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Good Wednesday morning.

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we look at the growing hubbub over an Israeli lawmaker’s dismissive remarks about Reform Judaism. We spotlight a program teaching vocational skills to Israeli Haredi men to integrate them into security service, and report on the vandalism of a Jewish-owned progressive community center in San Francisco during anti-ICE protests. We feature an opinion piece by Josh Schalk encouraging educators and parents to demonstrate to children that a Jewish education is about more than just grades; and one by Lauren Dolinka and Rebecca Berger about the potential of cross-institutional partnerships within the Jewish education ecosystem. Also in this issue: Tracy Frydberg, Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin and Jeffrey Lurie.

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Israel being the Jewish state notwithstanding, it is still a rarity for one of the country’s most popular drive-time radio news shows to dedicate a full two minutes of its broadcast to a lesson in halacha, or Jewish law, particularly on the morning before a bill to dissolve the Knesset is put up for a vote.

And yet that was the case this morning, as veteran Israeli journalist Aryeh Golan addressed a rumbling controversy surrounding Likud parliamentarian Galit Distel-Atbaryan, whom earlier this week ejected Labor MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv from a subcommittee hearing about a new program introducing additional Jewish content into school curricula. 

During the session about the initiative, which includes allowing time for students to put on tefillin in school, Kariv noted that he wanted to ensure that the measure would include all students, male and female, as one of his daughters “is dutiful to put them on” as well. Calling his remarks “provocative,” Distel-Atbaryan — Israel’s former minister of public diplomacy — made a joke about Kariv inviting her “to a bar mitzvah for a dog” and then called the ushers to “get the enlightened Reformi out of here, we Jews wish to continue.”

Though largely overshadowed by the aforementioned political battle, as well as the war in Gaza and a deadly crime wave sweeping the nation, Distel-Atbaryan’s remarks sparked outrage from the Reform movement, along with other international Jewish organizations, who rejected her insinuation that Reform Jews are not Jews — a stance that even the most conservative Orthodox Jews would not hold. (Many Orthodox Jews indeed hold that Reform Judaism is not a legitimate form of Judaism, but not that its followers are themselves not Jewish.)

In a joint letter to Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana, Jewish Agency for Israel Chair of the Executive Doron Almog and Board Chair Mark Wilf decried Distel-Atbaryan’s “disgraceful insult” against Reform Jewry. “Divisive and ignorant remarks like this against any stream [of Judaism], whether it’s the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Haredi or any other, weakens our people and the unity of the Jewish People specifically at a time when we more than ever need to be strengthening our ties and bringing our hearts closer together,” they wrote. “We call on the entire Jewish people, and particularly its elected officials, to rise about the divisions and remember that we are brothers and sisters. This is the time to bring together and not push away, to respect and not speak derisively.”

The Israel office of the Anti-Defamation League called on Distel-Atbaryan to retract her remarks, implying that they were antisemitic. “An attack on a central Jewish denomination is an attack on the entire Jewish people, and it is unacceptable,” it wrote in a tweet.

In remarks to an LGBTQ Jewish Federations of North America mission to Israel, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also appeared to denounce the remarks, according to The Times of Israel. “I condemn utterly any harassment or insult to our brothers and sisters – wherever they are – including recent comments in the Knesset,” Herzog said, without specifically naming Distel-Atbaryan.

Kariv, along with three of his colleagues from the Labor party, also filed a formal complaint against the Likud MK with the Knesset Ethics Committee, calling for her to be removed from her position as chair of the subcommittee. 

In response to the uproar, Distel-Atbaryan has denied that Kariv was removed from the subcommittee hearing because he was a Reform Jew, saying that it was because he had continued speaking beyond his allotted time. She also put out a statement insisting that she would “prevent Reform organizations from overrunning the education system.”

