Your Daily Phil: The volunteer mentors supporting survivors of domestic abuse
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on nearly $3.5 million in new grants announced by Mazon and yesterday’s memorial service in Washington, D.C., for the late Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). We feature an opinion piece by Steven Windmueller with a code of conduct for coalition building. Also in this newsletter: Zach Fox, Gisella Perl and Noa Argamani. We’ll start with a story about an Israeli nonprofit enlisting and training B’nai B’rith Israel volunteers to offer specialized support for victims of domestic violence.
It was Nurit Levy’s experience accompanying her husband, then-Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, to visit shelters for women fleeing domestic violence that inspired her to found the Israeli nonprofit With You All The Way in late 2022. Levy’s idea, she told Judith Sudilovsky for eJewishPhilanthropy, was to help women with the social, economic, personal, familial and professional challenges that lie in wait once they leave shelters or transitional housing by pairing them with highly trained volunteer mentors who could guide and support them in their journey forward over a period of at least two years.
But who would be the volunteer mentors? Enter B’nai B’rith Israel.
Following a rigorous selection process and three-month training course, the first cohort of 40 female volunteers from B’nai B’rith Israel has been working at three shelters in locations across the country for about three months now, with plans to expand to other areas in the north and south. (Because of security concerns for the women in the shelters, Levy asked that the exact locations not be revealed.) The program is being carried out in conjunction with Woman to Woman, an Israeli nonprofit that has been serving women and children who have experienced domestic violence for more than four decades.
With its spirit of volunteerism and social activism, B’nai B’rith was the clear choice for bringing in quality volunteers, said Levy. Still, the screening process was selective: Out of the 80 women who registered for one training course, for instance, only 16 were selected to continue, she said.
The project focuses on providing support to women as they begin having to answer basic needs such as finding an apartment, opening their own bank account, registering their children for school in a new area and dealing with Israel’s insurance, employment and other social service agencies.
Social service agencies do provide professional assistance to the women when they leave the shelters, said volunteer and B’nai B’rith Israel chapter president Nurit Hershkowitz, 73, but the role of the new volunteers is to be more like a friend or a member of the family who the women can just call to vent or ask for help with some mundane tasks.
“Our role as companions is to be a kind of mentor, a friend, a relative, to be someone they can move forward with,” said Hershkovitz, who works as a career counselor. “Someone who can be called at almost any hour.”
Naomi Shahar, adviser to the president of B’nai B’rith Israel on volunteering, said volunteers were screened for their flexibility, openness to diverse lifestyles, inclusiveness, personal connection and patience, as well as their ability to withstand challenges and cope with frustrations.
“It was very important to us that the volunteer who enters the escorting process knows that she is committed to persevere in it until the end. This is in order to give the woman she accompanies the tools to face the new challenges of her life, but also a sense of security in the relationship, trust and continuity,” said Shahar.
FIGHTING HUNGER
Mazon announces nearly $3.5M in new grants to organizations working on food insecurity
The U.S.-based nonprofit Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger announced on Wednesday that it is awarding nearly $3.5 million in new grants to 52 local-level partner organizations across the United States and Israel, reports Rachel Kohn for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Into the breach: “Food insecurity is growing in both the U.S. and Israel while political leaders engage in increasingly partisan battles rather than enacting policies to address it,” said Mia Hubbard, Mazon’s executive vice president. “We are extremely proud of our partners in the U.S. and Israel who work every day to end hunger and address inequity with wisdom, creativity and resilience.”
Filling a critical need: “The municipality of Jerusalem does not currently have a food policy or recognize food as a field requiring one,” said Daniella Seltzer and Maytal Lochoff, co-founder and urban food policy coordinator, respectively, of the Jerusalem Food Rescuers. “Mazon’s support allows us to create a food council that will place food systems and food security on the agenda. This support is crucial in helping us achieve these milestones.”
Funding that facilitates focus: As one of the largest investors in anti-hunger advocacy, Mazon’s partnership grants are structured to increase or sustain staff capacity at local anti-hunger organizations to allow them to focus on advocacy and policy solutions. “Mazon’s continued funding for food security and anti-hunger work has given us the resources and confidence to continue the successful advocacy they jumpstarted several years ago,” said Adrienne Olejnik, vice president of Kansas Action for Children. “Because of Mazon’s investment in Kansas, summer EBT [Electronic Benefits Transfer] was saved, advocates collaborated effectively against SNAP eligibility restrictions and school-based nutrition policy options have momentum for legislative improvement.”
