Your Daily Phil: What is (and isn’t) being discussed at the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on this week’s Central Conference of American Rabbis gathering in Chicago and on the next steps for Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin. We examine how Jewish family services across the United States are responding to the Trump administration’s funding cuts. We feature an opinion piece by Michael Sidman, who shares insights he gained after going from one of “the helpers” to someone in need of help in the wake of January’s L.A. wildfires; and one by Rabbi Benjamin Berger and Mollie Feldman presenting a series of foundational “thresholds” for Jewish development among college students. As part of Diaspora Week, we are publishing essays from the upcoming edition of the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education’s The Peoplehood Papers series, with today’s from Yona Shem-Tov. Also in this newsletter: Nathan Diament, Susan Miller and Rabbi Stanley Davids.
What We’re Watching
Dov Ben-Shimon, who joined the Community Security Service as its CEO late last year, is leaving the organization after he and the board “mutually agreed that this is not the right long-term fit” and a more “operational focus” is needed going forward; the group’s COO, Richard Priem, has been named CEO effective immediately.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is holding an event tonight for Jewish communal leaders, a day before Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli’s convening on antisemitism, which saw a number of participants drop out over a program that included several far-right European leaders. Tonight’s convening at the President’s Residence will include a panel discussion with William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Wendy Kahn, the national director of the South African Board of Jewish Deputies; Rabbi ?Menachem Margolin, the head of the European Jewish Association; Alon Cassuto, CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia; and Muriel Ouaknine-Melki, the head of France’s Organisation Juive Européenne. Following the panel, former Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky will speak in conversation with Israeli antisemitism envoy Michal Cotler-Wunsh. Chikli and Herzog will also speak at the event.
Hadassah, Jewish Women International and the National Council of Jewish Women are hosting a reception this afternoon on Capitol Hill in honor of Jewish women serving in the current Congress.
The Orthodox Union and Teach Coalition are holding a webinar tonight to discuss how the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the Department of Education will affect the Jewish community.
What You Should Know
How to deal with congregants suddenly slashed from the federal payroll? With those suffering from incidents of antisemitism? Or with those facing transgender discrimination?
For rabbis struggling to meet congregants’ needs at an increasingly fraught political moment, Rabbi Hara Person, the executive director of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, suggested that they need skills they may not yet possess.
“They now need spiritual counseling, pastoral care, help in ways that [aren’t] necessarily in every rabbi’s tool kit,” Person told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim during the annual CCAR conference, which is wrapping up today in Chicago. “What do you do when 30% of your congregants are unemployed?” she asked.
The four-day conference, which brought together more than 450 Reform rabbis, focused largely on how rabbis can support their communities amid mounting challenges or communal disagreement. Despite their prominence in much of Jewish communal discourse, Israel and Zionism were not a major focus of the conference. This comes amid criticism from parts of the movement that the Reform rabbinate is shying away from these areas for fear of not alienating more progressive elements of the movement.
According to Person, while Zionism and Israel aren’t the core focus of the conference, they are being “threaded into” workshops and some of the major sessions — including a speech from Rabbi Yael Vurgan of the Shaar Hanegev region in southern Israel about trauma, loss and religious leadership.
“Our convention is not to serve a political purpose. We’re not giving anybody an answer about how they need to return and respond to their community’s questions,” Rabbi David Lyon, CCAR’s newly tapped president, told eJP. “We’re mindful of the complexity of the issues, and we’re trying to learn how to listen, how to dialogue, how to be builders of greater peace for everybody.”
Instead, the conference has been leaning into opportunities to hone rabbis’ skills in providing leadership at uncertain times and provide best practices for supporting those whose “opinions might be different from their own,” according to Lyon.
“They’re learning how in a world that really few of us have ever experienced, how to do it and how to do it well, because we’re not politicians, we’re clergy,” said Lyon. “We want to be sure to inspire and lift up our people without alienating.”
According to Person, the conference, which has welcomed representatives from a number of countries, including Germany, Puerto Rico, Australia and Israel, represents a diversity of both life experience and ideology.
Over the last year there has been increasing interest in CCAR’s virtual webinars and support groups, she said. As a number of rabbis in the Greater Washington area are faced with the impact of mass federal layoffs on their congregants, and others with mounting antisemitism, the convention aims to meet similar needs, she said.
The convention also provided an opportunity for the rabbis to be together and support each other as they help congregants — and themselves — through a fraught period. “The focus is just on how good it is to be together as rabbis,” said Person.
