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Good Monday morning!

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we cover last night’s Yeshiva University Hanukkah Dinner, and interview Birthright Israel Executive Vice President Elizabeth Sokolsky, who announced that she will be retiring next year. We feature an opinion piece by Shelley Fishbach and Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz examining a study on the field of Hebrew education in synagogues and other part-time settings; Morielle Lotan highlights an opportunity to address antisemitic harassment of children on gaming platforms; and Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu shares insights from her own professional experience related to Atra’s findings on the present and future of the rabbinate — and how philanthropy can help achieve systemic change. Also in this issue: Emmanuel Nahshon, Jeff Yass and Rabbi David Sevi.

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, whom he said “makes no effort” to hide his disdain for Israel, and called for the Jewish community to “fight back” against anti-Israel hatred, during a speech on Sunday night at Yeshiva University’s annual Hanukkah Dinner, reports Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen for eJewishPhilanthropy from the event. 

“Here in New York and all across America, the turbulence is unnerving, and the challenges facing the Jewish people are growing,” Herzog said. “Here we see a mayor-elect who makes no effort to conceal his contempt for the Jewish democratic State of Israel, the only nation state of the Jewish people.”

Referring to the demonstration outside an event at Park East Synagogue encouraging immigration to Israel, which included chants of “globalize the intifada” and "death to the IDF," Herzog continued: “The incoming mayor’s response was to suggest that Jews who consider fulfilling [aliyah] are violating international law. In the face of such hatred, we must fight back fiercely and fearlessly.”

With his remarks, Herzog joined a growing number of Jewish figures who have condemned the incoming New York City mayor. The Israeli president was honored at the university’s 101st Hanukkah Dinner, receiving an honorary doctorate from the institution. The event also featured a nod to YU honorees over the past century, which have included Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk, Golda Meir and John F. Kennedy. 

Since the surge of antisemitism on college campuses sparked by the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and ensuing wars in Gaza, Yeshiva University has positioned itself as a refuge for Jewish students. Now, as Mamdani is weeks away from taking office, the school’s president, Rabbi Ari Berman, said on Sunday night that the school is gearing up for its next mission: confronting the incoming mayor. “As the premier Jewish university in the nation, we are not running from the untruths being repeated by a newly elected official in the city. We are here to confront them,” Berman told the roughly 500 people at the dinner, which was held in downtown Manhattan’s Cipriani ballroom. “This is our time, this is our calling. We will always stand for our values, we will always bring the light.”

While anti-Israel demonstrations have roiled college campuses nationwide since Oct. 7, the number of transfer students to YU increased by 75% in 2024, according to university officials. Even with the recent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, “we don’t see [increased admissions] stopping in any way,” Berman told eJewishPhilanthropy on the sidelines of the event. “We’re overwhelmed with students. Students who in the past would have gone to the top Ivy League schools are now coming to Yeshiva University.”

Read the full report here.

COURTESY

A month ago, at a gala in Manhattan, Birthright Israel marked 25 years of the 10-day trip that has brought over 900,000 young Jewish adults to Israel. Elizabeth “Liz” Sokolsky, Birthright Israel’s executive vice president, has been with the organization since its launch. Next year, she plans to retire, following a four-decade career in Jewish education and engagement. Last week, she spoke to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim about her career, the organization’s history and post-Gaza war approach to engagement, and what comes next for her. 

ND: You've been with Birthright since Day 1. Can you tell me about some of the turning points when you realized the program was becoming something bigger than a pilot project?

LS: Originally, our funding was for the first five years, and so we were all working towards doing that five years. I don't think anybody, anybody, imagined that there would be as much of a desire as there was. We had waiting lists right away, even within the first five years, and when we understood that we were going to be able to fund this program, and the realization of the impact. We hoped that the impact would be what it was. Those of us who were in the formal Israel education world knew that Israel was a great way to instill identity and connection to Israel. But before that, programs were six weeks, eight weeks. Short programs were four weeks. So when we first came up with this concept of 10 days, a lot of people thought that there was no way we were going to be able to create the type of impact an eight-week program was going to have in 10 days. And then we learned that we actually were.

Read the full interview here.

COURTESY

“The ‘2025 Hebrew Snapshot Survey’ brings into focus the new approaches to synagogue Hebrew education that are taking root, even as it recognizes that a tipping point has yet to be reached,” write the report’s co-authors Shelley Fishbach, an independent program evaluation and strategy consultant, and Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz, director of #OnwardHebrew, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “While the study’s positive results give the Jewish community cause to celebrate, the challenges it identifies call for further communal investment in educators, evidence-based strategies and the development of new resources.”

For instance: “Only 28% of survey participants shared that most of their teachers engage in at least an hour of Hebrew-specific training annually, while nearly half flagged the lack of such opportunities as a barrier to reaching their goals. Some respondents described the added challenge of getting busy part-time staff to commit time outside of the classroom to furthering their own Hebrew language and teaching skills.” 

Read the full piece here.

