Good Tuesday morning!

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we interview former Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug ahead of today’s Israel Democracy Institute conference on the Israeli economy. We report on the Israeli government’s creation of an interministerial team to support Israel trips during emergencies, and spotlight a new initiative aimed at helping new immigrants to Israel succeed in their new country. We feature an opinion piece by Nova music festival survivor Maayan Dee about her experience marching in Sunday’s Israel Day on Fifth parade in New York City, and Sarit Wishnevski argues for a more expansive understanding of Jewish joy. Also in this issue: Mark Suzman, Ruth Perlman and William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn.

Today’s Your Daily Phil was curated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, Opinion Editor Rachel Kohn and Israel Editor Justin Hayet. Have a tip? Email us here.

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The Israeli economy finds itself at a crossroads. Strains from increased defense spending and high interest payments for war-related debt after more than 2 1/2 years of conflict have resulted in cuts or stagnation for education and welfare budgets. This also comes during a period of social and political division, particularly as Israel prepares for a national election later this year.

To consider how the country can navigate the economic fallout, the Israel Democracy Institute is gathering the country’s top policymakers, economists, business leaders and civil servants to discuss these issues today and tomorrow in its annual Eli Hurvitz Conference (formerly known as the Caesarea Conference), which is being held at the Orient Hotel in Jerusalem.

Ahead of the conference, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Justin Hayet spoke with Karnit Flug, the past governor of the Bank of Israel and senior fellow for economic policy at IDI’s Center for Governance and the Economy, about the challenges facing the Israeli economy and her recommendations for how to overcome them, primarily through rebuilding public trust and halting divisive sectoral spending, as well as what philanthropy can do to help. 

JH: Your presentation at the conference will highlight the dangers of sectoral budgeting and a lack of long-term planning. For international funders and those within the Jewish philanthropic world, what is the single most critical finding in your work that should change the way they engage with Israel right now?

KF: Civilian spending will remain severely constrained by increased defense obligations and rising interest payments on war-accumulated debt. As military spending remains elevated, the pressure on civilian services will only intensify. 

I think where philanthropists can make a difference is expanding their spending on education programs for specific groups that are underprivileged and do not get sufficient support. And it's particularly important in the geographic periphery and the socioeconomic periphery. The other area is supporting the process of getting the ultra-Orthodox community to acquire the necessary skills to successfully engage in the labor market. And then there are a lot of needs in supporting communities hurt by the continuous war. The needs will only grow because of the very tight budgetary situation.

Read the full interview here. 

Following a yearlong lobbying effort on behalf of the battered Israel education travel sector, the Israeli government passed a resolution on Sunday aimed at providing critical support for the field during times of crisis, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Justin Hayet. 

Crisis management: The resolution, which does not include financial support for the field, establishes an interministerial team that will provide assistance to Israel tour operators “during emergency situations, recognizing the importance of providing a coordinated response to participants in the educational programs during such periods.” Speaking with eJP yesterday, Anna Langer, IETA’s executive director, praised the passing of this resolution as “an extraordinary act of Jewish Peoplehood.”

Read the full report here.

The goal of helping olim, new immigrants, thrive in Israel is the animating idea behind Gaya, Nevo Network’s new nationwide initiative that launched last month with an $800,000 government grant from Israel’s Immigration and Absorption Ministry, reports Rachel Gutman for eJewishPhilanthropy.

Network advantage: “I made aliyah 33 years ago,” venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg, Nevo’s board chair and founding donor, told eJP, “and it took me a long time and a lot of hard work and a lot of running around to create a network and find people and integrate into Israeli society. What Nevo cracked — and what Gaya will crack — is setting up professional networks for olim.”

Read the full report here.

“There are things the body remembers that the mind tries to forget. My legs remember,” writes Nova music festival survivor Maayan Dee in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “A festival dance floor on a Saturday morning. The concrete floor of a tiny, packed bomb shelter, darkness pressing in from every side. The soil of Israel under my boots. Years of service in the Oketz canine unit. The trails near Kibbutz Malkia in the North. The pavement of Birmingham, England, walking every morning past BDS activists selling lies and trying to cancel out my existence.”

Marching in the heart of Manhattan: “[After] Oct. 7, alongside the personal pain, came something else: the feeling that the world doesn’t see us, that our story is being erased. But then something like this happens. You plant your feet on a street in Manhattan and you see a sea of blue and white. Jews and non-Jews who had no obligation to be there, and yet they were.”

