View this email in your browser 

Good Thursday morning.

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on Jewish communal reactions to news of a hostage-release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. We examine how Israeli nonprofits are struggling to develop sustainable models two years after the Oct. 7 attacks, and interview freed hostage Eli Sharabi about his new book, Hostage. We continue to feature op-eds reflecting on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks and where we go from here with a piece by Liora Attias-Hadar. Also in this issue: Jonathan Schulman, Sylvan Adams and Bipin Joshi.

Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇

Jewish organizations and leaders from around the world and across most of the ideological spectrum cheered the acceptance last night of the first phase of a Gaza peace plan, which will see the release of all living hostages in the coming days and the eventual release of slain ones as well, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. A ceasefire will also go into effect once approved by the Israeli government, and Israel will reportedly release nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners, including terrorists tied to deadly attacks, reportedly some involved in the Oct. 7 massacre itself.

Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement that it “celebrate[s] the exciting news of the deal between Israel and Hamas to return all the remaining hostages home and end the war. The plan, developed by President [Donald] Trump and his team, and the announcement of an agreement tonight by the president, is the fulfillment of our prayers and greatest hopes since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.”

Progressive, centrist and apolitical groups extolled the imminent release of the hostages and praised Trump for pushing through the agreement. Most right-leaning Jewish groups did not immediately comment on the agreement, though the Israeli far-right Religious Zionism Party came out against the deal. 

Both AIPAC and J Street issued statements in support of the agreement, as did the American Jewish Committee, Israel Policy Forum, the Israeli-American Coalition, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish Women, Anti-Defamation League, the Conservative movement, Yeshiva University, Democratic Majority for Israel, Republican Jewish Coalition, Board of Deputies of British Jews and World Jewish Congress, among many others. 

“This development represents a hopeful step toward resolving the conflict, securing the release of all hostages and establishing the conditions for lasting peace and security in the region,” Betsy Berns Korn and William Daroff, respectively the chair and CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said in a statement. “We commend all those working tirelessly to turn this moment of promise into a reality and urge all parties to continue engaging in good faith to bring this conflict to a quick close. This moment demands unity, resolve and the moral clarity to ensure that peace and security endure and every hostage returns home.”

International Jewish groups tended to be more effusive in their praise for the development, while in Israel, alongside the relief regarding the release of hostages, the news was met with frustration over the amount of time it took to reach an agreement, criticism for the release of Palestinian terrorists and concerns about the road ahead.

Read the full report here.

ADRI SALIDO/GETTY IMAGES

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, the Jewish world mobilized rapidly, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for relief efforts in a matter of weeks, easily surpassing $1 billion by the end of the year. Now, two years later, while the war sparked by the Oct. 7 attacks appears to be coming to a close, many of the needs created and exacerbated by the crisis persist. The underlying infrastructure and institutions that are addressing those issues are struggling, and donations have dropped off. The Israeli nonprofit “sector is going to need major investments to continue to meet the needs of countless Israelis who lost homes, jobs and businesses, are managing trauma and are still displaced," Ariel Zwang, CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, told Rachel Gutman for eJewishPhilanthropy. 

Seeking sustenance: Naomi Eisenberger, executive director of the Good People Fund, which supports small Israeli nonprofits, describes “enormous fatigue” after “five years of crisis, from the pandemic to Ukraine.” Some of her donors now restrict giving to the United States. Others limit to Israel-only work, and in some circles, “Israel is even being seen as a ‘dirty word’ — meaning organizations are forced to downplay their Israeli connections or risk losing support,” she said. The climate of constant crisis makes it difficult to sustain funding. “You can only cry wolf so many times,” Eisenberger said. “Two years ago, we saw organizations taking on new programs, expanding their reach because funds were available,” Eisenberger said. “But now, that funding is waning, and they are left supporting programs they cannot financially sustain.”

Read the full report here.

LEV RADIN/PACIFIC PRESS/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

Freed hostage Eli Sharabi’s new memoir, Hostage, ends with him visiting the graves of his wife, Lianne, and his daughters, Noiya and Yahel, for the first time after being released from nearly a year and a half of captivity in Gaza, during which he had hoped they were still alive following the Hamas attack on their home in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023. “This here is rock bottom. I’ve seen it. I’ve touched it,” Sharabi writes. “Now, life.” That final sentence of Sharabi’s memoir could sum up his post-captivity self. In a recent interview with Lahav Harkov for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider, Sharabi said he was determined to reassert his agency, take action on hostage advocacy and move forward in his life.

