Your Daily Phil: The London Initiative looks to energize liberal Zionist leaders
Good Friday morning.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: ReHome offers loans, mortgage help to ‘hardest hit’ survivors of Oct. 7 massacres who won’t or can’t return home; Herzog offers compromise for antisemitism confab controversy: A separate meeting for Jewish leaders, without far-right politicians; and Parents of fallen captive soldier Omer Neutra criticize Israel’s renewed strikes on Hamas, say they threaten hostages. Print the latest edition here.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on the upcoming Jewish Funders Network conference in Nashville, Tenn. We spotlight an emerging liberal Zionist network, The London Initiative, and cover a recent gathering of Zionist rabbis in Miami. We feature an opinion piece by Ilana Aisen remembering lifelong Jewish communal professional Ted Comet, who died on Wednesday at 100, one by Sharon Freundel with ideas for addressing issues around day school teacher compensation and professional development, and one by Lizzie Frankel offering insights for communal leaders from this week’s Torah portion. Also in this newsletter: Sruli Fruchter, Neri Zilber and Eli Sharabi.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
The Jewish Funders Network kicks off its annual conference on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn. More on this below.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis is holding its annual conference beginning on Sunday in Chicago.
What You Should Know
Kahl Kodesh Mogen David, the first Jewish congregation, was incorporated in Nashville, Tenn., in 1854. Five years later, a disgruntled group of worshipers split off to create a new community, Ohava Emes, and five years after that another group of dissatisfied congregants split off from Kahl Kodesh Mogen David to create the city’s first Reform congregation, B’nai Yeshurun. At the time, there were only a few dozen Jewish families in the city.
The famed American Reform Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise blamed the fractures and divisions within the tiny Jewish community — almost a real-world example of the “Jew on a desert island building a shul that he won’t step foot in” joke — on “the unfortunate spirit of quarrel and small ambition.”
But when hundreds of philanthropists and nonprofit officials head to Music City on Sunday for the Jewish Funders Network’s three-day conference, there will be no such “spirit of quarrel,” according to JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. Instead, there will be an “oasis,” Spokoiny told eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, who will be attending the gathering. (If you’re there, say hi!)
While the conference will take place amid major shifts in the United States, particularly with President Donald Trump’s administration slashing funding for social services, leaving philanthropy scrambling to step in to the extent that it can, Spokoiny said he did not anticipate that division and polarization would impact the gathering.
“[The attendees] know they are coming to a pluralist setting, so I don’t foresee more tension,” Spokoiny told eJP. “It’s an oasis. [People think,] I can speak with the people I disagree with because we are all on the same side… After all, we think we are more divided than we really are, and that’s very evident at JFN.”
The annual conference, which 675 people have registered to attend, does not have an overarching focus, but is built around four themes, according to Spokoiny. There are: Israeli reconstruction efforts, broadly speaking — how to move from helping with the post-Oct. 7 relief efforts to creating “structural resilience”; efforts to combat antisemitism — “We have never spent so much for things to not be working,” Spokoiny said; Jewish life — how do we leverage “The Surge” in Jewish involvement post-Oct. 7; and the global trends affecting Jewish community and Israel, such as technology, polarization and loneliness.
The conference, which is chaired by Sara Tancman, the founder and CEO of the women’s health-focused Briah Foundation, and Moses Libitzky, chair of the Jewish life-focused Libitzky Family Foundation, will feature three plenary sessions for the attendees, as well as dozens of workshops and panel discussions on a wide range of topics, from gender equity to the security situations in Gaza and Syria.
The opening plenary will focus on allyship post-Oct. 7, featuring political analyst and media personality Van Jones and a conversation between political activist Brianna Wu and Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier (Vanderbilt is located in Nashville); another will focus on “Finding meaning through Jewish philanthropy,” through an onstage interview between Krista Tippett, the host of the “On Being” podcast” and American Israeli author Yossi Klein Halevi; and the closing session will include remarks by Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin on “resilience and their faith in Israel’s path to rebuilding,” and Spokoiny’s annual address on the state of the field of Jewish philanthropy.
Tancman told eJP that she had pushed for the inclusion of the Goldberg-Polins, believing them to be a crucial, inspiring voice for the Jewish community to hear. She said she was most excited about the opening plenary on allyship having had a crisis of identity following the Oct. 7 terror attacks — as many progressive Jews did — as the organizations and figures that she had long seen as partners were suddenly not there when the victims were Israeli.