KOONSIRI/ADOBE STOCK

“Research shows tens of millions of gamers have been exposed to hate speech while playing. In a recent study, over half of gaming sessions played with Jewish usernames resulted in antisemitic harassment,” writes Morielle Lotan in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “This is not a peripheral concern. Gaming is the primary digital social environment for young people.”

Advocate for our community: “The Kids Online Safety Act passed in the Senate 91-3 last year and has been reintroduced with support from Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). … Jewish federations, advocacy organizations and foundations should urge Congress to amend KOSA to include hate, extremism and antisemitism among the bill’s enumerated harms. In New York, they should engage Sen. [Andrew] Gounardes to ensure the Children’s Online Safety Act addresses these harms as well. … This is not about gaming. It is about recognizing that children’s online safety includes protection from the hatred that has targeted Jewish communities for generations. The legislative infrastructure is being built right now. We should make sure our community’s concerns are part of it.”

Read the full piece here.

EAKRIN/ADOBE STOCK

News coverage and op-eds focused on Atra’s recently released study of the American rabbinate today have “succeeded in stirring up debate, but are missing a larger call to action,” writes Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu, executive vice president of the Jewish Funders Network, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “It is clear from the research that systemic change in how rabbis are educated — and then how synagogue lay leadership in particular is structured — needs to change.”

Philanthropy’s role: “In my current role at the Jewish Funders Network, I see great opportunities for the philanthropic community to step up here. Not only can philanthropists establish a think tank for revamping rabbinic education and then invest in new educational models, but they can also invest in a new system for educating synagogue lay leaders. There was a time when the denominational structures provided this, but budget cuts and the weakening of the denominational system has caused lay leader support to fall by the wayside. Lay leaders need to both better understand the many responsibilities clergy hold and be trained on how to establish a positive culture within their communities.”

Read the full piece here.

Treasured Poet, Unsung Hero: In the Jewish Journal, Alan Zeitlin reviews a new biography by Douglas Century of Jewish poet and World War II spy Hannah Senesh, who was one of 32 Jewish volunteers from Mandatory Palestine who parachuted into occupied Europe. “There hasn’t been a biopic about Senesh and her story has not received the attention or reverence of Anne Frank. ‘New heroes are created so often in Israel,’ Century said. ‘Hannah was a foundational hero. But you had numerous wars since then. The trauma in Israel is so consistent, she got pushed out of the public consciousness. But not her poetry. “Eli, Eli,” (“My God, My God”) is like the second national anthem.’” [JewishJournal]

Rationality’s Overrated: In Inside Philanthropy, Michael Parker argues that too much weight is given to the idea of philanthropists as (at least primarily) rational actors. “Wealthy philanthropists are portrayed as strategic, calculating and motivated primarily by power or reputation management. According to this view, major donor giving is just another form of investment and a rational way to extend influence. But if you’ve ever engaged a major donor in a fundraising conversation, you know that’s only part of the story. After years working in philanthropy, and with a Ph.D. in psychology, I’ve come to believe that the standard narrative of the ‘rational philanthropist’ overlooks what actually drives giving at the highest levels.” [InsidePhilanthropy] 

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Barron’s examines how hedge-fund managers and other private equity investors have supplanted big bank officials as the titans of Wall Street, as seen in part by Apollo Management CEO Marc Rowan’s headlining of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Wall Street Dinner last week… 

A new report by the Center for an Urban Future think tank examines the growing threats to nonprofits in New York City in light of federal funding cuts…

PBS and WETA announced an upcoming four-part docuseries examining Black-Jewish relations; Henry Louis Gates Jr. is serving as the executive producer of the series, which will premiere in early February…

The Times of Israel interviews Emmanuel Nahshon, a former Israeli diplomat who is now leading an Association of Israeli Universities task force to combat the growing number of international boycotts of Israeli academic institutions…

An American investor group led by Adam Freed is expected to purchase the ownership stake in the Maccabi Haifa soccer team for some $80 million, in what would be the largest-ever such sale in Israeli soccer…

The Washington Post spotlights GOP megadonor Jeff Yass as he increasingly contributes to candidates backing school voucher programs…

A Brazilian professor at Harvard Law School who was arrested by immigration authorities last week after he pleaded guilty to illegally shooting an air rifle near a Boston-area synagogue will voluntarily leave the United States…

The Real Deal looks at Alex Sapir’s dwindling portfolio and financial struggles, as the real estate developer and former owner of 11 Madison Avenue looks to sell off more of his properties following the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of his father, Tamir Sapir, who had owed more than $100 million in taxes…

The New York Times considers the “canonization” of Hannah Arendt in the 21st century, as her writings have increasingly been adopted by modern-day political observers and repurposed to address current events…

The Wall Street Journal reviews Celeste Marcus’ Chaim Soutine: Genius, Obsession, and a Dramatic Life in Art, the first English-language biography of the French Jewish painter, who died in Paris in 1943…

President Donald Trump tapped architect Shalom Baranes, who as a child immigrated from Italy with his Libyan-born parents to the U.S. through HIAS, to design the new White House ballroom; Baranes previously led the redesign of the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks, as well as Washington’s City Center complex and the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton…

Axios looks at an emerging feud between two GOP fundraising platforms as a new upstart, Impact, looks to take on the monopoly of WinRed…