‘Non-stop action’: Sharabi’s days are filled with meetings around Israel and the world advocating for the remaining hostages to be freed. “From the moment I got out of Sheba [Medical Center], 10 days after being freed, it has been non-stop action,” he said. “I have a lot of trips abroad, meeting with government officials — presidents, prime ministers, members of parliament, foreign ministers — and a lot of lectures in Israel and around the world, to a lot of Jewish communities. … It’s non-stop, morning to night.” Sharabi said that when his captors would tell him about protests in the streets of Israel, they would say the demonstrations were against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he and his fellow hostages saw it as “the nation going out to fight for us. It gave us hope.”

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

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ELEM

“Even before Oct. 7, 2023, thousands of young Israelis — Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and Baha’i, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and more — were already navigating trauma, neglect and instability. The Oct. 7 terror attacks and the war that followed pushed many of them to the breaking point. These youth have lost homes, family members, friends and any sense of security,” writes Liora Attias-Hadar, CEO of American Friends of ELEM, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.  

What you can do: “Trauma cannot be healed with short-term aid. It requires consistent, culturally aware, community-based support. … If you are a funder or serve on a philanthropic committee, make youth trauma recovery a central focus of your Israel portfolio. If you work in a Jewish organization, partner with professionals on the ground who are already doing this work. If you sit on a board, push this issue onto the agenda. If you are a mental health or education professional, consider offering your expertise. If you lead a synagogue, camp or school, share these stories with your community. This crisis demands long-term investment, not just an emergency response.”

Read the full piece here.

By the Numbers: In The Hill, Jonathan Schulman challenges the narrative that American Jews are “embracing hostile views” toward Israel. “A national survey earlier this year found that 72% of American Jews hold a favorable view of Israel. Another poll shows that Jews are almost universally supportive of Israel — a mere 5% of Jews ‘say they are not supporters of the Jewish state.’ Polling has found that 85% of young Jews ‘believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state,’ and that 70% of American Jews ‘believe anti-Zionism is antisemitic by definition.’ … No community of millions speaks in one voice. But Jewish political organizations play an essential role in reflecting the shared values and commitments of the majority. And in that mission they remain aligned with the core beliefs of the American Jewish community, who continue to value Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and to defend itself against its adversaries.” [TheHill]

Going Strong: In The Times of Israel, Arlene Fickler highlights the achievements of the Conservative/Masorati movement in the recent World Zionist Congress elections. “The Conservative/Masorti movement’s slate has nearly doubled its vote total since the last election five years ago. When the World Zionist Congress convenes in Jerusalem in October, MERCAZ USA will be the only U.S. delegation from a progressive slate with more seats and greater representation than in the last convening. … For the first time, the movement secured a mandate in Uganda and scored a resounding first place in Argentina. These gains were mirrored by the movement’s ability to hold firm in key regions, like Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, despite a concentrated push from the Ultra-Orthodox and right-wing slates seeking to undermine more progressive forces. The breadth of these successes – from the Americas to Europe and beyond — illustrates a deeply rooted, interconnected, and highly motivated global community.” [TOI]

Bearing Witness: In Politico, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner reflects on the rise of antisemitism globally following the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and his meeting with Nova music festival cofounder and producer Ofir Amir. “I keep asking myself how Ofir Amir can bear what happened after Oct. 7. How he can bear that victims are turned into perpetrators and perpetrators into victims. That more and more often, it is concealed who started this war, what is action and what is reaction. How he can bear it that justified criticism of decisions made by an Israeli government is mixed with deep-rooted hatred of Jews and that, as a result, instead of an obvious global wave of compassion and solidarity, a global wave of cold-heartedness and increasingly aggressive anti-Semitism has emerged. How he can bear what I can hardly bear, even though I am neither a victim nor a relative of victims.” [Politico]

Looking for a Graduate Degree program that fits your work schedule? Come learn about Spertus Institute’s MA and Executive MA in Jewish Professional Studies programs at our Virtual Open House, October 23, 12:30-1:30pm CST (on zoom). Register Here.  

Be featured: Email us to sponsor content with the eJP readership of your upcoming event, job opening or other communication.

