Good Friday morning!

In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine the growing condemnations of the emerging deal with Iran. We interview Tara Brown, the CEO of Momentum, about her plans for the mom-focused Jewish engagement group, and report on a $36 million gift from the Koum Family Foundation to Los Angeles' Milken Community School. We feature an opinion piece by Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller with a message for anyone thinking of walking away, be it from belief in God or support for Israel; and Rabbi Rob Gleisser and Mollie Feldman spotlight a pilot program exploring an approach to boosting male engagement in Jewish life. Also in this issue: Mijal Bitton, Alisha Sela and Van Jones. 

Shabbat shalom and happy Juneteenth!

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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For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider stories, including: How the Israel-Diaspora relationship is the major issue not on the ballot in the upcoming elections; A new mobile museum, a new summit and other reveals from Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Chicago gala; and Treasury guidance offers boost to Jewish groups preparing for new education tax credit. Print the latest edition here.

When news first emerged of an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war, many Jewish groups were hesitant to weigh in on the matter, holding out until the full details were released. Now, as the official language for the memorandum of understanding has been published, a growing number of initially reluctant Jewish organizations and figures, including Jewish GOP donors, are speaking out about the deal, which some warn emboldens the Islamic Republic and endangers Israel’s national security.

The condemnations of the agreement, which calls for an end to Israel’s fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, are likely only to grow after four Israeli soldiers, including a battalion commander, were killed today in a strike on their tank by the Iran-backed terrorist militia in southern Lebanon. In a separate incident, five Israeli soldiers were also injured in a drone attack early this morning.

While some of President Donald Trump’s Jewish and Israeli supporters hold out hope that the emerging agreement merely represents a stall tactic ahead of the midterm elections or the start of a negotiation that can still be turned against Tehran, others have resigned themselves to a new, complicated reality. The “Heimish Humor” social media account captured this fatalistic feeling in a joke: One person asks how the new Iran agreement sounds, and the other responds, “Hashem is in control of the world,” to which the first replies, “Wow, that bad?"

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

For nearly 19 years, Tara Brown was a fixture of AIPAC's Mid-Atlantic region, running between fundraisers, the halls of Congress, AIPAC Policy Conference and all the coffee meetings in between — until last year, when she was appointed CEO of Momentum, a Jewish nonprofit that seeks to empower Jewish mothers to connect with their Jewish identity through trips to Israel and post-visit engagement. 

Speaking to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Justin Hayet, Brown said that her dream is to grow Momentum's flagship Israel program fivefold, from about 2,000 women a year to 10,000. 

JH: Critics say immersive Israel experiences are most impactful during "formative years" teens and college years. How do you respond to that?

TB: We focus on moms specifically, but moms aren't actually our target audience. Their kids are. We focus on moms because the greatest social influencer of all time isn't TikTok, isn't Noa Tishby — it's the Jewish mom. When a mom decides she wants to raise her kids a certain way, or think differently about her own family’s Judaism, it happens. 

Read the full interview here.

The Koum Family Foundation donated $36 million to Los Angeles’ Milken Community School, one of the largest non-Orthodox Jewish day schools in the country, as part of a major capital campaign, the school announced on Thursday, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross.

Koum keeps giving: The donation to the Milken school is the latest allocation by the foundation launched by the WhatsApp co-founder, Jan Koum, who has emerged as one of the most significant Jewish philanthropists today, supporting a wide array of Jewish causes in the United States, Israel and the former Soviet Union. 

Read the full report here.

“A bar or bat mitzvah student sits across from me, leans in with a look of practiced defiance, and prepares to blow my rabbinic mind. ‘Rabbi,’ they say, ‘I have to be honest. I don’t really believe in God,’” writes Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller of Temple Emanu-El in Atlanta in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “I don’t recoil. Instead, I ask the question that has become (almost?) every rabbi’s favorite opening move: ‘Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.’” 

Real talk: “Judaism is a tradition of wrestling. You cannot wrestle with a shadow; you have to get close enough to feel the weight of the thing you’re grappling with. … If you find yourself ready to walk away from a big idea — be it faith or peoplehood — ask yourself first: How much do I actually know about the thing I’m walking away from? You might just find that the version you’re rejecting is one that the rest of us don’t believe in, either.” 

Read the full piece here.

“Zack Wainer, Isaac Kurtz and Doron Kenter recently wrote in eJewishPhilanthropy about the Jewish community’s need to confront ‘a growing body of data’ revealing that ‘on many of the measures that matter most for a flourishing life, men are falling behind.’ They concluded with a challenge: If we want different outcomes, we need to experiment with different approaches,” write Rabbi Rob Gleisser of Penn State Hillel and Mollie Feldman of Hillel International, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.

A promising pilot: “On a Tuesday night at Penn State, groups of fraternity brothers gather in their living rooms to talk about masculinity, responsibility and what it means to be a Jewish man. There is no rabbi or teacher at the front of the room. The conversation is led by a peer, for their peers.”

Read the full piece here.

