In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine Israel's preelection disqualification efforts against Arab parties. We report on a new eruv in North Brooklyn and on investor Leon Black’s alleged struggles to give away his foundation’s money because of his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We feature an opinion piece by Randy Speigel that spotlights several advantages of donor-advised funds as sources of charitable capital and a piece by Sara Fredman Aeder responding to yesterday’s news story in eJP about Sunkist Fruit Gems with precedents for saving them yet. Also in this issue: Elizabeth Stein, Lenny Silberman and Michael Moritz.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach!

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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: Expanding community relations work, UJA-Fed. N.Y. promotes Hindy Poupko to executive vice president; Sunkist Fruit Gems, a colorful staple of synagogue celebrations, discontinued; and Two Seattle Jewish leaders warn of Jewish complacency in face of rising antisemitism. Print the latest edition here.

What We're Watching

Tonight marks the start of Sukkot.

This evening, the 2026 Detroit Jewish Expat Reception, honoring journalist Rebecca Blumenstein, will be held at the Chabad of Greater Downtown Detroit.

The North American premiere of the controversial Israeli documentary “NAZA,” which accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza, takes place on Saturday at Lincoln Center in New York, as part of the New York Film Festival. The Israeli-American Council and other Jewish groups are planning to protest outside the screening.

What You Should Know

A piece of political theater — mostly but probably not entirely pointless — played out in Israel this week, as it does ahead of every national election: the disqualification of political parties. In this case, the parties in question were the four Arab ones, Hadash, Ta’al, Balad and Ra’am, as well as specific candidates. 

With one notable exception, these disqualifications are a meaningless rhetorical gesture as they will almost all be overturned by the Supreme Court — as they nearly always are. 

But according to Tani Frank, the director of the Judaism and State Policy Center at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, these disqualifications and the process through which they happen are also part of a larger struggle within Israel about the balance of power between the judiciary and elected officials. Though he recognized the complexity of the issue, Frank argued that a Supreme Court disqualification of Abu Shehadeh could — perhaps counterintuitively — strengthen Israeli democracy, even if it makes liberal and progressive supporters of Israel uncomfortable. 

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ →

News

SETTING BOUNDARIES

Many congregants at Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Shul were confused when their rabbi, Isaiah Rothstein, arrived at Purim services earlier this year dressed as an eruv checker with his wife beside him, dressed as an eruv, the ritual string boundary around a geographic area that allows observant Jews within it to carry belongings outside their homes on Shabbat, eJewishPhilathropy’s Jay Deitcher reports. The costumes sparked a conversation about creating an eruv for the growing community; the following month, a campaign was launched, and last week the eruv was completed, allowing congregants to carry siddurim and tallit bags and push strollers to Shabbat services — in compliance with halacha — for the first time.

All are welcome: “What’s so cool about the Greenpoint Shul is that it is an Orthodox institution with a community of people who come from all backgrounds and denominations, and we really strive to make sure everyone feels included and welcome and a part of things,” Rothstein told eJP. “This is a big gesture of inclusivity for those who are observant in this way, and it’ll make it easier for people to come to services.”

Read the full report →

FADE TO BLACK

Leon Black, the Apollo Global Management co-founder who fell from grace amid revelations about his long-standing, close relationship with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, cannot find organizations to accept money from his sizable family foundation, William D. Cohan, the author of a new book about Black, said earlier this month in an onstage interview at the 92NY, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross. “He's got a billion dollars in his foundation that he's having trouble giving it away because people don't want it,” Cohan said, citing conversations that he had with Black for the book, Money to Burn.

Epstein effect: The issue of the Epstein case and the close ties that many prominent Jewish figures had to him — most notably Les Wexner, but also Thomas Pritzker and others — has riled the Jewish community since details began emerging more than a decade ago. 

Read the full report →

Opinion

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Randy Speigel, CEO of Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University, encourages more Canadian organizations to familiarize themselves with how donor-advised funds, an increasingly popular vehicle for giving, work.

