Your Daily Phil: Thousands more suspect votes discovered in World Zionist Congress election
Good Friday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we get the scoop on thousands of newly identified suspect votes in the ongoing World Zionist Congress elections and interview Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, ahead of his organization’s upcoming Global Forum Conference. We feature an opinion piece by Bruce David Klein about raising funds as a filmmaker to tell an American Jewish story on his own terms, and one by Rabbi Ari Perten and Ezra Kopelowitz about creating Jewish educational programming for interfaith couples that is accessible and builds community. Also in this newsletter: Dani Dayan, Gil Sagiv and Larry Summers.
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: In 1st speech as U.S. ambassador to Israel, Huckabee pledges: ‘I stand not behind you, but with you’; Amid reports of possible changes to overseas donations, philanthropic leaders suggest calm, compliance, communication; and From seminary to secretary: How Uri Monson balances Pennsylvania’s budget and keeps Shabbat. Print the latest edition here.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
The American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Forum Conference kicks off on Sunday in New York. Headline speakers will include Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, members of the European and Brazilian legislatures, as well as Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl. John Spencer, the chair of urban warfare studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, and former Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass will also be speaking.
The Israeli nonprofit OneFamily, which works with bereaved families, is holding a Shabbaton near the Sea of Galilee this weekend for parents who have lost children in wars or terror attacks ahead of next week’s Israeli Memorial Day, Yom HaZikaron.
The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel will host its annual memorial ceremony in honor of North Americans who were killed in war or terror attacks. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is expected to attend the event, in which eight names will be added to the organization’s memorial wall: Regev Amar, Yaron Eliezer Chitiz, Netta Epstein, Omer Neutra, Yona Bezalel Brief, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Nadav Elchanan Knoller and Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist.
What You Should Know
The World Zionist Congress’ election committee has discovered thousands more suspicious votes that were cast in the ongoing American election, after rejecting nearly 2,000 votes that were deemed to have been fraudulent earlier this month, multiple sources in Israel and the United States told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
The Area Election Committee, which oversees the election, has not identified the slates for whom the votes were cast.
Together with the original tossed votes — which represented more than 2% of the total votes at that point — these additional suspect ballots represent a significant percentage of the total votes cast, which likely means that there will be a delay in releasing the results of the election, which ends May 4, in order to conduct a thorough audit of ballots.
The slates running in the election were informed about the matter in a meeting on Thursday, the sources said, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
David Yaari, the chair of the “general Zionist” Kol Israel slate and chair of the World Confederation of the United Zionists, confirmed to eJP that the slates had been informed of the newly identified suspect ballots. “If there is indeed proof of voter fraud by any of the parties, not only must those votes be disqualified, but those parties must be sanctioned and penalized,” Yaari said today, adding that multiple offenders need to be disqualified entirely from the election. “Without penalty, it’s an incentive to continue fraud.”
The World Zionist Congress’ American elections, which are held every five years, determine who will represent roughly a third of the democratic body and therefore influences who controls an annual budget of more than $1 billion, as well as the authority to speak on behalf of Zionist Jews worldwide. This year’s election is already the largest on record, both in terms of the number of votes cast and the number of slates running.
Figures within the Zionist movement describe the suspected voter fraud as a two-fold issue: an immediate, practical problem that needs to be addressed and a more insidious act that deteriorates overall trust in the institution.
Yaari, who decried the “mudslinging” that has been seen in the current election, added that he believed that the Zionist movement needed to entirely overhaul the election system to better make use of technological solutions to make the process more efficient and transparent. “The Zionist movement needs to innovate the election. The election irregularities and alleged fraud can be fixed with innovation and new digital solutions,” he said, citing the blockchain as a potential solution for authenticating voters.
“Every territory and every [Zionist] federation should hold elections in 2030, and the Zionist movement should create the technological solution through innovation to solve these problems,” said Yaari, who is also vice chair of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund.
