Your Daily Phil: With the teens at BBYO’s (expanding) International Convention
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on a new study about Jewish teens’ mental well-being. We cover BBYO’s International Convention in Denver and consider its recent expansion, and we interview Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff ahead of the group’s current leadership mission to Israel. We feature an opinion piece by Joe Roberts questioning the Jewish establishment’s approach to stemming the rising tide of antisemitism, and one by Gilad Peled with advice for Israel educators. Also in this newsletter: Michael Hirsch, Rabbi Gilad Kariv and Dani Bergman.
What We’re Watching
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations’ annual leadership mission to Israel is underway, having kicked off on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the group’s opening dinner on Sunday. The mission visited Israeli communities that were hit by the Oct. 7 attacks yesterday, are meeting in the Knesset today and will visit northern Israeli towns tomorrow. Read our interview with Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff below and follow eJewishPhilanthropy’s coverage from the trip in the coming days.
The Washington Hebrew Congregation will host the “National Prayer for the Return of All Hostages” tonight at the synagogue and virtually, marking 500 days since the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
The Jewish Funders Network is holding a session today, “Merger & Acquisition as a Feminist Act,” with Elizabeth Mandel, founder of JGirls+ Magazine, and Shuli Karkowsky, CEO at Moving Traditions, following up on the youth movement’s recent acquisition of the publication. Stephanie Blumenkranz, director of the Hadassah Foundation, which funded both organizations, will also participate in the discussion.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is on a state visit in Hungary today, marking 80 years since the murder of more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Herzog will meet with Hungarian leaders and with the country’s Jewish community. Traveling with Herzog is the family of hostage Omri Miran, who was kidnapped from his home in Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. In addition, Holocaust survivor Aharon Shevo and his family are accompanying the president. Tomorrow, Herzog will travel to Rome.
The Hertog Forum for National Security began yesterday in Tel Aviv. This year, the gathering is centered on the subject of “renewing the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Today’s schedule includes an address by former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a conversation between Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Eli Groner, tech investor and former director-general of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, about Israel’s economic future.
What You Should Know
Move over, chicken soup — a strong Jewish identity appears to be the key to a healthy sense of well-being for Jewish teenagers, according to a new study assessing the mental health of Jewish adolescents by the nonprofit BeWell, Jewish Federations of North America and Stanford University, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.
The survey, which collected responses from 2,489 Jewish teens from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, found that “teens’ sense of well-being was most strongly connected to the personal importance they placed on being Jewish.” This personal sense of Jewish identity outweighed the importance that their families place on being Jewish.
The study relied on a commonly used measure for teen well-being based on five criteria — engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness and happiness — which is more commonly known by its acronym, EPOCH.
The findings also appeared to cast some doubt on the overall efficacy of Jewish teen programming, finding that frequency of participation in youth activities had virtually no effect on four of the five criteria. Frequency of participation in Jewish teen programs did, however, have a significant effect on optimism.
The study found that the greatest sources of stress for Jewish teens are school and “the war in Israel and Gaza/antisemitism,” more so than parents, relationships/self-image and sexuality/gender. Revealing a downside of a strong Jewish identity, the survey found that teens for whom being Jewish was more important also felt more anxiety around “Jewish-specific stressors.”
Friendships with fellow Jews also appear to be a key element in Jewish teens’ well-being. More than three-quarters of respondents — 79% — said they feel “free to be [their] full self” with their Jewish friends. A slightly smaller number, 72%, said so about their family and 51% said it about their non-Jewish friends. Summer camps were the top location where respondents said they felt they could be their full selves, followed by synagogues and Jewish teen programs.
The respondents were found first through “Jewish teen-facing organizations” and only then through word-of-mouth, which the pollsters said meant that “Jewish teens who are actively engaged in Jewish activities and communities are likely overrepresented in our sample.”
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
After scaling back, BBYO returns to original universal vision, focusing on reaching teens ‘wherever they are’
When financier Sam Beber was approached to serve as the advisor to the nascent Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) Jewish fraternity — what would eventually become BBYO — in 1924, he had an ambitious stipulation before agreeing to join the team. “He said, ‘I’ll agree to support you in this effort, but I’m not looking for a citywide or statewide or even national agency. We’re going to build a fraternal order that’s going to reach Jewish teens wherever they are,’” Ian Kandel, BBYO’s senior vice president of movement building, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim at the group’s International Convention in Denver. BBYO initially sought to do just that, with chapters opening all around the world in the decades after it was formed. After scaling back around the turn of the millennium, BBYO is now working to honor that original promise, with membership climbing rapidly both nationally and internationally, at a time when other Jewish youth groups are struggling. As the youth organization has opened chapters in 63 countries over the last 20 years, it is now engaging 70,000 teens internationally.