“I wasn’t sure I could still call myself a feminist. UN Women and women’s organizations who had always advocated for women’s safety were not advocating for Israeli women who went through whatever they went through,” Tancman said. “I’m still rebuilding my identity. So I’m excited about that session. How do we rebuild those bridges between Jewish leadership and other groups?”
Spokoiny said that the ultimate goal of the conference is to empower funders, to convince them that “they have agency and they can produce meaningful change in the world, especially as funders but not only.”
ENDANGERED SPECIES?
The London Initiative aims to connect liberal Zionist leaders, get them to ‘up their game’
Sir Mick Davis, a former CEO of the British Conservative Party, and Mike Prashker, the founder of Merchavim: The Institute for the Advancement of Shared Citizenship, are convinced that the majority of Israelis and world Jewry agree on three fundamental things for Israel: the need for a mature liberal democracy; a fairer society for all citizens of Israel; and secure peace, they told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. Their belief in this “triangle” serves the basis for their new joint effort, The London Initiative, a fledgling, growing network that currently includes some 60 “senior and accomplished individuals” — roughly half from Israel and half from the Diaspora — but will eventually comprise roughly 360, all of whom agree with those three principles.
Reverse course: In response to the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plans and the Oct. 7 terror attacks, Prashker said that he and Davis felt that as liberal Zionists they were compelled “to reverse the direction” in which they saw the State of Israel traveling, namely to illiberalism, inequality and perpetual war. The London Initiative held its first gathering on Feb. 16-18 and will hold five more over the next two years or so, the organization said. The names of the first participants will be familiar to those active in the Jewish community, particularly its more liberal or progressive spheres. “The idea of The London Initiative is essentially to challenge them to ‘up their game’ in terms of what they do going forward, how they should address these propositions to the audiences whom they influence and normalize,” Davis said. “If the endangered majority then become a vocal thinking majority again, they will start influencing the political process.”
MIAMI MEETUP
Inside the Florida conference giving rabbis a safe space to be Zionists
Shayna Burack, a joint cantorial and rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, the Reform movement’s seminary in New York, came out as a Zionist in her senior sermon before her classmates earlier this year. She paid a price. “I almost lost a friend over the sermon, just because he had such a hard time being friends with a Zionist,” Burack told Gabby Deutch for sister publication Jewish Insider. “I wish it didn’t take courage to get up and say I’m a Zionist or I support Israel.” Burack also shared the story at the opening session on Sunday night of an exclusive convening of Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis at a glitzy Miami resort to discuss how to bring their love for Israel to the pulpit — and to strategize about how to fight what they see as waning support for Zionism among some young rabbis.
Making waves: Her remarks landed hard among the attendees at the gathering, called “Zionism: A New Conversation.” It was organized by the Leffell Foundation, with support from the Paul E. Singer Foundation and the Maimonides Fund. The conference is one of few opportunities for rabbis from across the Jewish community — ranging from frum Yeshiva University scholars to liberal female rabbis — to come together in one room. “We have to go out of our silos a little bit. And we have to see, these people are really, really struggling,” said Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, an Orthodox rabbi at Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, N.J.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
IN MEMORIAM
‘Judaea Viva’: Remembering Ted Comet, z”l
Ilana Aisen, chief community impact officer at Leading Edge, likens Ted Comet, who died on Wednesday at 100, to “the Forrest Gump of the North American Jewish communal sector” in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “We could create a graduate course on the history of our field through the lens of Ted’s career,” she writes.
A foundational role: “When 1,400 Jewish communal professionals gather in Baltimore for the largest cross-sectoral gathering of Jewish communal professionals in recent memory in just over five weeks, many of us will be thinking about Ted. Some will remember their days at the conferences that he crafted with vision, purpose, creativity, reverence for our past and optimism about our future, and love for Eretz Yisrael. Others, like me, will think about this conference as standing on the shoulders of those that Ted designed. Everyone in that plenary room will be engaging in the creative continuity of the Jewish people (Ted’s driving purpose)… Jewish communal leaders, professional and lay, are part of the golden chain that Ted and so many others saved from the shattering of their generation to build the foundation upon which we do our part to shape the next links.”