In the middle of his two-hour morning show, Golan sought to educate Distel-Atbaryan — and his listeners — about the precedence for girls and women donning tefillin. “A quick glance at Jewish sources would show you easily that in the Talmud, there are women — such as Michal bat Shaul or [Rabbi] Yona’s wife — who put on tefillin, yes, yes,” Golan said, noting that several major medieval halachic authorities, such as Rabeinu Tam, Rabbi Yitzhak of Dampierre, the Rama, the MaHaRaM of Rothenburg, Ba'al ha-Turim and the Magen Avraham, permitted women to wear them as well. “If those weren’t enough, the Rambam — that giant of the Jewish spirit — believed that there was nothing barring women from wearing tefillin, despite them being officially exempted from this commandment. There were, of course, rabbis who opposed this, such as Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, but even in the Dark Ages, there wouldn’t be Jews who would toss Rabbi Kariv from a room or a committee because his daughter wears tefillin.”

COURTESY/KODCODE

Shlomi, Moshe and Eli — young Haredi men in their 20s — once immersed solely in Talmud and Torah study, now sit in a classroom learning about electronic circuits and voltage resistance. Through the KodCode program, they’re preparing for tech and intelligence roles with the “Defense Ministry,” in a way that is meant to allow them to maintain their religious values. “I didn’t sign up for the program out of any ideology, but I am happy to get the work experience with the army if it can help me in my job search in the future,” Moshe, who is not yet married, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judith Sudilovsky. “The studies are very intense, but I will have a full profession when I complete the program and finish serving in the army.”

Two-in-one: In April, KodCode signed a matching fund agreement with the Labor Ministry, matching philanthropic donations with funding from the ministry up to NIS 22 million ($6.3 million) total over two years. The program model, which provides manpower to the army and a subsequent career for Haredi men, is the path for the future, Moshe Gurt, chief of staff to the CEO of the Labor Ministry, told eJP as he completed a visit to the program’s satellite Jerusalem campus recently. “We really believe that this is the solution for the community, not just for the army,” Gurt said. “It's going to be very hard in today’s complex situation with [the Haredi] community to draft young men into combat units. But nobody is saying anything against programs like KodCode. Everybody is accepting it quietly — including the rabbis and the families. The first solution is for the soldiers, for the army, and the second solution is that in the end, they can go out and work. Let's say we’re hitting two apples with one shot.”

Read the full report here.

SCREENSHOT/JCRC BAY AREA ON X

Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations that have engulfed San Francisco’s streets this week took an antisemitic turn on Monday night when a local Jewish-owned civic engagement hub and community space had its windows smashed and walls defaced with slurs including “Die Zio,” “The Only Good Settler is a Dead One,” “Death 2 Israel is a Promise” and “Intifada,” reports Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.

No justification: “There is no justification for attacking me other than the fact that I am Jewish,” Manny Yekutiel, owner of the Mission District event space Manny’s, which is in disrepair following the vandalism and break-in, told JI. “My business is not a pro-Israel business. I am not Israeli. This is not a space that represents Israel in any way.” The space was also the target of antisemitic graffiti in October around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. The most recent attack is currently being investigated as a hate crime. Yekutiel said that he believes the protests against ICE are “necessary” because ongoing deportations are “stoking hatred” and “we need to stand with immigrants.” While Yekutiel says he will continue identifying with left-wing causes, he also said the attack on his business makes the protests concerning for Jews.

Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.

MICHAELQUIRK/GETTY IMAGES

“Here’s an uncomfortable truth: Too many children today are being raised as college applicants instead of mensches,” writes Josh Schalk, executive director of the Jewish Future Promise, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “To be clear, this isn’t because families or educators don’t care about values. Jewish families have historically valued education as a pathway to security and dignity. In the process of striving for educational success, however, an unintended consequence is equating that success solely with academic achievements and not with who the child is as a person… We find ourselves walking a delicate line between raising our children to build impressive resumes or to build meaningful lives.”

We set the bar: “While there’s a long list of things we need to do to truly refine education, there’s one thing that we can start right away: emphasize what matters through celebration. Children learn from what is celebrated. When we celebrate outcomes, like grades and awards, children start to unintentionally internalize the idea that that is where their worth lies. Celebrate kindness and responsibility just as much, and the message changes. Children begin to understand that achievement is one part of a much bigger picture. Jewish homes and schools have the power to send this message loud and clear. Through everyday actions, adults can shape a new definition of success. Through Jewish learning, children gain a framework that grounds them in identity and guides them through complexity. The goal as parents is not just to prepare children for college but for life, leadership and meaningful Jewish adulthood.”

Read the full piece here.

SOLSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

“A professional development partnership between IKAR and Sinai Akiba Academy — the former a Jewish community in Los Angeles with a supplementary religious school, the latter a local Jewish day school — began as an observation opportunity for part-time educators to witness experienced full-time educators in action. What it evolved into was a reciprocal learning experience with unexpected benefits for both institutions,” write Rebecca Berger, senior director of education at IKAR, and Lauren Dolinka, the lower school director at Sinai Akiba Academy. in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. 

Worth the effort: “[T]he logistical challenges of bringing together educators who work on different schedules and in different contexts are real but surmountable. Strategic planning, appropriate compensation and institutional commitment can overcome these barriers to create meaningful professional development experiences. As Jewish educational leaders consider how to strengthen their institutions, cross-setting partnerships offer a powerful model for professional growth that builds capacity across the ecosystem while fostering a shared sense of purpose among Jewish educators. By intentionally creating opportunities that bridge different contexts, educational leaders can strengthen not only individual educators but the field as a whole.” 

Read the full piece here.

The Eternal Question: In ARC magazine, Tracy Frydberg examines the history of Israel’s deliberations over who is considered Jewish, including a failed 1988 effort led by future Israeli Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein to address the issue once and for all. “In 2025, the issue of ‘Who is a Jew?’ remains volatile and pertinent. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1990 brought thousands of new immigrants to Israel, many of whom were not Jewish according to religious law. Between 1990 and 2020, 36 percent of immigrants from the former Soviet Union were not considered Jewish. Today, there are nearly 500,000 Israelis who are officially listed as being of ‘no religion.’ ‘Who is a Jew?’ has become far more relevant as an Israeli social issue than it was in 1988. … While droves of American Jews are not immigrating to Israel any time soon, the crisis was never technical. It was and remains a crisis of identity, of Israel’s role as the home of the Jewish people, and of the message the nation-state sends to Jews around the world about what it means to belong. As Rubinstein, the man who once calmed American Jewry, concluded, ‘It is essential, critical to the State of Israel, for there to be continual, true dialogue with world Jewry.’” [ARC]

Volunteer Power: In the Nonprofit Quarterly, Jan Masaoka reports that while there are more than a million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 7 in 10 have budgets of less than $50,000. “A theoretical framework that frequently underlies nonprofit sector thinking is that nonprofits arise in response to government failure and/or business failure. But this does not explain why [all-volunterr organizations] exist. AVOs are better understood as community assets that support civic engagement and civil society — in other words, they help people to organize to express themselves and support one another. Eventually, some AVOs could become tomorrow’s large, influential, and powerful organizations that pass laws, change public opinion, and shape society. Others will continue to be the unnoticed glue that connects people and forms the foundation for strong communities. In a thousand ways, AVOs are the grassroots social networks and ‘keepers of the spirit’ upon which so much of community cohesiveness and social change depends.” [NonprofitQuarterly]

Starting at Home: In the Religion News Service, Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin reflects on the preliminary results of the World Zionist Congress elections and what they say about the different denominations’ views on Jewish peoplehood. “As well as Reform Judaism did in the election, Orthodox Judaism did even better. … Why might this be? As the Pew Research Center has shown, Orthodox Jews feel more connected to the Jewish people and to Israel than other Jews. … I note those discrepancies with sadness. I understand the differences between Orthodox Jewish identity and non-Orthodox Jewish identity. I understand why Orthodox Jews are more likely to fully observe Shabbat and other holidays, keep kosher and observe other rituals. But that’s Judaism as a religious expression. What about Jewish peoplehood? Liberal Jews have excelled in tikkun olam, or repairing the world. We now need to excel in tikkun ha-am, repairing our people and our ties to that people.” [RNS]

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An Israeli State Comptroller’s Office report released yesterday found that 54% of evacuees from northern Israel are unlikely to return home, compared to just 13% of evacuees from the south, citing government delays, lack of clear policy and poor coordination… 

A new report by Israel’s Health Ministry found substantial differences in the health of Israelis living in the center of the country and those in the social and geographic periphery, with Arab Israeli babies having nearly double the mortality rate of Jewish Israeli babies…

