Your Daily Phil: The (challenging) return to northern Israel
Good Monday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the Israeli government’s plans to encourage residents of the country’s north to return home and visit Kibbutz Manara on the Lebanese border to hear about the challenges that those communities are facing as they begin reconstruction. We also report on the Anti-Defamation League’s efforts to make inroads with the incoming White House. We feature an opinion piece by Jonah Peretz on teaching teens about current events in Israel. Also in this newsletter: Todd L. Pittinsky, Keren Waranch and Noa Tishby.
What We’re Watching
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s Voice of the People initiative has been appointing the first cohort of its 150-member council. The international committee, which will meet monthly, is meant to include 50 representatives each from Israel, North America and the rest of the world. The final list of members, who will serve for two-year terms, is expected to be released in the next day or two, a spokesperson for the initiative told eJewishPhilanthropy. (Read eJP’s coverage of the Voice of the People initiative here.)
Israeli authorities are searching for the terrorists behind today’s deadly shooting attack in the West Bank that killed at least three Israeli civilians and wounded eight more.
What You Should Know
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outlined yesterday the government’s economic incentives program to spur displaced residents of northern Israel to return to their homes, offering families tens of thousands of shekels if they do so in March and less as time goes on, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
A day after the massacres in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group began launching rockets at northern Israel, followed by anti-tank guided missiles and drones, among other munitions. Fearing a similar mass infiltration attack, the Israeli government evacuated cities and towns throughout northern Israel, sending residents to live in hotels that were paid for by the state or arrange their own housing solutions.
Despite a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, many of those evacuation orders have remained in place and will continue through the end of next month. But when those orders expire on Feb. 28, the Israeli government hopes that residents of the cities, towns, kibbutzim and moshavim will return home to start the lengthy process of reconstruction — physical, economic and emotional. (Read more about the challenges facing those communities below.)
To encourage their speedy return, the Finance Ministry said it will provide compensation to those residents through two payments, one for their return and one to pay for any damage that has occurred in their homes because of their displacement — in addition to insurance and other compensation payments. Under the plan, adults will in total receive NIS 25,360 ($7,000) — NIS 15,360 ($4,200) through the “return” package and NIS 10,000 ($2,800) as part of the “abandonment” package — and children will receive half that amount, for up to seven children per family. A family of four would, in total, receive slightly more than NIS 100,000 ($28,000) under the plan.
However, these full compensation packages would only be provided to those who return immediately, in the first week of March. The “return” packages would be cut in half for those who return from March 8 to April 1, and be halved again for those who return in the month of April and be halved again for those who return in May. Those who return in June or later would receive no compensation.
Those who are unable to or uninterested in returning quickly, the compensation packages can be received in full and then used to cover their living expenses, in place of the government support that they currently receive through the evacuation orders.
“Residents who want to allow their children to quietly finish the school year, can invest their payments in rent for the apartments that they have been displaced to. But those who want to return more quickly — we encourage that,” Zev Elkin, a minister in the Finance Ministry, who is specifically tasked with the reconstruction efforts, told Israel’s Kan news broadcaster yesterday.
Responding to Smotrich and Elkin, Israel’s National Insurance Institute, through which these compensation packages are meant to be provided, noted in a statement that these plans are — for now at least — just plans. “A government resolution about the [compensation] package has yet to be passed,” the NII said. “[And] after a government resolution, there will also need to be legislation.”
RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS
The mountaintop Kibbutz Manara, battered by Hezbollah, eyes a long path to restoration
Of the 154 housing units on Kibbutz Manara — which straddles the Ramim Ridge, overlooking the Lebanese town of Mais al-Jabal on one side of the community and the Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona on the other — 110 of them have been damaged in some way. On the two streets that make up the main residential area of the kibbutz, which overlook the Lebanese border, all but two sustained direct hits from anti-tank guided missiles. “And the two houses that weren’t hit were damaged by the shockwaves,” Naor Shamia, the head of the kibbutz’s security team, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross, who visited the northern Israeli kibbutz on Dec. 25. Despite the cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group, the community today remains a ghost town.
Compensation, eventually: The Israeli government is committed to covering the costs of reconstruction, but these funds have not all been provided and others are not guaranteed, meaning that Kibbutz Manara will have to lay out significant amounts of money and hope for reimbursement from the government down the line. “There are all kinds of things that the government won’t fund and even if it will fund, it won’t fund it today but in another six months. In the meantime, we need to hand over the money — and that’s millions [of shekels],” Shamia said. Reflecting the general atmosphere of skepticism regarding the reconstruction efforts in northern and southern Israel, he added: “I don’t believe that the government will pay for everything, first of all — but even if it does pay for everything, I need to have [things ready] now, not in another six months.”