READER RESPONDS
Strengthening Jewish education from the inside out: Supporting our teachers
“Hillel David Rapp’s recent article in eJewishPhilanthropy (“In Jewish day schools, we invest in everything but teachers,” Feb. 26) highlights several important issues regarding the roles and benefits of teachers in Jewish day schools,” writes Sharon Freundel, managing director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “His observations prompt a much-needed discussion about how we can better support educators in these schools.”
Let’s get creative: “As Rapp correctly points out, many funders tend to focus on the next ‘shiny object’ in Jewish day schools — new programs, initiatives or innovative technologies — rather than addressing the fundamental need of supporting operating costs, particularly those that could lead to higher teacher salaries. I remember once somewhat facetiously suggesting to funders that if they contributed to the operating budget, I would have teachers wear brass plaques around their necks acknowledging that their salaries were funded by these donors. While the suggestion earned a polite laugh, it didn’t gain traction then, nor do I expect that supporting operating budgets will ever become a popular funding avenue. However, this doesn’t mean we should give up on the goal of increasing teacher compensation. We need to find creative ways to funnel more money into educators’ pockets without burdening parents, who are already paying steep tuition fees.”
LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
Spinning, fast and slow
“As Jewish leaders, we are often called upon to respond to life and current events quickly, in real time,” writes rabbinical student Lizzie Frankel in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Someone asks you to give an impromptu dvar Torah at Shabbat dinner. A congregant is in the emergency room at 2 a.m. and you get the phone call. A colleague asks about the recent campus updates at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, and you attempt to explain them. You see this week’s news about the ceasefire, and you send a newsletter about it.”
Time crunch: “We serve as ‘first responders,’ both to our community members and to the world, and this fast-paced work can be very challenging for the parts of us that need more time. Some of us need more time to process global events emotionally; others need more time to write, or to translate Hebrew, or to learn trope. The work compels us to move quickly — but inside, we each have rhythms that are slower. I think of this paradox as I imagine our ancestors bringing gifts to build the Mishkan in this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Vayakhel.”
Worthy Reads
On the Agenda: In The Times of Israel, Steven Windmueller looks ahead to the 136th annual gathering of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), taking place in Chicago next week. “This is the essential moment for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, requiring it to be a strategic and public player in moving our community forward. At no other time, since the period of the Second World War, will our clergy play such a critical role, being called upon to be thought leaders, active defenders of our democracy, and visionary voices for Israel, our movement and the Jewish people.” [TOI]
Financial Aid: In University Business, Alcino Donadel reports on a push for private philanthropy to step up their support for students in need of tuition assistance. “Colleges and universities will have to begin looking elsewhere for funding and support as the Trump administration continues to shrink federal spending on higher education. While the administration has not moved to cut Pell Grants, it’s already disrupted the student loans space… Institutions will need to seek more partners in the private philanthropic space to help support student financial aid, and income-based loans are one way to maximize their contributions… Income-based loans (sometimes referred to as income-contingent, earnings-based or outcomes-based loans) require students to pay back what they owe for their education interest-free only if their earnings reach a predetermined threshold, and the obligation expires after a certain period. Nonprofit training programs are among the first educational programs to take advantage of income-based loans supported by philanthropy, but it’s slowly gaining traction among postsecondary institutions as well.” [UniversityBusiness]
Ignoring History: In the Forward, Sruli Fruchter analyzes the recent dustup over the inclusion of European politicians from far-right parties at an upcoming conference organized by the Israeli government on fighting antisemitism. “Each of the far-right European parties set to be welcomed by Israel carries their own history of neo-Nazi affiliations, Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It might be politically expedient to ignore that, but doing so will endanger Jews in the long run. The justifications for working with them are all rooted in the same illogical idea that working with the ‘soft’ antisemites — far-right parties who support Israel — is our only option to fight the ‘real’ antisemites — who, in the popular Jewish imagination in Israel, are generally seen as left-wing anti-Zionists. But this myopic perspective refuses to understand history’s testimony that while the far-right may not be today’s most pressing problem, it almost certainly will be tomorrow’s.” [Forward]