Earlier this month, eJP revealed that the AEC had identified some 1,900 votes that were found to be suspect, having been tied to apparently randomly generated email addresses, prepaid credit cards or suspicious addresses. All of them were cast for the same two unidentified slates. After evaluating the matter, the AEC decided to reject all of the suspicious ballots and said that it did not yet have evidence of direct involvement by the slates in question in the fraudulent voting scheme. It added that it would continue to investigate the matter and would take criminal action if warranted.
Several slates, mainly those in the center and on the left, have demanded that the AEC take more forceful action in response to the fraudulent votes, calling for the slates in question to be disqualified from the election and for the voters involved to be barred from voting in the future.
TED TALK
AJC searches for a middle ground on Trump’s campus antisemitism moves, CEO Ted Deutch says
The Trump administration’s moves to cut billions in federal funding from colleges and universities and detain and deport foreign students have sparked fierce debate in the Jewish community in recent months, and opened fault lines among some who see the actions as necessary to fight antisemitism and others who argue that they’re an overreach. The American Jewish Committee is trying to take a more nuanced approach, the organization’s CEO Ted Deutch told Marc Rod from eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider in an interview at AJC’s Washington office this week ahead of the group’s annual Global Forum conference, which starts this weekend.
Losing sight: Deutch warned that funding cuts motivated by combating antisemitism could have significant effects in other ways, and potentially distract from necessary discussions about antisemitism. “When you announce unilaterally that you’re cutting all of the funding, including funding that can help find cures and treatments for disease and funding that has contributed to the global preeminence of American universities in scientific research, then, unfortunately, that becomes the conversation, instead of the necessary conversation that the administration rightfully wants to have about the university’s need to adequately protect Jewish students and all students.” Deutch also noted that some in the Jewish community are worried that cuts to life-saving research may ultimately produce backlash against the Jewish community.
Read the full interview here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
NOVEL APPROACH
Funding ‘Gangsters vs. Nazis’: A journey
“If you had told me a few years ago that after directing buzzy documentary films … my next film would be about gangsters and Nazis — and that instead of selling it directly to a network or streamer like we usually do, that we’d fund it independently through donations — I’d have said you were telling a bubbe meise,” writes Bruce David Klein, executive producer and director at Atlas Media Corp, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
A little backstory: “It all started with a best-selling book: Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Gangsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America. It tells the riveting true story of how, in the lead-up to World War II, Brooklyn Judge Nathan D. Perlman, alarmed by the rise of the German-American Bund (i.e. American Nazis), built a network of Jewish gangsters to break up Nazi meetings and ‘make it dangerous to be a Nazi in America.’… As soon as I read it, I knew I had to option the rights… I decided to skip the usual pitch to networks, maintain control of the narrative, and fund the film independently via 501(c)(3) donations… What did we know about the best way to communicate the film’s importance to donors? Or how to even meet donors in the first place? Early on, we made plenty of mistakes, assuming people would just hear the story and part with their money. We quickly learned otherwise. But what we did learn was transformative.”
WELCOME TO THE TRIBE
Interfaith couples: From observers to active participants in Jewish life
“For many interfaith couples, Jewish life can feel like an insider’s club with invisible barriers to entry. Whether navigating synagogue services, holiday traditions or conversations about raising children, these couples often experience uncertainty and a sense of not fully belonging,” write Rabbi Ari Perten, vice president of Jewish learning at Mem Global, and Ezra Kopelowitz, CEO at Research Success Technologies, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Embark — an initiative of Mem Global, with support from the Laura and Gary Lauder Family Venture Philanthropy Fund — seeks to empower interfaith couples to explore Jewish life in ways that feel personally meaningful and accessible.”