Read the full piece here.

“In Jewish communal life, joy has become shorthand for anything that feels vibrant, creative or uplifting. Those experiences matter. They lower barriers, create connections and help people feel proud and alive in their Jewishness. But joy that lasts is not only about feeling good,” writes Sarit Wishnevski, executive director of Kavod v’Nichum, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. 

Experiences that sustain us: “If Jewish communities invest only in experiences that attract people, and not in practices that help people care for one another, we risk building communities that are vibrant but fragile.”

Read the full piece here.

Pressure to Prune: In The Times of Israel, Steven Windmueller spotlights Jewish institutions that have publicly faced financial hardship, consolidation or closure in recent years. “The Jewish nonprofit ecosystem is not disappearing; it is consolidating. Money and participation are increasingly concentrated in large federations, elite schools, major national advocacy groups, security organizations, and Israel and emergency-response institutions. Meanwhile, smaller and mid-sized legacy institutions face growing pressure, with the greatest impact likely falling on the smallest agencies and synagogues.” [TOI]

Doing More With Less: In Foreign Affairs, Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, laments cuts to foreign aid and development programs and calls for prioritizing the most urgent fields. “It is critical to focus today’s scarce grant money on what we call core development investments: reducing poverty and supporting health and education. By investing in sectors that will drive future growth and opportunity, over time, countries can graduate from relying on development assistance to funding their own needs with more domestic resources and better access to private capital.” [ForeignAffairs]

The 98%: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Rasheeda Childress examines how college fundraisers are looking to expand their donor base. “Earlier this year, a study on higher-education fundraising revealed that 89 percent of the dollars raised came from just 2 percent of donors. Researchers and university fundraisers agree this mix of funding sources is unsustainable for the future. But fixing the problem requires long-term strategies, college fundraisers say. … That long-term approach must be holistic, focused not just on the 2 percent, but on expanding the donor pool to include many more people, adds Leslie Carmona, senior director of donor experience and individual giving at Wayne State University.” [ChronicleofPhilanthropy]

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After a previous donor withdrew, 70-year-old Ruth Adley received a life-saving kidney transplant from a stranger named Clare, who stepped forward after reading Ruth's appeal in the U.K. Jewish News…

After a terminal brain tumor diagnosis, 28-year-old Aidan McAllister donated healthy tissue from his brain to advance dementia research in memory of his grandfather…

Temple Emanu-El in Longview, Texas, has proposed donating its 5.8-acre historic property to the city for use as park space due to declining membership and rising maintenance costs…

In the face of persistent rocket and drone threats from Hezbollah, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has installed 10 new bomb shelters in the northern Israeli towns of Kiryat Shmona, Metula and Kibbutz Hagoshrim…

The Leviev Foundation has launched a $50 million educational initiative to provide scholarships and grants to Jewish children in underserved and immigrant communities over the course of five years…

The Harris Rosen Foundation donated $50,000 to the nonprofit Gainesville For All in honor of Chuck Dziuban's decades of service to educational access and community initiatives in Gainesville, Fla…

Ruth Perlman will assume the role of chair of BBYO’s International Board of Directors next month, succeeding outgoing Chair Craig L. Weiss…

Abby Leviss was hired as executive director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital…

Genna Kahn joined Chicago's Jewish United Fund as its director of women’s philanthropy…

Lenny Silberman, the founder and CEO of Lost Tribe, is retiring at the end of this month, and Pete Shevenell has been appointed as its new CEO…

Josh Hartuv is stepping down from his role as executive director of BBYO United Kingdom…

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks celebrated the organization's successful $5 million effort to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) during its "America 250"-themed gala Sunday evening in Manhattan, reports Jewish Insider's Haley Cohen…

Barry Diller’s People Inc. is preparing an $18 billion bid to take over MGM Resorts…

The Chronicle of Philanthropy details how three donors — Jan Koum, Andrew and Jane Bursky and Mark and Mary Stevens — each contributed $200 million in May to advance AI research, public health and medical infrastructure…

El Al announced the resumption of its nonstop route between Tel Aviv and San Francisco with three weekly flights scheduled to begin in October…

JewishColumbus (Ohio) has launched an around-the-clock Security Operations Center to provide centralized monitoring and rapid-response capabilities…

The Associated Press examines a rise in child marriages in the Gaza Strip as parents marry off daughters — some as young as 13 — in a bid to provide them with protection and financial support…

Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan met on Monday in Qatar with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, the Gulf state’s minister of commerce…

Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the surge in antisemitism in Canada, announcing $75 million for faith-based security and establishing a new ministerial council to combat hate…

In an opinion piece in Canada’s National Post, Canadian expats Joe Roberts and Michael A. Sachs, who now work at the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, Okla., and recently launched a program encouraging Canadian Jews to immigrate to their city, call on Carney to do more to ensure the safety of the Canadian Jewish community…

Yoni Finlay, who was wounded while protecting worshippers during the 2025 Yom Kippur terror attack at Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, completed the Great Manchester Run half-marathon...