Depleted Reserves: The Financial Times’ Neri Zilber looks at the strain that a resumption of fighting is putting on Israeli reservists and their families.“With Hamas gunmen still rampaging through army bases and villages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Ittai Marinberg packed a bag, kissed his wife and two young girls goodbye, and headed out to fight. He became one of some 300,000 Israeli reservists mobilised early in the war, serving for 200 days across three combat tours in Gaza — with more expected later this year — in what became a multi-front ground campaign across southern Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank. ‘We were told to prepare for five years of intense fighting,’ said his wife, Chen Arbel Marinberg, who helped found the non-profit Reservists’ Wives Forum to provide support for tens of thousands of families like hers… For much of its history, Israel chose to fight short and decisive wars, with most campaigns measured in days and weeks, to minimise the burden on the reservists it would call up to augment the regular army. With no end in sight, defence analysts and reservists have begun to warn of growing attrition on the fighting force, with jobs, families and lives put on hold. They also point to signs of disillusionment with the aims of Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet, who have ruled out ending fighting despite public pressure for a deal to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas.” [FT]
A Subjective Experience: In The Times of Israel, Elana Stein Hain proposes that what constitutes salvation in Megillat Esther depends on where the reader lives. “[I]s the salvation of Purim the ability to survive and thrive in [the] Diaspora or is salvation the ultimate return to the Jewish homeland? Some will view the Megillah as satire: don’t Jews who remain in Diaspora realize that Haman is lurking at their door, and next time they may not be so lucky? Don’t they see that persecution is their punishment for not returning home, or at least a direct outcome of it? How many Israeli Purim sermons delivered this year will rhetorically ask when Diaspora Jews will decide to finally come home? That said, I also expect so many Purim sermons delivered this year in North America to focus on the Jewish ability to thrive in [the] Diaspora… And maybe some will even go part of the ancient rabbinic route toward the influential Jewish presence in America being necessary to buttress support for Israel… Purim is a gift. We need the joy that it will afford us this year. But perhaps recognizing the different ways we read ourselves (and each other!) into the story can bring us something even more abiding: deeper relationships.” [TOI]
Adaptive Arts: In The Art Newspaper, Anny Shaw presents a roundup of challenges facing the arts philanthropy world in advance of “Reimagining Philanthropy: New Models for Private Funding in the Arts,” a summit taking place March 17 during Tefaf Maastricht, an annual arts fair in Maastricht, Netherlands. “The Sacklers, Warren Kanders, Baillie Gifford, BP. These are just some of the names of individuals and corporations that museums and other cultural organisations have severed ties with as sponsorship deals come under greater scrutiny. This, coupled with deep public funding cuts and changing attitudes towards philanthropy among the younger generations, is forcing museums around the world to rethink how they engage with private funding for the arts… High-net-worth individuals and family foundations have traditionally been the biggest givers, but [Tefaf Maastricht’s managing director, Dominique] Savelkoul notes that a new cohort of ‘socially conscious donors’ is reshaping the landscape. Unlike previous generations, she says, they ‘often prioritise long-term initiatives over one-off sponsorships’ and seek ‘systemic change rather than transactional support.’” [TheArtNewspaper]
Word on the Street
Yeshiva University will recognize a campus LGBTQ group following a yearslong legal battle…
A spokesperson for Argentinian President Javier Milei said that Milei’s upcoming trip to Israel, slated for this weekend, was indefinitely postponed; among other diplomatic stops in Israel, Milei was slated to speak at the Israeli government’s controversial antisemitism conference…
Arnold Ventures will match investments made by the state of Colorado, up to $10?million, to support “evidence-based, proven initiatives to advance the economic mobility of Coloradans”…
Philanthropic giving to colleges and universities increased 3% when adjusted for inflation — for a total of $61.5 billion — in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, according to a new report from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education…
The Gilbert Family Foundation awarded another $1 million grant to Detroit’s College for Creative Studies for a scholarship endowment fund, bringing the total endowment to $2 million and allowing it to cover the tuition for two students each year…
Hundreds of Harvard affiliates and alumni are calling on the school’s president to suspend the campus’ Palestinian Solidarity Committee over its recent event with anti-Israel activist Mohammed El-Kurd that they say violated the school’s antisemitism policies…
Michael Eisenberg, co-founder of the Israeli VC firm Aleph, told CNBC that Wiz’s acquisition by Alphabet is “an answer to Hamas and all of the haters, the people who hate the United States and hate Israel, that we want to build and our economy is very resilient”…