STAFFING UP
ADL hires lobbying firm close to Trump for work fighting antisemitism
The Anti-Defamation League has hired the lobbying firm Ballard Partners — which has close relationships with the incoming Trump administration — to assist with its work on antisemitism policy. The move is seen as a sign of the ADL’s preparations for the incoming White House, with which it has a rocky past, reports Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Ups and downs: The ADL has found itself at odds with Trump and his team on various occasions over Trump’s political career, criticizing him repeatedly for antisemitic comments and calling him “unfit” for office following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. But the ADL has also made overtures to the Trump world, including honoring Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in March 2024 with an award for his diplomatic work in the Middle East on the Abraham Accords.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
The challenge of Israel education: It’s not what you think
“The barrier to entry for understanding what’s happening in Israel today is higher than we adults often realize,” writes Jonah Peretz, manager of curriculum design for Moving Traditions, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Giving students the tools: “To begin to grasp the events of Oct. 7, and all that’s happened since, teens need to know, at a minimum, where Gaza is, who governs it and what Hamas’ stated goals are, which too many young Jews do not. And as a teacher, of course, I want teens to have a higher level of discourse than the most rudimentary who-what-where… These benchmarks are all achievable educational goals for any Jewish teen; and yet, too many teens are helpless to access a meaningful conversation about what might be the defining Israel story of their adolescence. This isn’t because they aren’t capable. It’s simply that they haven’t been given the tools — yet. And that’s where our role as educators becomes critical. When it comes to Israel education, teens need content knowledge, social-emotional scaffolding and room to think for themselves.”
Worthy Reads
Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now: The Detroit Jewish News spotlights Dreamtroit, the brainchild of award-winning documentary filmmaker and native Detroiter Oren Goldenberg and his business partner Matt Naimi. “Goldenberg, 41, is a master connector and builder — of people, relationships and urban spaces. As a filmmaker, he has won awards for telling other people’s stories, but in recent years Goldenberg has been a newsmaker in his own right — first as one of the young Jewish Detroiters who led the resurgence of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and, more recently, as co-developer and co-owner of Dreamtroit — a historic, multi-building complex in Detroit that encompasses affordable apartments, artists’ studios, retail and commercial space, as well as indoor and outdoor event venues… Creating Dreamtroit took seven years and $30 million of loans, equity, grants and tax credits provided by a labyrinth of 23 lenders, granting agencies and investors. ‘I think the true accomplishment of Dreamtroit is that we have been able to completely redevelop an economic model and physical structure while preserving the culture and affordability of our community,’ Goldenberg said.” [DetroitJewishNews]
So Happy Together: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Janet Carter and Jason Sacks discuss the process of merging their two organizations and offer tips to others looking to do the same. “Coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, Coaching Corps, like a lot of nonprofits, was looking for pathways to create a bigger impact in the communities it cared about… At the same time, a larger peer nonprofit, Positive Coaching Alliance, was engaged in similar conversations about its next chapter — specifically, how to expand its respected model of bringing healthy, fun, and developmentally appropriate youth sports programming to more underserved communities… More than two years after joining together under the Positive Coaching Alliance name, we are now well on our way to delivering on our promise of improving access to sports for 7 million young people by 2027, with half coming from underresourced communities. To help other nonprofits and their funders pull off a successful merger, here are five key takeaways from our experience. Find synergies and play to each organization’s strengths… Communicate, communicate, communicate… Integrate both cultures… Build support from the inside out… Engage funders early.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Fighting a Guerrilla War: In The Jerusalem Post, Todd L. Pittinsky argues that while the current Jewish communal organizations have merit, they are ill-suited to responding to the anti-Israel movement’s more nimble, aggressive tactics. “Unfortunately, the new year will likely bring similar challenges as these efforts continue gaining momentum and legitimacy. Jewish institutions responded to the relentless efforts to undermine Israel socially, culturally, and politically and will undoubtedly plan to do so again. However, doing this effectively requires a sober assessment of what worked and what didn’t in the responses of the past year, enabling a more effective approach to Israel support and advocacy in the year ahead… The anti-Israel movement is agile and aggressive in nature, thriving on disruption and chaos. They break the law. They lie. In contrast, established Jewish organizations tend to be structured, hierarchical, and conservative. Jewish leaders deliberate. They plan. They issue press releases. They file lawsuits. They organize meetings and conferences. They commission research studies. These tools are all tools of a thoughtful, organized, and orderly response. They are also woefully inadequate against guerilla [sic] warfare.” [JPost]