The Israeli Embassy in Washington hosted an event marking the first anniversary of the killing of staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, highlighting the urgent need for unity against rising antisemitism, reports the Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod...

Speaking yesterday at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress, New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger urged news organizations to unite against AI companies' unauthorized use of intellectual property to ensure the future of original journalism… 

A new study by the Jewish People Policy Institute found “a dramatic deterioration” in the tone of official European Union statements toward Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza…

COURTESY/EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY

William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, CEO and board chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad, head of the country’s General Intelligence Service, in Cairo today, following a visit to Israel last week.

“President Sisi graciously received Conference of Presidents Chair Betsy Berns Korn and me for a thoughtful discussion of regional peace, stability and cooperation,” Daroff told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross and Justin Hayet. “We are grateful for his hospitality and for the opportunity to exchange views on the challenges and opportunities facing the Middle East at a moment of significant change for the region. Dialogue, partnership and engagement remain more important than ever, and we appreciate Egypt’s important role in advancing stability and cooperation.”

According to the Egyptian president’s office, the meeting focused on ties between Egypt and the United States, and Cairo’s role in “[preserving] peace and stability in the Middle East.” 

NIRA DAYANIM/EJEWISHPHILANTHROPY

Commissioner of the National Hockey League since 1993, Gary Bettman turns 74...

Former member of the British Parliament from Manchester and then a member of European Parliament, David Anthony Gerald Sumberg turns 85... Co-founder of ReelAbilities, a film festival by, or about, people with disabilities, Anita Altman turns 81... Israeli entrepreneur and inventor, founder of Indigo Digital Press and known as the father of commercial digital printing, Benny Landa turns 80... Johns Hopkins University professor and a pioneer in the field of cancer genomics, Dr. Bert Vogelstein turns 77... Writer-at-large for New York magazine since 2011, following a 31-year career at The New York Times, Frank Rich turns 77... SVP of institutional advancement at Brandeis University, Jordan E. Tannenbaum... Holiday and weekend cantor at Los Angeles Jewish Health (formerly Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging), Ben Zion Kogen... Former board chair of Sapir Academic College in the western Negev, he was one of Israel's senior peace negotiators at the Camp David summit in 2000, Gilead Sher turns 73... Founder of Newark, N.J.-based IDT Corp and numerous affiliates and spinoffs, Howard S. Jonas turns 70… Aerospace engineer and a former NASA astronaut, he flew on three shuttle missions and took a memento from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum into space, Mark L. Polansky turns 70... Dinorah Cecilia Baroody... General manager of The Piedmont Club, a Spartanburg, S.C., private social club, Davina Weinstein... Radio and television talk show host, Andrew Joseph “Andy” Cohen turns 58... President of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer for Marvel Comics, Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, Kevin Feige turns 53... Special counsel focused on land use and zoning at NYC-based law firm Goldstein Hall, Jessica Ashenberg Loeser... SVP of EnTrust Global, Jordan David Kaplan... Director of technology at Santa Monica, Calif.-based Action Network, a tech platform for progressive causes, Jason S. Rosenbaum... Woman Grandmaster chess player, she won the 2004 Israel Women's Chess Championship, Bella Igla Gesser turns 41... Equestrian show jumper, she represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Danielle "Dani" Goldstein Waldman turns 41... Co-founder and former CEO of The Wing, now the owner of The Six Bells ("a new old country store") in Brooklyn, Audrey H. Gelman turns 39... Founder and CEO at Button AI, a company for AI paralegals that settle estates, Jared R. Fleitman... CEO and co-founder at Platform Cannabis Advisors, Benjamin G. Sheridan... Theater, television and film actor best known for his lead role in "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical," Ethan Samuel Slater turns 34... Israeli K-pop singer, whose first two songs when she was 17 both topped Israeli airplay charts, Ella-Lee Lahav turns 23...