Cyan Banister, Lee Jacobs and Arielle Zuckerberg’s Long Journey Ventures raised nearly $181.818 million — a highly lucky sum, per Jewish tradition — as it looks to back quirky and innovative ideas and startups across a range of sectors…
More than 900 people, nearly all of them women, attended the 30th anniversary event for Collage, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston’s women’s philanthropy initiative…
President Donald Trump will drop his executive order targeting the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, after its chair, Brad Karp, made a number of commitments to the White House, including the contribution of $40 million in legal services to White House-supported causes, including a federal task force created to combat antisemitism…
The founders of Ben & Jerry’s called on Unilever, its parent company, to reinstate David Stever, whom Ben and Jerry’s said was removed over his support for the company’s social missions…
Comedian Lenny Schultz, who was known for his self-described “zany” acts and characters, died on Sunday at 91…
Larry Robbins, a Toronto-based real estate developer and major donor to local Jewish causes, died last Monday at 94…
Pic of the Day
Recently released Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi speaks before the United Nations Security Council yesterday at U.N. headquarters in New York, describing the physical and emotional abuse he sustained while in captivity and calling on the international body to work harder to free the 59 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
In his address, Sharabi — whose wife and daughters were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks and whose brother was killed in captivity — told the U.N. body that Hamas constantly pilfered the humanitarian aid provided by international organizations. “I know you discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza very often, but let me tell you as an eyewitness, I saw what happened to that aid: Hamas stole it,” he said. “I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the U.N. and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel, dozens and dozens of boxes — paid for by your governments — feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family.”
Sharabi decried the absence of international organizations during his captivity. “Where was the U.N.? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?” he asked. “Every day [Hamas] told us: The world has abandoned you, no one is coming.”
He charged the Security Council: “If you stand for humanity, prove it — Bring them all home.”
Birthdays
Hedge fund manager, philanthropist and former chairman of the board of the New York City Opera, Roy Niederhoffer, celebrates his birthday today…
FRIDAY: Rabbi emeritus of Manhattan’s Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (active from 1958 until 2015) and principal of the Ramaz School (from 1966 to 2015), Rabbi Haskel Lookstein… Harvard professor, biochemist, physicist, molecular biology pioneer and winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Walter Gilbert… Scholar of Jewish mysticism and a retired dean at the Hebrew College in Boston, Arthur Green… Far Rockaway, N.Y., resident, Samuel Gross… First Jewish member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire until 2011, he is of counsel to the law firm of Shaheen & Gordon, Paul Hodes… Former executive director of The Charles Bronfman Prize, Jill Collier Indyk… Chabad rabbi, martial artist and chaplain for 13 years in the Israel Prison Service, Fishel Jacobs… President of NYC- and Singapore-based KWR International, Keith W. Rabin… Retired director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was previously Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Yuval Rotem… Istanbul-born entrepreneur, hotelier and real estate developer, he is president of NYC-based Alexico Group LLC, Izak Senbahar… Co-founder of Wynnefield Capital Management, Joshua H. Landes… Award-winning film, stage and television actor and singer whose roles include the title role in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Matthew Broderick… Israeli rock musician and record producer, he is best known for being the guitarist and one of the songwriters in the rock band Mashina, Shlomi Bracha… Partner in the Los Angeles office of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Michael Blacher… Founding editor of The Dispatch and author of three NYT bestsellers, Jonah Goldberg… James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef from Miami, Michelle Bernstein… Emmy Award-winning CNN anchor, John Berman… IDF general, he is one of the highest-ranking Druze ever in the Israeli military, Ghassan Alian… President and founder of Bully Pulpit Interactive, Andrew Bleeker… Stage and voice actress, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld… Director of community relations at the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, Hadas Alterman… Staff attorney at Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services in Cleveland, Addison Caruso…