‘HOPE IS NOT ENOUGH’
At Jewish Funders Network confab, Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin consider what comes next for them
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin cannot go back to the lives that they led before their son, Hersh, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and shot dead by his captors six months ago. “We’ve been saying, ‘Can we go back to high tech and to teaching?’ And the answer right now is no,” Jon Polin said at the Jewish Funders Network conference on Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross from the conference. “We see… so much that’s broken in the world, in the Jewish community and in Israel, and we’re picking our spots. We’re sharpening it, but we are motivated to play our role in making things better, making the world better.” Yet they added no matter what, first they would continue their efforts on behalf of the remaining 59 hostages still in Gaza. “We have these cherished 59 human beings who need us at this very second… I think of Alon Ohel, who right this moment is shackled and alone and it closes my throat because he’s my son, and he’s your son,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said.
‘Hope is not enough’: Rachel stressed that the path ahead for the Jewish people will not be an easy one, but that, she said, was fine.“We still believe that hope is necessary. That’s not advice, it’s not suggestive, it’s mandatory. But hope is not enough. In the Mishnah, we are commanded to pursue better,” she said. “Judaism is a lot of things — it’s not easy. And that’s fine. I’m proud of that. Hard is not bad, it’s simply hard.” She added: “We must have unity. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like what that person is saying. We can be different and we must be one.”
CONTINGENCY PLAN
Jewish social service agencies brace for federal funding cuts amid uncertainty
More than 100 American Jewish organizations provide social services to community members in need across the country, and most of them rely on federal funds to pay for at least part of their work, along with Jewish communal philanthropy and support from local governments. Now, these agencies are bracing for impact if the Trump administration significantly shrinks its spending footprint, as President Donald Trump has pledged to do, reports Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
In the lurch: The budget blueprint passed by the House in February with Trump’s support calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, which are likely to affect Medicaid and federal hunger programs. In the meantime, the organizations that provide services to recipients of entitlement programs are left scrambling. “Cuts to those programs would affect the vast majority of the individuals and families we serve, increasing community needs significantly and straining our capacity to assist them with issues like food and housing security and access to health care and other basic needs,” said Karen Mozenter, CEO of Jewish Family Services in Columbus, Ohio.
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
INSIGHTS FROM THE AFTERMATH
When the helpers need help
“For seven years, I have served as the senior communications director at Jewish Family Service LA, Los Angeles’ oldest charity and a cornerstone of compassionate service. My role is to share the stories of this extraordinary organization and the people who work here: helpers dedicated to ensuring that the most vulnerable Angelenos, regardless of background, do not have to navigate life alone,” writes Michael Sidman in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “One of the hardest concepts to convey to supporters is that any one of us could find ourselves in need. It is easy to assume that ‘the most vulnerable’ are somehow different from us — people without jobs, families or stability. I once thought that, too. Until Jan. 7, when the Eaton Fire reduced everything I owned to ash.”
Tables turn: “In the days after our Altadena, Calif., house burned down in the Eaton Fire, my husband and I were overwhelmed by an outpouring of support. Family, friends and even complete strangers rallied around us, offering anything they could to help. Every gesture of kindness was moving, but one stood out. The rabbi from my childhood synagogue in Massachusetts sent a generous donation with a note: ‘I’d like to send you tzedakah [charity], half for you and half for you to give to others in need.’ Even in a moment when I felt I had nothing, I was reminded that giving is an act of healing. Being able to help others while receiving help myself was empowering… When we accept that life will place us in both positions — the helper and the helped — we begin to understand the profound role that community plays in every stage of our lives.”
A JEWISH LIFE PATHWAY
Becoming, belonging and building: ‘Thresholds’ for Jewish college students
“We at Hillel — and everyone who cares about today’s Jewish college students — must establish a path for what Jewish development and maturation toward adulthood during these years might be, especially under the type of stress and challenges that many students are experiencing,” write Hillel International’s Rabbi Benjamin Berger and Mollie Feldman in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Putting theory into action: “In the early 2000s, at the same time that Hillel was developing a new understanding of and strategy around relationship-based engagement, two educational theorists, Jan Meyer and Ray Land, suggested that educational development was like passing through a series of thresholds, ‘which is akin to a portal, opening up new and previously inaccessible ways of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, interpreting or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.’ In other words, students come to new horizons of understanding, application and creativity through particular ‘threshold’ experiences. This educational idea, extended to the realm of Jewish development, holds enormous potential when combined with the unique relational focus that has long been a hallmark of Hillel’s work.”
