In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we cover a Jewish Funders Network panel on the need for Jewish leaders to get involved in critical conversations about artificial intelligence, and report on Robert Kraft’s pledge to match Ed Sheeran’s $2 million for Middle East aid. We feature an opinion piece by Idit Klein about choosing audacious hope and a piece by Stephen Markowitz highlighting the needs of Jewish outreach professionals; plus, Rabbi Sarah Freidson shares her congregation’s creative approach to learning about teshuva: analyzing public apologies gone wrong (and the few that get it right). Also in this issue: Jeremy Musighi, Darin McKeever and Renée Wizig-Barrios.

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What We're Watching

The Atlantic Festival kicks off today in New York. Speakers include Annie Polland, the president of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who is mulling a 2028 presidential bid. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is holding a briefing today alongside NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about security around the U.N. General Assembly, which begins next week.

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will open its 111th season this evening with New York Sings Yiddish at Central Park's SummerStage. 

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD FROM eJP'S JAY DEITCHER

As business leaders, scientists, politicians and commentators debate the risks and benefits presented by artificial intelligence — and the need to restrain the emerging technology — Jewish funders and leaders cannot afford to keep out of the conversation, a group of Jewish thinkers and professionals argued yesterday at a Jewish Funders Network High Holidays Gathering.

The discussion, held yesterday on Zoom, comes after weeks of ominous warnings from within the industry, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and over 1,000 artificial intelligence scientists calling for self-imposed restraints. Many view the threat posed by the technology as existential.

One of the panelists, Sara Wolkenfeld, chief learning officer at Sefaria, called for Jewish funders to “make a difference” by supporting thought leadership on the issue. “We need a group, a class of communal leaders, a diverse group of communal leaders, who look different and sound different and come from different streams of Judaism,” Wolkenfeld said, “and [funders] need to be able to give them the space and the resources to work on these questions, to work on educational initiatives, to work on convening these conversations, and doing that for the benefit of the Jewish community.”

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ →

News

MAJOR GIFTS

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pledged $2 million for aid to the Middle East on Wednesday, matching a donation of the same amount by singer Ed Sheeran, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports. The commitment followed an uproar over Kraft’s decision to block one of Sheeran’s opening acts, Macklemore, from performing at his Boston-area venue, Gillette Stadium, over the rapper’s anti-Israel remarks at previous concerts and past antisemitic incidents.

The check’s memo: In his statement announcing the $2 million donation, Kraft struck back at his critics, stressing his long-standing commitment to supporting peace-building between Israelis and Palestinians. “I’d like the people who are speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades, I have supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships,” Kraft wrote.

Read the full report →

Opinion

HOPE FOR TOMORROW

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Idit Klein, vice president for public engagement at the New Israel Fund, reflects on her two grandmothers’ differing responses to the trauma of the Holocaust and how her understanding of that duality has evolved in a post-Oct. 7 world.

“Hope does not ask us to ignore the evidence; rather, it asks us to understand that evidence is not destiny. This distinction matters enormously today.”

Read the full piece →

DATA DIVE

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Stephen Markowitz, project manager of the Mayberg Foundation’s Maalot Collab (formerly known as the Jewish Outreach Professional Development pilot program), writes that Jewish outreach organizations, practitioners and the communities their work serves “all stand to gain from articulating more clearly what the work actually is, what it demands and what a career in it can look like at its best.”

“I spent months in deep-dive interviews with 17 practitioners and organizational leaders, each nominated by their organization as a best-case example. I framed those interviews around four dimensions of a vibrant career: confidence, competence, motivation and relevance. … Across these conversations, three traits consistently showed up in thriving, long-term careers.”

Read the full piece →

TACKLING TESHUVA

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Rabbi Sarah Freidson of Temple Beth Shalom in Mahopac, N.Y., writes about Bad Celebrity Apologies, her congregation’s annual adult learning program on Yom Kippur afternoon.

“This playful yet meaningful session explores what makes a genuine apology and how we seek forgiveness for our own missteps, all through the lens of the worst (and the rare best) celebrity apologies of the past year. It’s an energizing way to break up the long afternoon and invite laughter, learning and spiritual insight at a time when many feel low — and hangry.”

Read the full piece →

Worthy Reads

Clock of Contrition: In the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Hadar Institute’s Rabbi Matthew Anisfeld contends that genuine repair depends on the wronged person's readiness as a Yom Kippur's deadline can prompt an apology but can't do the work of reconciliation itself. “The test, then, isn’t when an apology arrives, or even how sincerely it’s meant. It’s who it’s actually for.” 

The Most Watched Nation: In ProfoundAF, investor Jeremy Musighi breaks down international media coverage, showing a clear fixation on Israel. “Why does a country the size of a mid-tier metropolis city command a fixed, permanent, disproportionate share of the entire world's attention, decade after decade, mostly in a negative register — while catastrophes 10 and 100 times larger pass in silence? … [The] spotlight is not a response to events. The spotlight is the operation — aimed at making Israel the thing you think about. The thing that infuriates you.”