Israeli markets surged today, sending the shekel to a three-year high of 3.24 per dollar, in response to news of the hostage-release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas…

Israeli hospitals are preparing to receive the 20 hostages that are still believed to be alive, and Israel’s Religious Services Ministry said that the country’s hevrot kadisha (burial societies) were similarly ready to hold funerals for the 28 slain hostages…

Jewish Insider interviews Israeli general Noam Tibon, who rescued his son’s family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Oct. 7 attacks, and documentarian Barry Avrich, who made a film about him, “The Road Between Us”…

Temple Israel, a Minneapolis synagogue, was vandalized yesterday, with “watch out Zionists” spray-painted on its exterior walls, along with red triangles — a symbol used by Hamas to mark Israeli targets during the Oct. 7 attacks…

The Israel-Premier Tech Cycling team will rebrand and drop “Israel” from its name after the group was targeted by anti-Israel protesters during its races in Europe; Canadian Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams, a co-owner of the team, says he is dropping all involvement with the team in response to the move…  

The military grooming rules announced last week and circulated in a memo to military members would end most existing religious exemptions allowing troops to maintain beards. The regulations would present a potential obstacle to Orthodox Jewish and Sikh servicemen who maintain beards, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

The family of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali citizen taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, released a recently discovered video of Joshi filmed shortly after his abduction to Gaza…

The Secure Communities Network issued a fresh report warning that extremist groups are increasingly using artificial intelligence tools to spread their propaganda…

New York-based arts philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz is putting his West Village apartment, which features a dinosaur bone-themed staircase, up for sale for some $6 million…

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency examines how small New York City congregations that rent their spaces are handling soaring rent prices…

The Gilat Foundation, an Israeli nonprofit focused on improving the emotional well-being of chronically ill children, held its first gala event last week in Jerusalem, raising some $70,000…

Stephen Greenberg, an attorney, former board chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and board member of Anu Museum of the Jewish People, among other lay leadership positions, died on Monday at 81…

The Edmond J. Safra Foundation pledged $1.1 million to Brandeis University for Sephardic studies fellowships…

The American Jewish Committee hired Middle East policy official Anne Dreazen as vice president and director of its Center for a New Middle East, reports Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen…

MAYA LEVIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Supporters of the 48 hostages being held in Gaza embrace after hearing news of their impending release today in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. 

COURTESY/JEWISHCOLORADO

CEO at Denver-based energy firm Nexus Energy Partners and board chair of JewishColorado, he was the national board chair of Moishe House (now known as Mem Global) until 2022, Ben Lusher...

Retired federal government manager and analyst, Charles "Chuck" Miller... Associate professor of Jewish history at the University of Maryland, Bernard Dov Cooperman turns 79... Burbank, Calif., resident, Richard Marpet... U.S. ambassador to Canada during the Obama administration, then vice chair of BMO until 2024, David Jacobson turns 74... Commissioner of Major League Soccer since 1999, Don Garber turns 68... VNOC engineer at Avaya until a few months ago, David Gerstman... Attorney at Wilkes Artis, Eric S. Kassoff turns 65... Retired director of Jewish learning at the Brandeis School of San Francisco, Debby Arzt-Mor... Managing director and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and chair emeritus of DMFI, Todd Richman... Best-selling author and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek turns 52... Rosh yeshiva at Yeshivas Elimelech following 17 years as rabbi at Ohev Shalom Synagogue in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld turns 51... Musician and singer, Neshama Carlebach turns 51... Member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid, Karin Elharar Hartstein turns 48... Senior vice president for Jewish education, community and culture at Hillel International, Rabbi Benjamin Berger... Partner at Left Hook Strategy, Justin Barasky... Senior director of state and international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, David Meyerson... Stand-up comedian and two-time Emmy Award-winning television writer, Ian Karmel turns 41... Vice president of portfolio management for LEO Impact Capital, Lily Goldstein... Counsel in O’Melveny’s NYC office, he was an executive assistant and advance associate in the Obama White House, David Cohen... Physical therapist in Montreal, Chaya Notik... Vice president at L'Oréal, Jason Kaplan turns 35... Senior manager of policy communications at Snap, Julia Schechter... Israel-based senior associate at JP Morgan Payments, Daniel Rubin... Manager of in-stock management at Amazon in NYC, Kayla Levinson Segal... Security coordinator of Kibbutz Nir Am on Oct. 7, 2023, now an Israeli heroine after her team killed 25 terrorists and the kibbutz suffered no casualties, Inbal Rabin-Lieberman turns 27... Foil fencer, he won a team bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics (Tokyo) and an individual bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics (Paris), Nick Itkin turns 26...