Word on the Street
The first 50 Haredi soldiers were drafted yesterday into the Israel Defense Forces’s new Haredi Hasmonean Brigade. The brigade is part of efforts to expand the draft of Haredi men amid personnel shortages caused by the ongoing war…
Lex Fridman interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his podcast, including a discussion about Zelensky’s Jewish heritage and his family’s experiences during the Holocuast…
Jewish Insider examines the prospects of the new Congress passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act…
Keren Waranch was hired as the next chief development officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington…
Washington Jewish Week interviews Maryland entrepreneur and philanthropist Devin Schain about his nonprofit Jewish educational platform for elementary school children, ShalomLearning…
The New York Times lists the 18 honorees President Biden recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday including philanthropist and major Democratic donor George Soros, presidential historian and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein and clothing designer and philanthropist Ralph Lauren (né Lifshitz)…
Israeli social media activist Noa Tishby’s menorah-lighting videos with celebrity guests including actresses Gal Gadot, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tiffany Haddish, super model Cindy Crawford and journalist Van Jones garnered over 20 million views over eight days…
Ahead of the Israeli branch of the Society for International Development’s Jan. 13 conference, The Times of Israel examines how Israeli overseas development and humanitarian nonprofits have been affected since Oct. 7, 2023…
Jewish leaders in Oakland, Calif., are calling on the city’s leaders to act following a spate of antisemitic incidents…
A newly formed group in New York City, the Jewish Voters Action Network, aims to put $7 million into efforts to mobilize the city’s Jewish voters ahead of municipal elections later this year…
New York Jewish community leader, philanthropist and leading investment banker W. Stewart Cahn died on Dec. 28 at 84 following a battle with cancer…
Pic of the Day
Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, hold out their hands yesterday to Ephraim and Oshrat Shoham, the parents of their son’s friend and fallen Israeli soldier Yuval Shoham, helping them to “get up” on the official end of the seven-day shiva mourning period.
Birthdays
English food writer and television cook, Nigella Lucy Lawson…
Retired executive vice president and senior counsel of the Trump Organization, he was also one of the advisors on “The Apprentice,” George H. Ross… International businessman and philanthropist, Nathan “Natie” Kirsh… Canadian businessman, investor and author, Seymour Schulich… Co-founder of private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Henry R. Kravis… Chairman, president and CEO of Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Jack C. Bendheim… Yiddish-language author, journalist, playwright and lyricist, Boris Sandler… Attorney general of Oregon until today, she was elected to four-year terms in 2012, 2016 and 2020 but she did not run again last year, Ellen Rosenblum… Film, theater, and television director and writer, Jan Pringle Eliasberg… Consultant to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Michael Harris… Retired television executive and political commentator, Mark E. Hyman… Founder and executive director of Healthcare Across Borders, Jodi Lynn Jacobson… Israeli celebrity chef, Eyal Shani… Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and president of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, Oleksandr Feldman… Daniel G. Slatopolsky… Founder of Pure California Beverages, Sarah Beth Rena Conner… Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionist Party, Michal Miriam Waldiger… Actor, painter and fashion designer, he is the nephew of Ralph Lauren, Greg Lauren… Author of 13 spy fiction novels and four non-fiction books, Alex Berenson… President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, he is the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, Mat Ishbia… Israeli actress, best known for her role in “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” Efrat Dor… Founder and CEO at GTTFP Holdings and Jewish dating sites, Harei At and Jedding, Eli Ostreicher… Investigative reporter at WCCO/CBS in Minneapolis, both of his parents are rabbis, Jonah P. Kaplan… Director of community engagement at CAMERA, Aviva Slomich Rosenschein… Philanthropic advisor at the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, Sarah Arenstein Levy… One of the youngest to ever sign a Major League Soccer contract at age 15, he is now a vice president at Acacia Research, Zachary “Zach” Pfeffer… Olympic rock climber for Team USA, Jesse Grupper… Value accelerator lead at Goldman Sachs Growth, Anna Phillips… Rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a rabbinic intern at Park Avenue Synagogue, Aiden Pink…