Race to Scale: In the Philanthropy Roundtable, David Bass follows the rollout of the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit and the funding, supply and political challenges shaping its implementation. “‘The barriers are information, making sure supply is free and politics,’ said Robert Enlow, CEO of EdChoice, the national school choice research organization founded as Milton Friedman’s legacy foundation. ‘You could have all the new money out there and no supply, and that’s a problem.’ For philanthropists, the opportunity goes beyond funding scholarships. It is helping build the legal, operational and educational infrastructure capable of supporting a national educational choice ecosystem before the system fully comes online.” [PhilanthropyRoundtable]

Go to the Tents: In her Substack, Mijal Bitton uses the Korach story to argue that Jews worried about the Democratic Socialists of America need to stop mocking them and start out-organizing them. “The Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin records that even though Moses was the aggrieved party, he tried to persuade the people before God decided the dispute. He didn’t approach Korach, but went to the tents of Datan and Aviram – the people in the orbit of the rebellion who might still be reached. They rebuffed him. “We will not go up.” When I read this, I realized that it was only after Moses deployed his legs that day in the wilderness that divine vindication came. We learn: God does not intervene to save people who have not tried. Now ask yourself: are we going to the tents?” [Committed]

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Myisrael, a U.K.-based charity that supports small nonprofits in Israel, raised over £1.17 million ($1.54 million) in 36 hours from 3,300-plus donors to support vulnerable Israelis…

Jewish National Fund recently funded a new emergency vehicle for first responders in the Negev town of Yeruham as part of its broader push to boost emergency readiness across Israel…

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey awarded $686,000 in the second quarter of the year across renewal grants for autism, mental health, perinatal care and diabetes screening programs…

Hannah Loffman was promoted to the role of senior director of women’s impact and development at Jewish Women International…

JEWISHcolorado named current board vice chair Neil Oberfeld as its incoming board chair, succeeding Ben Lusher, who is stepping down after a three-year tenure in the position…

EarlyJ hired Alisha Sela as its Los Angeles director…

CNN commentator Van Jones was appointed to the advisory board of the Genesis Prize Foundation…

In Jewish Insider, Gili Cohen examines the growing rift between President Donald Trump's White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the emerging Iran deal... 

Jewish organizations are split over a proposed State Department merger of the antisemitism and Holocaust affairs envoy roles, with supporters citing efficiency and opponents warning it would politicize and weaken dedicated Holocaust restitution work, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

The U.K. government is pledging £1 million ($1.3 million) to support the Jewish Museum London; U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the funding would go to sharing the “stories, the connections and the understanding that are the basis of a cohesive society and the future of our country”...

The Chronicle of Philanthropy details how when federal cuts wiped out FoodCorps's AmeriCorps funding, the Healy Foundation responded with a flexible $1 million grant that helped the nonprofit reinvent itself with new initiatives rather than simply downsizing…

The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott granted $150,000 to boost technical education in northern Arizona, with $100,000 funding scholarships at Coconino Community College…

SHOLOM ROSS/CHABAD[DOT]ORG

A group of women say prayers yesterday at the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in Queens, N.Y., in honor of the 32nd anniversary of his death. 

Tens of thousands of people visited Schneerson’s grave, known as the Ohel, which has become a regular pilgrimage site for members and supporters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. 

PAUL ARCHULETA/GETTY IMAGES

Actor, singer and entrepreneur, who now raises awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Aaron Scott Lazar turns 50 on Sunday... 

FRIDAY: Attorney, investment banker, film producer and former deputy mayor of NYC, Kenneth Lipper turns 85... Rabbi emeritus of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, N.J., Rabbi Bennett F. Miller... Historian of the Jews in Muslim lands in the modern era, he won the Israel Prize in 2025 for Jewish history, Yaron Tsur turns 78... Retired president and CEO of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, he is now the president of American Jewish University, Jay Sanderson turns 69... Inna N. Zalevsky... Former director of communications for Kings Bay Y, Adrienne M. Knoll... Member of the European Jewish Parliament for Latvia, Valery Engel, Ph.D. turns 65... Physician specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, Jessica Rosenberg Brown, MD... Co-founder of Centerview Partners, a boutique investment bank based in NYC, Blair Effron turns 64... Singer-songwriter, actor and television personality, she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18, Paula Abdul turns 64... Former member of Knesset for the Zionist Union party, in the 1990s she was an assistant legal advisor to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin turns 56... Vice president for education at the American Jewish Committee and director of its Center for Education Advocacy, Laura Shaw Frank… Human rights activist and advocate for women and minorities in Iran, Marjan Keypour Greenblatt... Co-founder of nine venture-backed companies in the telecom, high-tech, pharmaceuticals, energy, water and biotechnology industries, Andrew T. Perlman turns 51... Consul general of Israel to the Southeastern United States, Eitan Weiss... Staff writer at The New Yorker, Isaac Chotiner... Director of affinities and major gifts at the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Tslil Shtulsaft... Founder of JSwipe, a Jewish dating app created in 2014, David Austin Yarus... Activist and educator, Barak Sella… Retired rhythmic gymnast from Israel who competed in the 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio) Olympics, Neta Rivkin turns 35... Vice president at Jewish Federations of North America, Anna Langer... COO at Lightning Inspiration, Alex Jakubowski... Organization director at Senate Leadership Fund & One Nation, Cydney Couch... Singer, popular on video and streaming services, known as Skye for short, Daniel Skye turns 26…