From wanting to wanted: In the last year alone, BBYO’s United States membership increased by 19%, with increasing interest in upstate and western New York, remote mountain towns and the Pacific Northwest, according to Ruthie Perlman, manager of new chapters and community expansion for North America. Perlman’s role is part of an initiative started in 2021 to reach Jewish teens in small towns and cities, to which BBYO attributes the membership of 800 new teens. “When we first started, we did a lot more outreach, but now I’m hearing from different places that want to start BBYO chapters every few weeks,” Perlman told eJP.
MISSION: ISRAEL
Daroff: ‘Legacy organizations should and will adapt, and if they don’t, they will die’
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is holding its 50th annual mission this week at a time of transition, with a new Trump administration in Washington and an Israeli government and Jewish community representatives trying to find the right way to work with the president and his appointees. Asked in advance of the mission if the Conference of Presidents and its larger member organizations need to change their approach in a time when social media activism often gets more attention than the Jewish establishment, CEO William Daroff told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov for eJewishPhilanthropy that “it’s important for legacy organizations to adapt to the times … [to] engage in different ways to try to ensure messages are being heard and remain relevant … Legacy organizations should and will adapt, and if they don’t, they will die.”
Healthy ecosystem: “By definition, there will always be non-institutional new forces that come and look at issues from a new angle or a different ideological bent. If what they have to sell works, the marketplace will bring them in and accept them,” Daroff said. “There are organizations started 25 years or longer ago as upstarts that are now very much part of the mainstream. I think it’s healthy.” Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel — about which Daroff repeatedly emphasized “nothing good can come from it” — many more Jews have been engaged in Jewish life, attending synagogue and going to local Jewish Community Centers, he noted. “I think a lot of Jews have come home, and coming home by definition means coming into big communal institutions that have the capacity and wherewithal to welcome them.”
FUNDING FAILURE
Jewish organizations must answer for this moment
“I have spent my career in Jewish communal life. I’ve worked in politics, philanthropy and the institutions that were supposed to ensure Jewish security. And I have to be honest: I am angry,” writes Joe Roberts, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
What was it all for: “Jewish institutions spent billions on ‘fighting antisemitism,’ and this is where we are. So I have to ask: Where did all that money go? It went to reports that no one read. Conferences that changed nothing. Trainings that were too timid to call Jew-hatred what it was. Initiatives that bent over backwards to avoid offending the very people we needed to stand up to. Bureaucracies that prioritized prestige over impact. Organizations that raised money in the name of safety but spent it on vanity projects and dinners with politicians who offered empty promises. The world has changed, and our institutions haven’t. That has to end now.”
NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY
Israel education: Meeting the challenges and hard questions head-on
“If there’s one lesson we’ve learned from Oct. 7, it’s the importance of constantly challenging our assumptions. As Israel educators, staying relevant means embracing timeless Jewish wisdom: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,” writes Gilad Peled, the editor and co-author of Heartbeats: The Insider’s Guide to Israel, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “While we have limited influence over Israel’s reality, we can shape how young people perceive it. Our responsibility is to anticipate future challenges and equip ourselves to address them effectively.”
Don’t hide from hard questions: “How would Israel education look if Israel were to annex the West Bank? What narrative would we adopt if the Knesset passed laws that, directly or indirectly, barred Arab parties from participating in elections? What if elections were postponed or canceled altogether? How would we respond if Israel criminalized the LGBTQ+ community or repealed the Law of Return? What if anti-government protests were outlawed? What will Israel’s claim to fame be if its elites emigrate and its startup industry and investments decline? These are not just hypothetical scenarios; they are critical questions we must confront to ensure our educational approach remains thoughtful, honest and adaptable to an ever-changing reality. Luckily, our role as Israel educators isn’t to provide all the answers but to ask meaningful questions that spark curiosity and empower learners to explore and engage with Israel. While many may find Israel’s reality increasingly challenging to accept, we have the opportunity to equip learners with the tools to navigate these complexities, turning difficult truths into meaningful and constructive learning experiences.”