The Jerusalem Post interviews outgoing B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel Mariaschin about his decades working in the Jewish communal world and his thoughts for the future…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and nearly all Senate Democrats are set to introduce a resolution on Monday condemning neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson for hosting Fuentes on his show, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for defending Carlson and Trump administration official Paul Ingrassia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Robert Leventhal, former director of synagogue leadership at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, died at 74…

Jim Tuman, the founder of the Detroit-based at-risk youth nonprofit Jimmy’s Kids, died last month at 84…

Famed architect Frank Gehry, born Frank Owen Goldberg, who has said the curved shape of many of his designs was inspired by the carp his maternal grandmother had in the bathtub as she made gefilte fish, died at 96…

Sergey Brin donated more than $1 billion worth of Alphabet Inc. stock primarily to a nonprofit foundation he co-founded, Catalyst4… 

The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation awarded $1.2 million in grants to the City University of New York…

Rabbi David Sevi was installed yesterday as the next chief rabbi of Turkey, after the longtime spiritual leader of the community, Rabbi Ishak Haleva, died earlier this year… 

Uri Monson, the former budget secretary of Pennsylvania, is stepping down from his position to serve as the next executive director of the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System…

NIRA DAYANIM/EJEWISHPHILANTHROPY

Visitors examine prints of Jewish soldiers who fought in the Soviet Army during World War II last night at the Blavatnik Archive, a nonprofit based in New York that preserves and shares primary sources on 20th-century Jewry, with a specific focus on Soviet Jewish history. To mark the anniversary of Freedom Sunday, when hundreds of thousands of people marched for the release of Soviet Jewry 38 years and one day before, the archive hosted a final lecture in a yearlong series. The event also served as the finale for the archive’s own 20th anniversary celebrations. 

The event also featured discussions on Soviet History. During one of them, Shaul Kelner, a professor of Jewish studies and sociology at Vanderbilt University, discussed modern antisemitism’s roots in the Soviet Union’s efforts to couch its discrimination against Jews in terms of anti-Zionism. 

“Most American Jews who trace their ancestry back to Czarist Russia… will think the way that Jews ‘catch [antisemitism]’ is usually from racists or antisemites,” Kelner said. “But we have a very large population whose main model of having experienced anti-Jewishness has come from Soviet anti-Zionism. I think that the Soviet Jewish emigres here and their kids and their grandkids are probably the best positioned to explain to the other American Jews what they're beginning to experience here in the States.”

SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE

Israeli folk singer, lyricist, composer and musical arranger, she has released more than 70 albums sold worldwide, winner of the Kinor David (David's Harp) Prize, Chava Alberstein turns 78… 

Founder and CEO of Top Rank, a boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas, Bob Arum turns 94… Tennis player, she won 22 singles titles, in 1968 and 1969 she was ranked No. 2 in the United States, Julie Heldman turns 80… Film, stage and television actor, composer of film and theatre music, John Rubinstein turns 79… Astrophysicist and senior scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Margaret Geller turns 78… Film director, producer and screenwriter, including box office successes such as “The Parent Trap” and “What Women Want,” Nancy Meyers turns 76… Canadian anthropologist and author of four books promoting Mussar, a Jewish ethical movement, Alan Morinis turns 76… Professor of human development at Cornell University, following high-ranking academic positions at the University of Wyoming, Oklahoma State, Tufts and Yale, Robert J. Sternberg turns 76… Writer, photographer and designer, founder of the Honey Sharp Gallery and Ganesh Café in the Berkshires, Honey Sharp… Bedford, Texas, resident, Douglas H. Bohannon… Senior executive producer of special events at ABC News until his retirement in early 2025, Marc Burstein… Emmy Award-winning sports commentator and journalist, Roy Firestone turns 72… Chairman of a nationwide insurance brokerage, Bruce P. Gendelman… Author of Toward a Meaningful Life, a book that has sold over 400,000 copies, he is the chairman of the Yiddish English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal, Rabbi Simon Jacobson turns 69… Retired administrative law judge at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Nadine Lewis turns 68… Rabbi, speaker and musician known as Rav Shmuel, for 21 years he led the Yeshiva program run by the IDT Corporation in Newark, N.J., Shmuel Skaist turns 61… Co-founder of three successful companies, including Office Tiger in 1999, CloudBlue in 2001, and Xometry in 2013, where he is CEO, Randy Altschuler turns 55… Attorney by training but in real life a social media blogger and author, she is the co-founder of TheLi.st, Rachel Sklar turns 53… CEO of Assemble, Aaron Kissel turns 51… Journalist and founder of the newsletter "Popular Information," Judd Legum… President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Aaron Lerner turns 46… Actor and musician, Dov Yosef Tiefenbach turns 44… Actress, comedian and television writer, Joanna "Jo" Firestone turns 39… Co-founder and former chief scientist at OpenAI, in 2024 he co-founded Safe Superintelligence, Ilya Sutskever turns 39… Artist, Sophia Narrett… Venture capitalist in Israel, Alex Oppenheimer… Partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Ali Krimmer...