THE PEOPLEHOOD PAPERS
Reimagining Jewish citizenship in perilous times: A call for a clear articulation and standards for Jewish civics education
“As Jewish communities around the world confront deep polarization, rising antisemitism and shifting political landscapes, the absence of a shared framework for Jewish civic education has become a critical void,” writes Encounter CEO Yona Shem-Tov in an essay featured in eJewishPhilanthropy from the upcoming volume of The Peoplehood Papers, which will be published next month by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.
A core curriculum: “Now more than ever, we must articulate fundamental principles of Jewish citizenship, ensuring that Jews across generations and geographies — both within Israel and beyond — understand and share a sense of the responsibilities, privileges and challenges that come with being part of the Jewish people. This requires not only intellectual rigor but also an educational strategy that fosters inspiration, engagement, literacy and a deep commitment to Jewish peoplehood.”
Worthy Reads
We Need Joe 2.0: In a piece for the Jewish News Syndicate, Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, marks the upcoming yahrzeit of the late Sen. Joe Lieberman with a call for the rise of his spiritual and political heirs. “Where is the next Joe Lieberman? If anything, we have an abundance of anti-Joe Liebermans in Congress. In this time of crisis for global Jewry, some Jewish members of Congress have worked against the Jewish community’s interests. At the same, the other side has an army of antisemitic and anti-Zionist activists protesting on college campuses and eager to be the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib. They are funded and trained by nefarious groups who often get their money from terrorist-supporting regimes. They are what our political future looks like if we do nothing. This poses a question for Orthodox Jews. How do we raise and inspire the next Lieberman? How do we equip them with the skills and the motivation to take this leap into the political morass and, to paraphrase Rudyard Kipling, ‘keep their religious wits about them?’… We must invest now in the development of future leaders, the next generation of Joe Liebermans, Jack Lews, David Friedmans and Deborah Lipstadts, who will be well-prepared advocates for Israel and the Jewish people.” [JNS]
Out of Crisis, Opportunity: In Forbes, Michael Sheldrick writes about the impact of U.S. foreign aid cuts to the projects in the Amazon Basin and how philanthropy and businesses can help transform the region. “Supporting communities in the Amazon during an age of foreign aid cuts is not about politics or even charity — it’s about smart, strategic investment that protects the forest, stabilizes communities and builds markets… Bouncing along an unpaved road in the Amazon, I spoke with John Goedschalk of BioTara, an entrepreneur focused on building a regenerative Amazonian bioeconomy. He believes the recent foreign aid cuts — while painful — could force a leap forward. ‘Are we going back — or building something new?’ he asks. ‘I think we can do better.’ … This is where philanthropy and corporate social responsibility funding can step in — funding training for young people in hospitality to welcome eco-tourists, building processing facilities so forest products like oils, fruits and honey can reach global markets, and supporting infrastructure that connects communities to buyers without destroying ecosystems. ‘These are investments that let industries like this stand on their own within five to ten years,’ Goedschalk explains.” [Forbes]
A Deadly Mystery: In The Atlantic, Shayla Love delves into the story of an outbreak of cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a small village in the French Alps — and its place in a larger challenge for scientists researching the disease. “ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, occurs in roughly two to three people out of every 100,000 in Europe. (The rate is slightly higher in the United States.) But every so often, hot spots emerge. Elevated ALS rates have been observed around a lagoon in France, surrounding a lake in New Hampshire, within a single apartment building in Montreal, and on the eastern — but not western — flank of Italy’s Mount Etna. Such patterns have confounded scientists, who have spent 150 years searching for what causes the disease. Much of the recent research has focused on the genetics of ALS, but clusters provocatively suggest that environmental factors have a leading role. And each new cluster offers scientists a rare chance to clarify what those environmental influences may be — if they can study it fast enough. Many clusters fade away as mysteriously as they once appeared.” [TheAtlantic]
Snag That Top Job: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Rasheeda Childress offers expert insights for fundraising professionals hoping to rise in the ranks to the position of development director. “Fundraisers are always important to nonprofits, as they help bring in the money to finance the mission. In recent years, there’s been an increased need for directors of development, and earlier this year, LinkedIn listed director of development as No. 7 on the list of the top 25 Jobs on the Rise in 2025.But what exactly does it take to become a director of development? In recent reporting, fundraisers told us that career paths in the field aren’t always clear. So, the Chronicle reached out to search firms and people serving in the position to learn what the director of development does and what skills fundraisers need to reach the post.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]