Worthy Reads
The Greatest Mitzvah: In The New York Times, Maria Cramer profiles Michael Hirsch, who has dedicated his life to maintaining cemeteries. “Even as a small boy, Michael Hirsch loved visiting cemeteries… Over the years, Mr. Hirsch, a historian and genealogist, came to feel a sort of kinship with the dead and a duty to care for their graves. Now 68, he has visited more cemeteries than he can count, cleaning headstones and often honoring people according to their religion, leaving stones on Jewish gravestones and palm crosses for Christian ones during Easter… His devotion to the dead can seem extreme. But he calls his work a mitzvah. (A really big mitzvah, he says, adding an expletive). About 18 years ago, thick poison ivy covered 64 headstones in Staten Island’s Baron Hirsch Cemetery, including the one belonging to Beckie Neubauer, a 19-year-old Austrian immigrant who died in the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire. For nearly 20 years, he has committed himself to honoring the lives of the 146 garment workers who died on March 25, 1911, when the fire ripped through the Greenwich Village factory… After he found the ivy, he put on a protective suit, goggles, heavy gloves and booties and hacked away until it was cleared. It took about a week. His work is taxing and even hazardous. But Mr. Hirsch, who never married and has no children, has the freedom to obsess over it. He trudges along, despite neuropathic pain that has made it harder for him to keep his balance, and back and neck aches that have slowed him down. He has fallen three times in cemeteries and worries that one day he will have a fatal fall or get struck by a crumbling headstone. ‘It’s very easy to die in a cemetery,’ he said.” [NYTimes]
Job Description: In The Times of Israel, Marjan Keypour calls on HIAS to shift gears back to the organization’s original focus: Jews in distress. “Currently, HIAS allocates the bulk of its resources, over 90% of them, to non-Jews in need. Less than 10% supports Jews in times of crisis. It is my firm belief that this ratio must be reversed, rapidly. The global Jewish community faces an alarming rise in antisemitism and extremism. Whether that is far-right hate, the rise of jihadi extremism or the uncertainty of undemocratic governments, the Jews are being targeted in ways that demand a renewed focus on their safety, security and well-being… HIAS must be prepared for the possibility of a new wave of Jewish refugees fleeing escalating violence, persecution and economic instability. With ongoing crises in the Middle East, Europe and even the U.S., the potential for Jewish migration is very real. HIAS must work with governments, in preemptively establishing special visa programs for rapid transit situations. Furthermore, it should reimagine and expand the scope of its services in Israel… As antisemitism and extremism spread in unexpected places, Jews must have assurances that there are institutions like HIAS ready to provide aid and protection. Now is the time for HIAS to realign with its original mission with urgency, boldness and an unabashed prioritization of Jewish lives.” [TOI]
Parallel Vision: In Haaretz, Cecelia Cohen reflects on Argentine-Israeli identity in the context of Oct. 7 and the ongoing hostage crisis. “[A] disproportionate number of those killed and taken hostage on Oct. 7 have Argentine roots, partially a result of the many Argentine immigrants who settled in the kibbutzim on the border with Gaza as part of organized aliyah from our youth movements. For us, the term ‘disappeared’ resonates particularly strongly. It reminds us of the dark years of the dictatorship in Argentina, when thousands of people were kidnapped by the government and never returned. Jews made up some 12% of the dictatorship’s victims. Seeing mothers in Israel holding pictures of their missing children and fighting to bring them back, evokes the image of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Although the contexts are different, the pain is the same. The uncertainty, the waiting and the unwavering struggle unite these stories through time and space… As Argentines, we know what it means to stick together in difficult times. We grew up knowing that when someone needs us, we’ll be there. That no distance or borders can break the bonds that unite us. We remain steadfast, waiting for the day when we can embrace each of those who are still missing. Because the only path to victory is to bring them all home.” [Haaretz]
Word on the Street
Israeli parliamentarian and Reform Rabbi Gilad Kariv, of the left-wing Democrats Party, will head the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, succeeding Yisrael Beiteinu MK Oded Forer. In his first committee meeting, Kariv said he intended to address issues of religion and state in Israel, including conversion…
Through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft hosted the first-ever Unity Summit on Feb. 7, bringing together dozens of Jewish and Black students and leaders at Xavier University of Louisiana…
Deborah Lipstadt, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, told historian Niall Ferguson at the Hoover Institution that during her tenure she raised concerns about a “double standard” regarding arms sales when it came to the State Department’s treatment of Israel under the Biden administration…
The Wall Street Journal interviewed several released Israeli hostages and detailed the extensive physical and psychological trauma they are struggling with after returning home…
The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles and Jewish Federation Los Angeles distributed more than $400,000 in combined funding last week to 26 local synagogues whose members suffered significant losses in the city’s recent wildfires; the funds will be distributed at synagogue leaders’ discretion…
Haaretz spotlights a recent Judaica drive that is meant to replace the Jewish ritual objects that were lost during the Los Angeles wildfires…
In the wake of rising antisemitism in the country, a new grantmaker — the Dor Foundation — has been launched to combat antisemitism and hate in Australia, focusing first on university campuses and social media…