SATURDAY: Professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia, E.D. Hirsch… “Star Trek”’s Captain Kirk, in 2021 he flew to space aboard a Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule, William Shatner … Born in Iran, twice elected as Mayor of Beverly Hills, he is a past president of Sinai Temple, Jamshid “Jimmy” Delshad… Dentist, born in Tel Aviv, raised in NYC, he practiced in Norwalk, Conn., Murray Bruckel, DDS… Academy Award-winning screenwriter, his work includes “Forrest Gump” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Eric R. Roth… Israeli viola player and teacher, she has performed as soloist with many orchestras world-wide, Rivka Golani… Senior principal of the law firm of Neuberger, Quinn, Gielen, Rubin & Gibber, Isaac M. Neuberger… One of the principal anchors for CNN, Wolf Blitzer… Aviation and aerospace professional, Mike Orkin… Founder and executive director at WomenStrong International, Susan Morton Blaustein… Mayor of the 16th Arrondissement of Paris until 2023, now a member of the upper house of the French Parliament, Francis Szpiner… Hedge fund manager, he sold a majority stake in the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning in 2024 but he continues to control the team, Jeffrey N. Vinik… Popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community, his stage name is Avraham Fried, Avraham Shabsi Friedman… Director of marketing and communications at Dorot, Andrea Glick… Corporate secretary, EVP and general counsel at Hertz Corporation until 2014, J. Jeffrey Zimmerman… Retired Israeli basketball player, she is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most points (136) ever scored in a women’s professional game, Anat Draigor… Author, journalist, soldier and award-winning defense correspondent who has covered Israel and the Middle East, Arieh O’Sullivan… Journalist and author, Debra Nussbaum Cohen… Head of real estate for Mansueto Office, Ari Glass… Member of the U.K. Parliament until 2024 as a member of the British Conservative Party, Robert Halfon… Managing director of Mercury Public Affairs, Jonathan Greenspun… SVP at HCA Healthcare, Jeff E. Cohen… Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Judge Neomi Rao… Internet celebrity, pizza reviewer, blogger and founder of Barstool Sports, David Portnoy… Visuals editor at The City and adjunct professor at CUNY, Ben Fractenberg… Vice president of communications and public policy at Antora Energy, Adam Perecman Frankel… Founder and CEO of beauty and cosmetic firms Into The Gloss and Glossier, Emily Weiss… Creator of the Yehi Ohr program at Jewish Community Services of South Florida, now a real estate agent, Zisa Levin… Retired MLB first baseman after seven seasons, he starred for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Isaac Benjamin “Ike” Davis… Communications director for then-Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sarah Alice Frank Feldman… Energy policy and climate change reporter for Politico, Joshua Adam Siegel… Director of the Dan David Prize, Charlotte Hallé… Director of communications at the UK’s department of energy security and net zero, James Sorene… Beatrice Stein…
SUNDAY: Actor, film director, television director and producer, Mark Rydell… Former NFL referee for 23 seasons, he is the only NFL head referee to officiate four Super Bowl games (1983, 1987, 1992 and 1995), Jerry Markbreit… Together with her husband, Theodore, she pledged $25 million to BBYO in 2019, Harriette Perlman… Mandolinist and composer of acoustic, instrumental, bluegrass and newgrass music, David Grisman… Writer and producer of television series, creator of “Deadwood” and co-creator of “NYPD Blue,” David Milch… Tel Aviv native, she is a professor of music at the Juilliard School since 1993, Yoheved “Veda” Kaplinsky… Los Angeles-based psychologist and author, her first book is The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, Wendy Mogel… Designer of men’s and women’s footwear, clothing and accessories, Kenneth D. Cole… Former mayor of Austin, Texas, first elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018, Stephen Ira Adler… Former director of business development at Fannie Mae, she was also the president of the Jewish Federation of Howard County (Maryland), Beth Millstein… Investor, author, financial commentator and radio personality, Peter Schiff… Russian-American oligarch, oil businessman, winemaker and philanthropist, Eugene Shvidler… Senior writer for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” he is also the creator of 2018’s television series “Liberty Crossing,” Daniel Radosh… Managing partner of D.C.-based Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, Jonathan Missner… French actress who has appeared in 40 films, her Holocaust survivor grandparents changed their name from Goldreich, Judith Godrèche… Client partner at Meta/Facebook working with the financial services and real estate industry verticals, Scott Shapiro… Member of the Maryland General Assembly since 2011, initially as a delegate and since 2016 as a state senator, Craig Zucker… Israeli actress, comedian and television host, Adi Ashkenazi… Three-time Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer and songwriter, Ariel Rechtshaid… Writer and teacher in Los Angeles, Yehuda Martin Hausman… Staff reporter for The New York Times, Sarah Maslin Nir… Israeli singer-songwriter, actress and musician, she performs in Hebrew, French and Arabic, Riff Cohen… Chief of staff for the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Fairfax County, Va., Benjamin Shnider… Former tennis coach at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, as a player she won five singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit, Julia Cohen… Former member of the National Israeli Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, she competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, Moran Buzovski… Television and film actress, Victoria Pedretti…