“Donor-advised funds offer smaller charities an opportunity to compete more effectively. Unlike many institutional grant programs, DAF grants are typically initiated by individual donors. Existing supporters who hold donor-advised funds can recommend grants with relatively little administrative burden. In most cases, charities do not need to complete lengthy applications or participate in competitive grant processes. Rather, success depends on donor stewardship and relationship building.”

Read the full piece →

READER RESPONDS

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Sara Fredman Aeder, executive vice president of programming at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, responds to eJP’s report yesterday on Sunkist Fruit Gems being discontinued with examples of food items that were saved by public campaigns to keep them kosher or keep them in production, arguing that a similar effort could save the simcha staple.

“Call Ferrara and email them. Rabbis, write the letters, as your predecessors did for Stella D'oro. If your synagogue office or volunteer group orders candy by the pound, tell Ferrara why the order stopped. Post your best candy-throwing photos and tag the company. And until Fruit Gems come back, save what you have left and aim for the bar or bat mitzvah kid’s shins, not their head.”

Read the full piece →

Worthy Reads

Sweet Sorrow: In J. Jewish News of Northern California, following eJewishPhilanthropy’s story on Sunkist Fruit Gems being discontinued, David Wilensky speaks with rabbis and communal leaders about what — if anything — can replace them. “Local rabbis I spoke with are genuinely distraught — and some are springing into action, buying up remaining stock in bulk orders. … But what happens when that stockpile runs out? Are there other candies that fit the bill?”

Gifts That Endure: In Time magazine, Indian businesswoman and Reliance Foundation Chair Nita M. Ambani argues that philanthropy's highest purpose is to build lasting institutions — schools, hospitals, universities and cultural centers — but rather than to deliver one-off acts of charity, and that its true measure is the futures it makes possible. “Building institutions demands patience. Institutions are gifts to those who inherit them; in time, they might create things their founders never imagined.”

Strength in Numbers: In a new Milken Institute report based on interviews with 36 funders, Giselle Leung, John Schellhase and Shiva Inalsingh urge large private foundations and corporate philanthropies to join forces, arguing that pairing one side's patience and expertise with the other's speed and business savvy can stretch philanthropic dollars further. “If it is worth doing alone, we should strive to do it together.”

Leading Roles

SPONSORED | On Fridays, we share sponsored job listings from across the Jewish nonprofit world. Email us to post a position.

Major Gifts

Jewish Life at Duke raised $2.5 million from six donor families to endow its full-time campus rabbi post, anchored by an anonymous alumni couple's $1.25 million gift that sparked a broader $5 million endowment drive…

The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation is donating a circa-1936 Adolph Gottlieb oil painting of a Gloucester, Mass., pier to the Cape Ann Museum…

The LeFrak and Simon families' Newport Associates awarded $2 million to 40 Jersey City nonprofits…

The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati will give up to $25,000 in matching funds to the Horizon Community Foundation's Home for All Fund, which works to ease northern Kentucky's housing shortage.

Transitions

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame appointed Lenny Silberman as its CEO…

The UCLA’s Nazarian Center for Israel Studies named Elizabeth Stein as its deputy director…

Rachel Spinner joined the Orthodox Union as the regional director of its Teach Coalition initiative…

Adam Maslia was promoted at the Jewish Federation of San Diego to the role of senior director of secure and resilient communities…

Oren Marmorstein left his role as Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesperson to head the ministry's European bureau. Michal Maayan was named as his replacement…

Word on the Street

A federal court ruled that a Jewish charter school in Oklahoma can operate amid an ongoing legal battle with the state’s charter school board that had rejected the institution’s application earlier this year. Read eJP’s coverage about the charter school here…

Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, investor Josh Wolfe and warfare expert John Spencer were spotted at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech yesterday to the U.N. General Assembly… 

The Canadian Broadcasting Company benched veteran producer Neil Herland after he filmed and shared a video of protesters heckling Yom Kippur worshippers at his synagogue in Toronto…