Anne Lanski, the founding CEO of the Israel education-focused iCenter, will step down from her role on April 1; David Fisher, the former president and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation, will serve as interim CEO as the organization searches for a full-time successor…
The SRE Network distributed $270,000 in “capacity-building grants” to seven organizations: Gather, Inc., Hebrew College, Jewtina y Co., Project Shema, ORA, SVARA and Women of Reform Judaism…
Miami Beach Police arrested a Jewish man from Florida on charges of attempted murder after he shot and wounded two Jewish Israeli tourists, having said that he fired at them because he thought they were Palestinians; unaware of the identity and motivation of the shooter, the victims apparently believed they had been targeted because they were Jewish or Israeli…
David Raphael, the founding executive director of the Jewish Grandparent Network, is stepping down from his role effective March 1 and will become, tongue-in-cheekishly, the group’s “chief zayde officer”; Terry Kaye, the group’s associate director, will serve as interim executive director as the organization searches for a new CEO…
The 92nd Street Y’s board of directors has selected Jill Lafer as its next chair; Lafer, who succeeds board chair Jody Gottfried Arnhold, enters her role on July 1…
Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber sent a letter to President Donald Trump, congratulating him on his election and thanking him for his efforts to combat antisemitism, secure the release of Israeli hostages and “supporting our security forces… giving Israel more power to help it overcome those who seek its destruction”…
Dani Bergman was hired as the director of development at the Jericho, N.Y.-based Beit Ruth for Young Women and Girls At Risk…
Rachel Giattino was hired as associate vice president for grantmaking at Hillel International…
Marc Thiessen and Ilan Berman joined the board of directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a publication dedicated to the coverage of the war in Ukraine and other unstable countries…
The Wall Street Journal detailed the fraught history between Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI together in 2015 but are now reportedly at odds. The pair have clashed in court, on social media and now in the Oval Office…
The Israeli government approved a new reform, led by Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, which will allow new immigrants to start the process of converting certain professional licenses before arriving in Israel, fast-tracking a monthslong process…
Rabbi Micah Ellenson, a pulpit rabbi and educator, died of heart failure on Thursday at 47…
Marty Schiffenbauer, a Berkeley, Calif.-based activist who helped write the city’s rent control legislation, died on Feb. 5 at 86…
Jacqueline Sanders-van Maarsen, a Dutch author known for her friendship with Anne Frank, died last Thursday at 96…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (front row, center-right) meets yesterday with representatives from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, during the group’s annual mission to Israel this week.
During the meeting with the American Jewish leaders, Herzog described President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants as a “fresh idea.”
“Let’s try to change reality in a way that brings peace to both peoples. This effort aligns with the broader trajectory of Israel’s inclusion in the region, amidst significant regional shifts,” Herzog said. “We must also ensure we do not return to internal strife. We need to foster greater mutual understanding and build together in the aftermath of the terrible trauma of Oct. 7 — and now, 500 days of pain and agony later.”
Birthdays
President of Yeshiva University since 2017, Rabbi Ari Berman…
Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, he also has a Ph.D. in operations research from NYU, Rabbi Hershel Reichman… Former U.S. representative from New York for 32 years, he was chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eliot Engel… Former national and Washington correspondent for The New York Times for 24 years, Michael Janofsky… Russian pharmaceutical oligarch, Boris Spiegel… Principal at New York City-based Liebman Advisors, Scott Liebman… Israeli singer and actress, Ilana Avital… Portfolio manager at Capital Group, she serves on the boards of directors of Bridging Voice and Hillel International, Hilda Lea Applbaum… Co-principal of the Institute for Wise Philanthropy, Mirele B. Goldsmith… Former Mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, Philip Louis Levine… Director of development for the western region of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Lori Tessel… Director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Saranga… Author and school safety activist who had a daughter, Meadow, who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, Andrew Scot Pollack… Professor emeritus of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University, she was the Democratic nominee in 2020 for the 1st congressional district of New York, Nancy Sarah Goroff… CEO of an eponymous Baltimore-based branding, marketing, PR, advertising and design firm, David F. Warschawski… Fitness expert, nutritionist, media personality and author, Jillian Michaels… Actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz… Co-founder of StockX, the stock market for high-end product resale, Joshua Eliot “Josh” Luber… Senior vice president of development for J Street, Adee Telem…Singer-songwriter and pianist, Regina Spektor… Instagram celebrity, with 9.4 million followers, known commonly as The Fat Jewish, Josh Ostrovsky… President of baseball operations for the New York Mets, David Stearns… Editorial writer and opinion columnist for The Washington Post, James P. Hohmann… Deputy director of strategic planning at NYC’s Housing Authority, Dylan Sandler… Political reporter at CBS Interactive, Rebecca R. Kaplan… French movie actress, Esther Garrel…