SATURDAY: Weston, Fla., resident Harold Kurte turns 97... Former member of Knesset for the Meretz party, Ran Cohen turns 89... Owner of Schulman Small Business Services in Atlanta, Alan Schulman... Detroit-based pawnbroker, reality TV star, author and speaker, Leslie "Les" Gold turns 76... Chef, baker and author of eight books, she popularized sourdough and artisan breads in the U.S., Nancy Silverton turns 72... Writer of the “Bully Pulpit” Substack from Booksmart Studios, Bob Garfield turns 71... Former assistant managing editor for politics at NBC News, now an adjunct professor at the University of Florida and FIU, Gregg Birnbaum... Co-founder of Brilliant Detroit (helping children out of poverty) and owner of Riverstone Communities, James Bellinson... Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University and rabbi of Congregation Ohr HaTorah in Bergenfield, N.J., Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky turns 61... Israeli-American screenwriter, film director, writer and producer of 20 films, Boaz Yakin turns 60... Senior legal affairs reporter at Politico, Josh Gerstein... Governor of Pennsylvania, one of three current Jewish governors that are named Josh, Joshua David Shapiro turns 53... Singer, songwriter and hazzan, he is a co-founder of the band Moshav, Yehuda Solomon turns 49... Senior program director of civic initiatives at The Teagle Foundation, Tamara Mann Tweel, Ph.D.... Israeli author of crime and thriller books that have sold more than 2.5 million copies in more than 20 languages, Mike Omer turns 47... Journalist, blogger and EMT in NYC, formerly editor for Gawker and director of public relations for the Village Voice, Maggie Shnayerson turns 45... Executive vice president of Moxie Strategies, Pearl Gabel... French-Israeli singer and songwriter, Amir Haddad turns 42... Deputy communications director in the Trump 45 White House, now head of corporate affairs at Standard Industries, Josh Raffel... Jennifer Bernstein... Photographer, producer and digital strategist, she is a supervising producer at HardPin, Sara Pearl Kenigsberg... Writer, director, comedian, YouTuber, podcaster and mental health advocate, Allison Beth Raskin turns 37... Team captain of Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague, John DiBartolomeo turns 35... Chief campus and culture officer at Hillel Ontario, Bev Shimansky Ades... Development director at Ashkenaz Foundation, Jaime Reich...

SUNDAY: Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, she is the mother-in-law of Chelsea Clinton, Marjorie Margolies turns 84... Investment banker, he was the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador in the Bush 43 administration, Charles L. Glazer turns 83... Philanthropist, she is vice chair of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Ingeborg Hanna Rennert... British businessman, co-founder with his brother Charles of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi which became the largest in the world, appointed to the House of Lords in 1996, Baron Maurice Saatchi turns 80... U.K. Cabinet minister in both the Thatcher and Major governments, Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind turns 80... Retired creditors rights attorney in the Chicago area, David Stephen Miller... Retired senior editor and writer at The Washington Post for 33 years, now chief editor at The Reis Group, Peter Perl... Member of the Knesset since 2013 for the Yesh Atid party, Mickey Levy turns 75... Susan Gutman... CEO of Amir Development Company in Beverly Hills, he is a member of the national council of AIPAC, Keenan L. Wolens... Punk rock singer and songwriter, known as the Gangsta Rabbi, Steve Lieberman turns 68... Washington Institute director and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS, David Makovsky turns 66... Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, David L. Marcus... Co-founder and executive editor of Axios since 2016, Mike Allen turns 62... National education writer for The Washington Post, Laura Meckler... Founder and leader of Beautifully Jewish, Tanya Rebecca Singer... Yale Law School graduate, journalist and author, Abigail Krauser Shrier turns 48... Public affairs consultant based in Manhattan, Sam Nunberg turns 45... Co-founder and former CEO of Kaggle, a data science platform acquired by Google in 2017, Anthony Goldbloom turns 43... Former member of the Knesset where she was the first-ever Druze woman, she then became a Jewish Agency shlicha to Washington, Gadeer Kamal Mreeh turns 42... Head of Communications for Paramount+, Jacqueline (Jackie) Berkowitz... Chief of staff to the chairman and CEO at Saban Capital Group, Amitai Raziel... Award-winning Israeli classical pianist, Boris Giltburg turns 42... Executive director at Hunter Hillel, Merav Fine Braun... Editor for the global programming team at CNN, Madeleine Morgenstern... Singer-songwriter known as Jeryko, Yaniv Hoffman turns 35... Singer-songwriter and actor, known by his mononym Max, Maxwell George Schneider turns 34...