Recipe for success: “Embark’s effectiveness stems from its three interconnected foundations: cohort-based learning, personalized rabbinic mentorship and accessible Jewish education designed specifically for interfaith couples… Rather than prescribing a single ‘correct’ way to practice Judaism, the program equips participants with knowledge and tools to integrate Jewish traditions authentically into their lives. Rabbis serve as mentors rather than authority figures, creating safe spaces for honest conversations about Judaism’s complexities. Many participants report that these rabbinic relationships continue well beyond the program’s formal conclusion, providing ongoing support as couples navigate Jewish rituals, holiday celebrations and community engagement in their daily lives. The cohort experience itself proves equally transformative. Couples form meaningful connections with peers who understand the unique dynamics of interfaith relationships. This shared experience creates a crucial support network, normalizing their questions and challenges while building friendships that often extend far beyond the program’s duration.”
Worthy Reads
Our Responsibility: In Ha’aretz, Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan reflects on the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors still alive today as antisemitism and Holocaust distortion increases around the world. “Israel last month assumed the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which includes 35 member countries and nine international organizations. Israel’s first act as president was to launch a global campaign, calling for renewed commitment to the message and principles of the Survivors’ Declaration, an eloquent message composed by a group of Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem in 2002 as they prepared to pass on the torch of remembrance to future generations… Yet recommitting to their declaration is not enough. Words must be backed by action. Governments and law enforcement should enact policies of zero tolerance, devise effective ways to implement them and step up protection of Jewish communities. Countries need to implement robust educational initiatives to meaningfully teach about the Holocaust, combat hatred, challenge prejudices and provide effective tools for the next generation. And whoever engages in antisemitic acts or rhetoric must be held accountable. The relevance of the Holocaust is not waning. The dangers of antisemitism can be seen every day and everywhere. It is the same centuries-old antisemitism that rebrands itself to fit each new generation. And the fight against it must be waged relentlessly and unapologetically.” [Ha’aretz]
Bracing for Bumpy Weather: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Rasheeda Childress shares advice for fundraisers and nonprofits concerned about “skittish donors” during a time of economic turbulence. “‘Anxiety has always been the enemy of philanthropy,’ says [Laura] MacDonald, author of The Endowment Handbook: The Complete Guide to Building a Resilient Cause. ‘Anxiety is the enemy of most economic models.’ Unfortunately this bout of high anxiety comes at the worst possible time for nonprofits that have lost federal funding or are feeling the knock-on effects. When donors don’t feel confident, they are reluctant to give, say MacDonald and others. Still, that doesn’t mean they won’t give at all. Even amid economic turmoil, organizations can maintain relationships with donors that lead to gifts, says Debra Faulk, a chartered adviser in philanthropy who works with donors and previously led a nonprofit. Faulk, MacDonald, and others offer tips to help nonprofits strengthen ties with supporters and keep the organization’s mission top of mind with donors. ‘We’re not pretending if you just do these three things, life’s going to be easy,’ Faulk says. ‘But you’re going to be poised to be in a better position.’” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Ahead of Tuesday’s Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, the country’s National Insurance Institute reported that 395 people have been killed in war or terror attacks in the past year — 316 of them soldiers and 79 civilians — bringing the total number of people killed since 1860 in service to the country, including pre-state efforts, to 25,417…
A new study released this week by Tel Aviv University reports that global antisemitic incidents have sharply declined since peaking in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, though levels still remain higher than before the war began. The study found decreases in antisemitic incidents in several countries in 2024, including France, Britain, Germany, Mexico and South Africa…
Gil Sagiv has been hired as the vice president of marketing and customer experience at Ogen, the Israeli social lender, beginning in early May…
Ha’aretz examines the controversy around Hebrew University’s scrapping the planned publication of a revised and updated Hebrew edition of excerpts of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kamp…
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman found that though Trump’s overall approval rating with Jewish voters stands at 24%, a slightly higher 31% view his handling of antisemitism more favorably…
Puck interviews former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who also once served as the president of Harvard, about the Trump administration’s approaches to tariffs and academia…
Jewish Insider profiles Jerusalem Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who has been listed as one of the possible successors to Pope Francis following the pontiff’s death this week…
RootOne has hired Amy Marks as senior managing director of development and Jessica Kalbfeld as director of research and evaluation…
In an opinion piece in the New York Post, Father Patrick Desbois, founder of Yahad-In Unum, which gathers evidence about the Holocaust, writes that time is running out to collect eyewitness accounts of Nazi atrocities as witnesses age…
In an opinion piece in Bleeding Heartland, Iowa-based Rabbi Henry Jay Karp warns that a school chaplain bill moving through the state legislature is a serious threat to religious neutrality in Iowa’s public schools by favoring only Christian chaplains…
Prominent Crown Heights, Brooklyn, community member Menachem (Mendy) Raitport was killed in a car accident in Georgia on Tuesday. He was 57…
Author and researcher Leonard Zeskind, whose work focused on far-right and white nationalist movements, died on April 15 at 75…
Attorney and art collector Arthur Fleischer Jr. died last month at 92…
Nechama Grossman, the oldest Holocaust survivor in Israel, died yesterday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, at 110…
Pic of the Day
Repair the World volunteers sort and pack clothes on Tuesday’s Earth Day in Chicago at an event on the environmental impact of so-called “fast fashion” as a part of the ongoing National Day of Jewish Service.