Word on the Street
Susan Miller has been elected national president of Na’amat USA, the Labor Zionist women’s organization, and will be installed on Sunday…
Jewish Insider examines a new Anti-Defamation League study of artificial intelligence, finding that some large language models — including those used by Meta and Google — display “concerning” anti-Israel and antisemitic bias…
In an interview with The New York Times, former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky reveals details of her captivity, including the sexual assaults she endured at the hands of her Hamas captors; Gritzewsky’s partner, Matan Zangauker, remains a hostage in Gaza…
The Ne’eman Foundation of Canada, an Israel-focused fundraiser that lost its tax-exempt status last year, is challenging an order that prevents the group from distributing its assets to other nonprofits and potentially bankrupting the foundation with a multimillion-dollar tax bill…
In City Journal, Joe Lonsdale calls on Christians and Jews to unite against antisemitism that is gaining traction in modern discourse…
Manischewitz is launching a promotional food truck in New York and New Jersey as part of a rebranding effort…
Bank Leumi CEO Hanan Friedman, speaking at the Mind the Tech conference in New York, said that American businessman and philanthropist Michael Dell is investing in the bank’s technology fund…
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is gifting a $134K Rivian electric SUV to the city’s government, replacing the Chevy Tahoe that was previously used by the city’s mayor…
German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert raised concerns about the recent detention of German journalist Christian Meier, who was part of a group involved in an altercation with extremist settlers in the West Bank; the Union of Journalists in Israel similarly condemned Meier’s detention by police, saying it was conducted against protocol…
Ilan Goldenberg, who was Vice President Kamala Harris’ Jewish outreach director during the 2024 presidential campaign, is joining J Street as senior vice president and chief policy officer; Goldenberg served in the Biden administration as Harris’ Middle East advisor, and also held national security roles at the Pentagon and State Department…
The New York Times spotlights the role that Hillel plays on college campuses at a time of increased division in campus Jewish communities tied to the Israel-Hamas war…
Nicole Rosen, whose Rosen Communications boutique firm specialized in Jewish affairs, is joining BerlinRosen as executive vice president, and will head up the firm’s new Jewish affairs practice; Rosen previously worked in the offices of Sens. Chris Dodd and Arlen Specter and Rep. Jim Maloney, as well as the Gore/Lieberman 2020 presidential campaign…
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will cede control of the company and become executive chair of talent agency WME Group following Silver Lake’s $25 billion takeover of Endeavor…
Rabbi Stanley Davids, a past president of the Association of Reform Zionists of America and former supreme master of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, died earlier this week at 85…
Israeli industrialist Stef Wertheimer, whose ISCAR metalworking company was Berkshire Hathaway’s first significant acquisition abroad, died at 98…
Pic of the Day
Representatives from the Jewish Agency, Keren HaYesod and the Israeli Ministry of Immigration and Absorption cut the ribbon yesterday on a new terminal in Ben Gurion Airport for processing new immigrants.
The first people to use the terminal were 49 olim from France.
Birthdays
Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, Shuly Rubin Schwartz…
Argentine-born, Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music, Giora Feidman… Former member of the Knesset for eight years, he held several ministerial portfolios, Rabbi Yitzhak Haim Peretz… Award-winning novelist and poet, her debut novel in 1973, Fear of Flying, has sold over 37 million copies, Erica Jong… Philanthropist active in the U.K. and in Israel, she is the founder of London’s Jewish Community Centre, Dame Vivien Louise Duffield… Southern California resident, Martin J. Rosmarin… Retired ENT surgeon, author of five books and former medical correspondent at ABC News and NBC News, Nancy Lynn Snyderman, MD… Molecular biologist and winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in medicine, Gary Bruce Ruvkun… Former president and CEO of the Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum, now an executive advisor at Deloitte, Edward Greenspon… Actress who has appeared in many movies over a 30-year career, in 2010 she was the winner of Season 11 of “Dancing with the Stars,” Jennifer Grey… Lori Tarnopol Moore… Patent attorney from Detroit, she currently serves on the Michigan State Board of Education, Ellen Cogen Lipton… Englewood, N.J., resident, Deena Remi Thurm… Co-founder of Google, Larry Page… Founder, president and CEO of Waxman Strategies, Michael Waxman… Israeli actor and model, Yonatan Uziel… Curator and historian of Jewish art and history, Dr. Ido Noy… Talk show host who founded Israel Sports Radio, Ari Louis… Actress best known for her roles in ABC’s sitcom “Suburgatory” and the USA Network’s drama “Mr. Robot,” Carly Chaikin… Judoka in the under 52 kg weight category, she appeared for Israel in the 2024 Olympics, Gefen Primo … Rapper and Internet personality, known professionally as Bhad Bhabie, Danielle Peskowitz Bregoli…