Community Comms

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Major Gifts

The Arthur J. and Betty F. Diskin Cultural Endowment Fund is granting $375,000 over five years to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh to strengthen its School of Dance…

Indiana University received a $100 million gift — the largest from an individual in its history — from alumnus and Oxford Financial Group CEO Jeffrey H. Thomasson and his wife, Benita. The gift will rename the Kelley School of Business graduate division after him and fund undergraduate scholarships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy…

Transitions

Touro University has named William “Bill” Miller vice president for institutional advancement…

The IDF Widows & Orphans Organization hired Shir Rosenbaum-Yaakobi as its new chief financial officer…

Leba Faigen began a new role at UJA-Federation of New York as its regional director of Long Island…

William Davidson Foundation president and CEO Darin McKeever joined the board of directors of the Detroit Public Theatre…

Word on the Street

Israel's Second Authority for Television and Radio cleared the transfer of Channel 13 from billionaire Len Blavatnik to Wiz co-founders Assaf Rappaport and Yinon Costica via the Merit Spread Foundation, the first philanthropic entity to own an Israeli TV channel…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party petitioned Israel's Central Elections Committee to block Fly & Vote, an initiative by the AID Coalition, which helps Israeli expats return home to vote in the Oct. 27 election. The party alleges voter bribery and campaign finance violations, a claim the AID Coalition denies. Check out eJP’s coverage of the initiative here. 

Harvard's Middle East Initiative launched an Israel Program, led by senior research fellow Barak Sella, to advance research and engagement on Israel…

Reps. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) rallied outside Capitol Hill yesterday with more than two dozen faith leaders to push the Right to Worship Act, a bill that would establish buffer zones around houses of worship, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Israel's Clalit Health Services announced it was building a NIS 400 million ($131 million) automated logistics center in Beersheva, which it said would ensure medical supplies flowed to southern hospitals and clinics, after the war exposed the region's vulnerable supply routes…

Jewish students from SAR Academy and the Ramaz School, joined by IMPACT, the Israeli-American Council, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun and Romemu, will lead prayer services on Friday outside the Gracie Mansion residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in response to rising antisemitism in the city; the political activity has drawn pushback from some students, families, alumni and liberal groups…

In Ynet, Zomet Institute’s Rabbi Menachem Perl describes his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder after being tasked with identifying Oct. 7 victims, as he pushes for trauma treatment programs built around the religious lives of Haredi and observant soldiers…

In the Jewish Herald-Voice, Jewish Federation of Greater Houston president and CEO Renée Wizig-Barrios marks five years in the role and reflects on growing philanthropy 30% and expanding security for Houston’s Jewish institutions…

Jewish Federation Los Angeles is suing Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum to reclaim a Nazi-looted Cranach diptych, one of two restitution suits filed under a 2024 California law…

In The Conversation, obesity-medicine specialist Reed Berger-Fleishman writes that most people on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy can safely fast for Yom Kippur — but those with diabetes who also use insulin or sulfonylureas face the highest risk of a crash during the 25-hour fast…

The U.S. once again denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to the United Nations General Assembly, citing the PA's failure to reform…

Photo of the Day

EMBASSY OF INDIA

Sarit Golan-Steinberg, the deputy mayor of Haifa, and Indian Ambassador to Israel J.P. Singh attend a ceremony yesterday in the northern Israeli city commemorating the Battle of Haifa in World War I, on Sept. 23, 1918, when Indian troops from the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade took control of the city from Ottoman and German forces. 

“Haifa has not forgotten the courage and sacrifice of the Indian soldiers,” Golan-Steinberg said in her remarks. 

Birthdays

NOAM GALAI/GETTY IMAGES

Rita Rudner, comedian, writer and actor, she was a frequent guest of Johnny Carson on the “Tonight Show,” turns 73

Stan M. Herman, fashion designer, known worldwide for his leading-edge corporate uniforms, turns 98

Ronald Aronson, U.S. Navy veteran and retired pharmacist

Peter J. Solomon, investment banker who once served as a NYC deputy mayor, turns 88

Gail Carson Levine, Newbery Honor-winning author of many young adult books, some with Jewish themes, turns 79

Joshua Muravchik, author of 11 books and hundreds of articles on foreign policy and the Middle East, turns 79

T. Alan Hurwitz, former president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and then president of Gallaudet University, turns 79

Frank Hagelberg, Rochester, N.Y., attorney, he has held positions at the UJA-Federation of New York and the Rochester Jewish Federation

Jeremy Don Fogel, retired judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, turns 77

Harold Solomon, former professional tennis player who achieved a world ranking of No. 5 in 1980, turns 74

Daniel Fingeroth, author, comic book writer and editor, best known as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics, turns 73

Mody Kidon, Israeli businessman with real estate holdings in Israel and NYC, turns 72

Ellen Kahan Zager, author and graphic designer

Rina Frenkel, former member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, turns 70

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, rabbi emeritus of the New North London Synagogue and senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK, turns 69

Elliott S. Feigenbaum, former consultant at Quick Hits News

Richard Wolffe, journalist, best-selling author including two books on the Obama presidency and Emmy Award-winning executive producer, turns 58

Mandy Krauthamer Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the last 18 months of the Biden administration, turns 48

Adam Abrams, former regional communications director and spokesperson for former President Barack Obama, now a partner at Seven Letter

Nick Melvoin, member of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education, turns 41

David Litt, former Obama White House speechwriter who has since written a best-selling comedic memoir, turns 40

Adina Shatz, principal product manager for CathWorks

Rachel Roubein, national healthcare reporter The Washington Post covering the FDA

Natalie Edelstein Jarvis, editorial producer at Google

Max August, founder of the Israel Summit at Harvard, now a member of the partnerships staff at OpenAI

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