Self-described conservative philanthropic figures from the Philanthropy Roundtable sent a letter to Senate leadership calling for Congress to remove a proposed tax increase on private foundations, arguing that it would, among other things, harm conservative causes…

Calcalist reports on the draft agreement between the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet LeIsrael and Gary Barnett’s Extell Israel that would exchange JNF’s rights to some of its land in Jerusalem for some of Barnett’s high-profile properties in the city…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there is “no room for” a Palestinian state, “unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture,” suggesting that such a scenario was unlikely to happen “in our lifetime”; Huckabee also suggested that a Palestinian state could be created elsewhere in the Arab world, rather than in the West Bank…

The Dan David Prize was awarded to nine historians yesterday: Beth Lew-William, Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Dmitri Levitin, Abidemi Babatunde Babalola, Mackenzie Cooley, Bar Kribus, Hannah Marcus, Alina Șerban and Caroline Sturdy Colls…

The Brooklyn Pride interfaith service was called off after one of the participants opposed it being hosted by a synagogue that had “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions”...

City & State NY looks at the religious groups, including several Jewish ones, who are trying to persuade Gov. Kathy Hochul not to sign a bill that would allow terminally ill people with less than six months to live to receive life-ending medication if they receive approval from two doctors... 

The Anne Frank House in New York City will distribute 10,000 free copies of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and issue groups of free tickets for students and other visitors to see the exhibition with support from Bank of America and UJA-Federation of New York starting June 12…

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the country’s chief rabbis to declare a day of fasting and prayer for the 55 hostages still in Gaza during the swearing-in ceremony for 28 new rabbinical judges yesterday…

The Wall Street Journal looks at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s operations amid mounting distribution, logistical and leadership challeges…

The Chronicle of Philanthropy examines how local groups are engaging with philanthropy to build programs addressing community issues amid national political turmoil…

Amid rising antisemitism on college campuses, Hillel International is hiring for the new position of vice president of faculty programs and initiatives whose responsibilities will focus on combating faculty antisemitism in collaboration with the Academic Engagement Network, a Jewish and Zionist faculty and administrator group…

Leaders of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry are suing a Muslim cleric in Sydney, Australia, alleging he used dehumanizing language in his sermons that “denigrate[d] all Jewish people”...

Moldova's education minister said this week that schools would keep teaching the "history of the Romanians," despite the opposition of the country’s Jewish community, which argues that the curriculum whitewashes the actions of Romania's pro-Nazi wartime leader Ion Antonescu…

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will donate $50 million to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine for a new joint autism research initiative…

The Youth Renewal Fund raised $2.45 million for the Darca Schools in Israel at its New York gala on Monday…

The Las Vegas Sands has awarded a $270,000 grant to the LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada…

Rabbi Menachem “Mendy” Mirocznik, president of the Council of Jewish Organizations Staten Island and executive vice president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, was appointed a New York state judge yesterday…

JDC Entwine’s executive director, Shaun Hoffman, will be leaving his position after 11 years to take on a new role as JDC's senior director of global planning and strategic initiatives…

Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, will join the environmental group America is All In as a member of its Leaders Circle…

Joseph Selesny has been appointed the next chief development officer of the Israeli Modern Orthodox Ohr Torah Stone network…

JOSHUA AARUM/PASSAGES

Representatives from Passages, a Christian Zionist student organization, present a $100,000 check yesterday to the mayor of the Druze village Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights in honor of the 12 children from the town who were killed in a Hezbollah missile attack last year. The funds, which came from the organization’s Israel War Relief Fund, will go to the 12 Stars of Majdal Shams Foundation to support community youth pursuing higher education and leadership roles, a memorial soccer tournament and community infrastructure projects within Majdal Shams.

“In bringing our students to Israel, we try and help them understand the full spectrum of Israeli society and its complexities,” Zach Bauer, CEO of Passages, said in a statement. “The Druze community underwent a deeply traumatic event in July last year when it lost 12 of its beautiful children, so we wanted to come and express our solidarity as Christian Zionists, show them they have deep support in the U.S. and to make a small gesture to help them, not just recover, but to help them build a better future for their children.”

BRENDON THORNE/GETTY IMAGES

Olympic medalist in canoe slalom in London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris, Jessica Esther "Jess" Fox... 

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