A Department of Education advisory panel voted 7-4 to recommend suspending the American Psychological Association's accreditation authority over alleged antisemitism in the programs it oversees, Marc Rod reports in eJewishPhilanthropy's sister publication Jewish Insider…

Jewish advocacy groups are cheering new Department of Health and Human Services guidance on antisemitism in medicine, though attorneys at an American Jewish Medical Association webinar said its effectiveness hinges on whether patients report bias and regulators follow through, Matthew Shea reports in eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider…

Former Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim celebrated at the wedding of Ben Ami’s daughter on Thursday night; also in attendance were former hostages Bar Kupershtein and Segev Kalfon, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal…

Alex Soros attended a breakfast hosted by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion on Wednesday titled “Building an Economy for the Many” that featured an address from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez… 

Speaking to the “Invest Like The Best” podcast, Sequoia Capital Chairman Michael Moritz reflected on his family’s journey fleeing Nazi Germany saying, “That's the lesson that I took away from my family history…  that you can never have enough passports.”

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is in advanced talks to sell a 20% stake in Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix to private equity firm Otro Capital…

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the University of Texas lawfully suspended former student Ammer Qaddumi for his role in leading an April 2024 pro-Palestinian campus protest, rejecting his First Amendment challenge…

The University of California, Berkeley will honor its long-delayed agreement to rehire an Israeli dance professor whom it declined to reappoint over her nationality…

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is facing criticism for not holding one-on-one meetings with major Jewish organizations over the past year despite a wave of antisemitic attacks in the city…

Maryland's congressional delegation announced $8.6 million in federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding to bolster security at 49 religious institutions and community centers across the state, including numerous Jewish organizations…

Photo of the Day

AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90

Several men shop yesterday for the “Four Species”  — lulav, etrog, hadas and arava — that are ceremonially used during the weeklong Sukkot festival, at a pop-up market in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. The annual market was forced to close for the past two years due to attacks by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. 

Birthdays

COURTESY/JFNA

Gary Torgow, chairman of Huntington National Bank, he is also the chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, turns 70 on Saturday

FRIDAY

Vivien Stern, former member of the U.K.'s House of Lords, turns 85

Yehuda Lancry, former member of Knesset, he also served as Israel's ambassador to France and then the United Nations, turns 79

Dvora Millstone, Lakewood Ranch, Fla., resident, turns 78

Yardena Arazi, Israeli television anchor and popular singer, turns 75

Ruth Calderon, founder of ALMA, which seeks to acquaint secular Israelis with Hebrew culture, she served as a member of Knesset for Yesh Atid from 2013 to 2015, turns 65

Boaz Levy, chairman and former CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, turns 65

Marc Benioff, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, he acquired Time magazine in 2018, turns 62

Marissa Levin, best-selling author and serial entrepreneur

David Friedman, director and co-creator of the award-winning HBO series “Game of Thrones,” known professionally as David Benioff (Benioff is his mother's maiden name), turns 56

Rabbi Pinchas Eliezer "Pini" Dunner, son and grandson of leading British rabbis, he is the senior rabbi at the Beverly Hills Synagogue, turns 56

Inbal Gavrieli, former member of the Knesset for Likud, she has appeared on multiple Israeli reality television shows, turns 51

Tamara Keith, White House correspondent for NPR, turns 47

Jesse Gabriel, member of the California State Assembly where he serves as chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, turns 45

Carmiel Arbit, nonresident senior fellow for Middle East programs and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council

Lila Shapiro, features writer at New York magazine and its culture magazine Vulture

Zach Woods, actor and comedian, best known for his role as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom “The Office,” turns 42

Mitch Malasky, former videographer for the State Department

Daniel Yadron, assistant appellate federal defender at Federal Defenders of San Diego

Jacob Greer Cohen, former center and power forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague, turns 36

Yanky Rodman, asset manager for Capital Realty Group

Destiny Albritton, creative director at BZ Media

Adam Basciano, strategic director at Laurel Strategies

Saturday & Sunday birthdays will be posted on the web version — have a great weekend. See this weekend's birthdays →

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