Birthdays
Founder of Omega Advisors, Leon G. “Lee” Cooperman…
FRIDAY: Retired attorney, Myron “Mike” Sponder… Social worker and former health spokesman of the Green Party of the U.K., he is the older brother of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Larry Sanders… Co-founder of Lender’s Bagel Bakery, he was the national chair of UJA, Marvin Lender… Former CEO of Caravan Products and the H.C. Brill Co., Joseph (Joe) Weber turns 80… Founder of CAM Capital, Bruce Stanley Kovner… Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University and rabbi of the Young Israel of Riverdale Synagogue, Rabbi Mordechai Willig… David Handleman… Longtime chairman and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures, now president of Through The Lens Entertainment, Bruce Berman… Former chairman of the Conference of Presidents and previously president of Bed, Bath and Beyond, Arthur Stark … Administrative law judge at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Beth A. Fox… Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, Adam Silver… Senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, Michael Scott Doran… Litigator at Quinn Emanuel, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic in the Obama administration and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, Andrew H. Schapiro… Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and producer, he is descended from a Sephardic family rooted in Thessaloniki, Hank Azaria… Israeli diplomat who served as deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Israel in D.C., Benjamin Krasna… CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester (NY) since 2016, Meredith Dragon… New York Times-bestselling author and adjunct professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, David Eagleman turns 54… Deputy director of community health at the Utah Department of Human Services, David E. Litvack turns 53… Manager of the Oakland Ballers baseball team in the Pioneer League until last July, Micah Franklin… Democratic Party strategist, she is a co-founder of Lift Our Voices, Julie Roginsky… President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the nation’s largest business improvement district, Jessica S. Lappin… Senior-editor-at-large for Breitbart News, Joel Barry Pollak… Attorney turned grocer and now professor at American University, she founded and sold Glen’s Garden Market north of Dupont Circle, Danielle Brody Rosengarten Vogel… Co-founder of WeWork and now Flow, Adam Neumann… Executive director at Yaffed, Adina Mermelstein Konikoff… Managing director, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital, Kenneth R. Gold… Spokesperson and director of public affairs and planning division at FEMA during the Biden administration, now senior vice president at Avoq, Jaclyn Rothenberg… Film and television actress, model and singer, Sara Paxton… Staff writer at Daily Kos, Emily Cahn Singer… Former NHL ice hockey defenseman, now a color analyst for Westwood One and ESPN, Colby Shane Cohen… TikTok Star with 10 million social media followers and over 3 billion annual views, he runs the culinary website CookWithChefEitan, Eitan Bernath …
SATURDAY: Computer expert, author, lecturer, Jewish genealogy researcher and publisher of Avotaynu, the International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Gary Mokotoff… Retired Federation executive in Los Angeles, Oakland and Sacramento, Loren Basch… Investment banker and chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers through its bankruptcy filing in 2008, Richard S. Fuld Jr.