PAYING TRIBUTE
In mitn drinen, American and Israeli statesmen take a moment to share memories of Sen. Joe Lieberman
Speaking at a memorial service at Washington Hebrew Congregation just hours before his appearance on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) as “an American patriot and a proud Jew,” report Gabby Deutch and Lahav Harkov for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
A high-profile crowd: Hundreds of people attended the memorial service, which took place four months after Lieberman’s death in March at 82 and featured Democratic and Republican speakers along with Lieberman’s family members. Netanyahu brought Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and other senior members of his delegation to Washington. Former Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (I-WV), Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew were also in attendance, as well as pollster Frank Luntz, Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Executive Vice Chairman Emeritus Malcolm Hoenlein and the group’s CEO, William Daroff.
Lasting impressions: Netanyahu said he met Lieberman for the first time in the 1980s, when the latter was attorney general of Connecticut: “What struck me first when I met him was his moral clarity and his moral courage.” Over his decades in politics, Lieberman “steadfastly stood with Israel and the Jewish people, especially during trying times. It’s especially during these trying times that I miss him even more,” he said.
Across party lines: “The common bond — why are we all here?” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of Lieberman’s closest friends in the Senate, asked rhetorically. “We loved Joe, right, and he loved us, and to be loved by Joe Lieberman is an experience you will never ever forget.” Former Vice President Al Gore, who chose Lieberman as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election, paid tribute to him as a man with a “remarkably faith-filled life.” Gore also recounted becoming Lieberman’s “Shabbos goy” when they were both senators and sessions would run late on Fridays. “I learned a lot from Joe, including a few words of Yiddish,” he said. “I was already familiar with the word mensch, but I didn’t know what it really meant until I got to be a good friend of Joe Lieberman.”
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
RETURN TO THE TABLE
Coalition building is indispensable, but these ideas will help us build back better
“The Jewish community has a long and rich tradition of being part of coalitions, joining other religious, racial and ethnic communities in pursuing common action. In this moment, it is essential that our community relations and social justice organizations continue to pursue such partnerships,” 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.
Straight talk: “We know that some within our community feel discouraged, angry and frustrated by the failure of other constituencies to show up for Israel and the Jewish community over these past months. For them, initiatives such as intergroup dialogue, interfaith relations and coalition building are seen as failed or futile efforts… The first task in rebuilding the case for engagement is to remind our own community of the following realities: Not everyone bailed on us. The case for Israel and the core interests of our community both require partners. Coalition building remains vital to us, and there are opportunities to build connections with both old and new players.”
Accountability matters: “Our second undertaking involves unpacking what has taken place. Even as we acknowledge that we have lost some of our former allies and partners, we should hold accountable those who turned silent as well as those who publicly came out against us. I believe that whenever a relationship is ending or in trouble, the parties owe one another some answers, an explanation for their actions. Candor is key to community building and players must be open to discussing their differences — even their decisions to step away.”
Going forward: “We should expect our future partners to accept two basic principles: Oppose antisemitism and hate speech in all forms; and support Israel as a Jewish democratic nation that has the right to exist, to defend its citizens and to protect its sovereignty. Of course, clarification of and agreement on certain definitions — what constitutes antisemitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Israel expression — will be necessary, just as we should expect our partners to offer their preconditions for engagement. The following code of conduct in such situations will be key.”
