…
UnMaskHateNY, a coalition of Black and Jewish advocacy groups, launched an advertising campaign backing New York legislation that increases penalties for crimes committed by masked offenders. The campaign seeks to counter “misinformation” which claims that the bill is a “mask ban,” emphasizing that it only applies to criminal acts committed while wearing a mask…
The New York Post spotlights the work of Chicago-based Jewish nonprofit Secure Community Network…
Police in Aurora, Colo., are investigating a case of vandalism at the Ohr Avner Community Center after windows were reportedly broken on March 31. According to a spokesperson the Aurora Police’s Bias-Motivated Crimes detective had been informed, following standard procedure…
Australian parliament member Andrew Wallace, who has spoken forcefully against an uptick of antisemitic incidents in Australia, called on Australians to “stand up, speak up, and show up for the Jewish community” after his campaign signs were defaced with swastikas over the past weekend…
The Israeli Interior Ministry introduced stricter citizenship criteria for conversions outside the state-sanctioned Orthodox system in Israel, sidestepping a High Court ruling from four years ago recognizing such conversions. Immigrant advocates charge that the requirements are nearly impossible to meet, while the ministry says they prevent foreigners from exploiting conversions for immigration benefits…
Pic of the Day
.%20From%20left_%20Dror%20Wayne,%20Avi%20Cohen,%20Sahar%20Ovadia,%20Itai%20Atias,%20and%20Aviad%20Neuman._01JT0SWADFF610Y4MZJ2FWPXV0.jpg)
Magen David Adom medics hold a dedication ceremony for a new ambulance earlier this month honoring U.S.-born volunteer Yonatan Dean Chaim, who converted to Judaism, immigrated to Israel and was killed while fighting in Gaza on Dec. 8, 2023. MDA has lost more than three dozen personnel since Oct. 7, 2023.
Several of Chaim’s friends decided to perform the first shift with the new ambulance in his memory. “It’s very fitting that we are doing this for Yonatan,” said one of his friends, Sahar Ovadia. “He’s probably looking down on us and laughing, but I think this is the best way to commemorate him — by saving lives in an ambulance through which his spirit will live to help people 24/7.”
Birthdays
Senior vice president of the Leon Levine Foundation and director of operations for the Levine family office, Justin Steinschriber…
Nobel Prize-winning economist, professor at MIT, known for his analysis of Social Security policy, Peter Diamond… Co-founder of the NYSE-traded homebuilding company Toll Brothers, Bruce E. Toll… Retired U.S. senator (D-MI), she completed her 24 years in the Senate this past January, Debbie Stabenow… Marcy Smith… Senior vice president of communications and journalist in residence at University of Maryland Global Campus, Michael Freedman… Comedian, actor, writer, producer and director, he is best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the 180 episodes of the sitcom “Seinfeld,” Jerry Seinfeld… London-born actor with three Academy Awards for best actor, knighted at Buckingham Palace in 2014, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis.. Sportscaster, best known as the radio and television play-by-play announcer for MLB’s New York Mets, Gary Cohen… Co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Bernays Randolph… Israeli diplomat, she was Israel’s ambassador to Latvia and then to Ireland, Lironne Bar Sadeh… Former New York City comptroller, now a candidate for mayor of NYC, Scott M. Stringer… CEO and chairman of 20th Century Fox until its acquisition by Disney, Stacey Snider… CEO of the United Democracy Project, Rob Bassin… Professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, he is the author of many books including Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely… New York City-based award-winning artist who works with sound, kinetics, optics, magnetism and other materials to make sculptures and photographs, Julianne Swartz… Film and television actor, Paul Adelstein… Executive at a NYC-based investment management firm, Bennett J. Schachter… Minister of environmental protection in Israel’s prior government, Tamar “Tami” Zandberg… Israeli model and actress, she has appeared in many American movies, TV shows and advertisements, Bar Paly… Director of the office of government relations at the Smithsonian Institution, Anne Brachman… Commercial, industrial and residential real estate developer in the Mid-Atlantic region, Samuel A. Neuberger… Head of growth at Cyberint, a Check Point company, Gemma Goldstein… Director of government affairs for Teach Coalition, Daniel Mitzner… Baseball pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Jonathan de Marte… Surfer, she represented Israel at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, Anat Lelior…