… Professor of computer science and engineering at MIT, Hal Abelson… President of Brandeis University from 2016 until last November, Ronald D. Liebowitz… Moscow-born journalist and political activist in Israel, Avigdor Eskin… Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing editor of The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch… London-based interfaith social activist, she founded and chaired Mitzvah Day International, Laura Marks… Chair of the Conference of Presidents, Harriet P. Schleifer… Journalist, biographer and the author of six books, Jonathan Eig… Former member of the Maryland House of Delegates for four years and then the Maryland State Senate for eight years, Roger Manno… Former member of the California State Assembly where he served as chairman of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, Marc Levine… Member of the NYC Council for six years and now a recently elected member of the NY State Assembly, Kalman Yeger… General partner of Coatue Management, Benjamin Schwerin… Senior staff editor of the international desk of The New York Times, Russell Goldman… Senior director of federal government affairs at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Karas Pattison Gross… Media relations manager at NPR, Benjamin Fishel… London-based reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering finance, he is the co-author of a book on WeWork, Eliot Brown… Male fashion model and actor, Brett Novek… Head coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball program, he played for Team Israel in the 2012 World Baseball Classic, Ben Orloff… Communications director at the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance, Alisha Katz… Product strategy services at Apple, Kenneth Zauderer… Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times, Jackson C. Richman… Board liaison at American Jewish World Service, he is also a part-time matchmaker at Tribe 12, Ross Beroff… Ahron Singer…
SUNDAY: Financial executive, he retired in 2014 as head of marketing for money manager Van Eck Global, Harvey Hirsch… Nonprofit executive who has managed the 92nd Street Y, the Robin Hood Foundation, the AT&T Foundation and Lincoln Center, Reynold Levy… Physician and a former NASA astronaut, she is a veteran of three shuttle flights with more than 686 hours in space, Ellen Louise Shulman Baker, M.D., M.P.H…. Director-general of the Israel Antiquities Authority until 2020, he was previously a member of Knesset and deputy director of the Shin Bet, Yisrael Hasson… Vice president at Covington Fabric & Design, Donald Rifkin… Biologist and professor of pathology and genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine, he won the 2006 Nobel Prize for medicine, Andrew Zachary Fire… Co-founder of Casamigos Tequila and owner of restaurants, bars and lounges worldwide, Rande Gerber… Former member of the Knesset for the Shinui party, Yigal Yasinov… CEO of ZAM Asset Management, Elliot Mayerhoff… Showrunner, director, screenwriter and producer, Brian Koppelman… Founder and CEO of New York City-based Gotham Ghostwriters, Daniel Gerstein… Israeli actor, entertainer and television host, Yitzhak “Aki” Avni… Attorney and journalist, Dahlia Lithwick… Author, political analyst and nationally syndicated op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, Dana Milbank… U.S. senator (D-NJ) since 2013, he was previously the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker… Israeli television and radio journalist and former member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home party, Yinon Magal… Professor of science writing at MIT, Seth Mnookin… Cinematographer and director, Rachel Morrison… Identical twin brothers, between the two of them they won 11 Israeli championships in the triathlon between 2001 and 2012, Dan and Ran Alterman both turn 45… Israeli screenwriter and producer, she has written numerous advertisements and screenplays, Savion Einstein… Deputy regional director for AIPAC, Leah Berry… Television and film actress, Ariel Geltman “Ari” Graynor… Basketball coach, analyst and writer, Benjamin Falk… Senior creative director at Trilogy Interactive, Jessica Ruby… Head of data and climate science at Watershed, Jonathan H. Glidden… Associate at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, David Jonathan Benger… Investor and entrepreneur, Noah Swartz… MD/MPH candidate in the 2025 class at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, newly matched to be a medical resident at UCLA, Amir Kashfi…