Worthy Reads
Finding Religion: Funders interested in supporting fact-based reporting should take note of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s recent commitment of $200,000 from its democracy program to support Religion News Service (RNS), writes Dawn Wolfe in Inside Philanthropy. “The importance of fact-based, objective reporting about religion is obvious, particularly in an environment in which funders are pushing back against disinformation and resourcing efforts to bridge civic divides. While backing RNS and other faith-focused news outlets, such as Christianity Today, may not be the most reached-for tool in that toolbox, the depth and experience of niche and topic-specific sites is unbeatable… The religious landscape in the U.S. is far larger and more complex than right-wing pundits and activists would like citizens to believe. America’s religious people run the gamut from liberal to conservative, and adhere to a wide range of faith traditions. In an environment where some factions are doing their best to use faith as a wedge to further polarize and drive us apart, funders looking to bring the country together may want to consider backing outlets that specialize in telling religion’s larger stories.” [InsidePhilanthropy]
Around the Web
Haaretz shares details about the identities of five Israelis, all killed on Oct. 7, whose bodies were recovered on Wednesday in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet…
Jewish Insider reports on U.S. lawmakers’ condemnation of the protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said he “never imagined seeing the flag of a terror group holding eight Americans hostage for 292 days waved in the streets of our nation’s [capital].”…
A group of young nonprofit professionals talks about the good, the bad and the ugly in their field in a roundtable discussion in The Chronicle of Philanthropy…
In Christian Daily, a group of Christian humanitarian organizations shares a list of 10 crisis-hit countries — six of which are in Africa — that it says have been neglected by the international community, “further risking the lives of over 300 million people facing hunger, displacement and armed conflict.”…
Food & Beverage Industry News reports on a $4.6 million grant allocation by the government of New South Wales, Australia, to help businesses and food rescue organizations combat food waste…
The New York Times reports on Rupert Murdoch’s legal battle to entrust future control of his media empire to one, not four, of his oldest children in order to retain its trademark “conservative editorial bent” and thus “protect its commercial value for all his heirs.”…
The Climate Project at MIT has appointed leaders for each of its six focal areas, or Climate Missions, MIT President Sally Kornbluth announced in a statement on Tuesday…
The Jerusalem Post interviews American Zach Fox, who is Jewish, about his recent foray into Ramallah with a video crew and translator to ask Palestinians on the street about their views on Jews, Hamas, Oct. 7 and a two-state solution…
The story of Jewish gynecologist Gisella Perl, who saved hundreds of pregnant women’s lives as a physician in Auschwitz, is being retold in “Mere Waters,” an Off-Broadway show premiering at the SheNYC Arts Festival in New York on Aug. 4…
Salomon Schulman, an acclaimed Swedish Yiddish poet as well as a pediatrician and child psychiatrist, died last week at 76…
A champion of civil liberties and the right to counsel in criminal trials regardless of economic status, Abe Karsh died earlier this month at 97.
Pic of the Day
Released Israeli hostage Noa Argamani (center), accompanied on her right by Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stands amid a sea of politicians and the family members of other hostages on Wednesday as they give her a standing ovation during the prime minister’s address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol.
Birthdays
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising participant and Holocaust survivor, she is the subject of the 2021 documentary “I Am Here,” Ella Blumenthal…
Painter and printmaker, her works include the Kaddish Series, reflecting on the tragedy of the Holocaust, Rita Briansky… Former publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewish Lights Publishing, he is an economist and religious scholar best known for his interfaith work, Stuart M. Matlins… Cinematographer, whose work includes “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” Peter Suschitzky… Member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, Alan N. Maisel… Born in Casablanca, nightclub owner, entrepreneur and film producer, he produced “The Woman in Red” and “Weekend at Bernie’s,” Victor Drai… Former IDF brigadier general (he was part of Operation Entebbe in 1976), then a member of Knesset, Efraim “Effi” Eitam… Voice-over artist, he produced a documentary about the restoration of a NYC synagogue, Peter Grossman… Chairman of Vibrant Capital Partners and chair emeritus of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Philip Darivoff… Screenwriter, director and producer, best known for creating “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Sex and the City,” Darren Star… Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist, she is a staff writer at The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum… Retired MLB pitcher from a small Jewish community in the Dominican Republic, he maintains a kosher home, José Bautista… Israeli journalist, television news anchor and author of a non-fiction book and a novel, Oshrat Kotler… CEO of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Rabbi Steven Weil… NYC-based criminal defense attorney, Arkady L. Bukh… Head coach of the men’s basketball team at Kent State University, Rob Senderoff… Radio personality on Baltimore’s WBAL and 98 Rock, Josh Spiegel… Managing director of corporate pricing and public affairs at Real Chemistry, Erin Seidler… Experimental electronic music producer, composer and singer, known professionally as Oneohtrix Point Never, Daniel Lopatin… Film and television actor, Michael Welch… Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Olympics and at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he is also a real estate broker at CBRE, Joseph “Joey” Samuel Wagman…
