In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we speak with a French Jewish communal leader about the community’s concerns as riots rage across the country, and interview Mark Wilf as he prepares to end his tenure as board chair of the Jewish Agency next week. We feature an opinion piece by Andrés Spokoiny, checking in with an update one year after a Jewish Funders Network’s study found serious issues in the field of combating antisemitism, and a piece by Dana Ginzburg shares lessons from five years of supporting Israeli students as leaders on U.S. campuses through the Israel Policy Fellowship. Also in this issue: Ofir Dayan, Ronald Lauder and Jackie Tohn.

Shabbat shalom!

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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: JFNA announces $35 million, 100-person initiative to combat antisemitism; John Paulson makes record $250M gift to Hebrew University in show of ‘solidarity with Israel’; and High Line Publishing launches with fanfare to counter barriers for Jewish authors. Print the latest edition here.

What We're Watching

The Jewish Agency for Israel's Board of Governors meeting begins on Sunday evening in Tel Aviv. 

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 induction will bring fans together this Sunday virtually to honor the legacy of Jewish sports legends.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD FROM eJP'S JAY DEITCHER 

After weeks of student rallies and protests against high costs of living and crumbling schools in France, demonstrations in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities turned violent. Dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, rioters burned and vandalized state buildings and monuments along with institutions seen as overly capitalist, including banks and McDonald's — along with small businesses and private homes along the way. 

Despite some claims to the contrary, the riots were not antisemitic in nature, with French Jewish groups stressing that even though some Jewish-owned businesses and institutions were damaged, they did not appear to have been targeted because they were Jewish. However, leaders in the already anxious French community warn that this mob violence could swiftly be turned against the Jewish community, and local institutions are having to prepare accordingly, Dvorah Serrao, CEO of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a 165-year-old French organization that operates an international network of Jewish schools, told eJewishPhilanthropy this week.

“I don't see why this could not turn up against the Jews because that's what has happened in the last three years — at minimum — if not 10 years. Every time there was something negative — and that was pushed by the extreme left — it would always come back against the Jews,” Serrao said. “So we are definitely taking measures to be more protected, and nobody has any idea how this is going to turn out.”

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ →

News

EXIT INTERVIEW

When Mark Wilf was elected chairman of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors, the Jewish world was in the midst of a crisis. Russia had just invaded Ukraine, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe, sparking a massive wave of aliyah. The Jewish world was also still emerging from a crisis — the COVID-19 pandemic — which had threatened the survival of Jewish schools, synagogues and other institutions.

At the Board of Governors meeting in Tel Aviv next week, Wilf will end his tenure, as representatives from around the world select his successor. Wilf sat down with eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross this week as he wraps up his time at the helm of the Jewish Agency, discussing the values of strong Jewish communal infrastructure, the organization’s response to the Oct. 7 terror attacks and his hope for the Jewish future. 

JAG: You are what I think of as an “institutional giver,” with ties to Jewish Federations of North America, Yad Vashem — the large, storied institutions. What is the motivation behind that? Why the focus on that kind of communal infrastructure?

MW: I think when you have the kind of large-scale issues that Israel is facing — there are dozens, hundreds of nonprofits that do incredible work — you need the large infrastructure, the relationships, the partnerships to respond quickly and effectively during a crisis. You have to be ready to go. … And we’re uniquely situated to do that because we have the relationships, we have the trust and we have the track record.

Read the full interview →

Opinion

A VIEW FROM THE FIELD

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Andrés Spokoiny, president and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network, highlights progress in the field of combatting antisemitism since last year’s JFN study analyzing the increasingly crowded arena of funders and nonprofits. He also identifies where the field continues to struggle.

“For starters, we still lack a sufficiently transparent, comprehensive picture of how much money is spent, by whom and on what. We still have far too much duplication. We also still lack an adequate culture of evaluation. While funders have developed a sense of urgency around antisemitism, they don’t show the same urgency in optimizing the field. Or, to put it better: Many recognize the field’s structural problems, but few are willing to let go of their favorite initiatives to solve them.”

Read the full piece →

CAMPUS SCENE

In an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy, Dana Ginzburg, executive director of the Israeli Policy Fellowship, shares what IPF fellows learn from their experiences on American campuses and how they challenge preconceived notions about Israelis and the conflict.   

“While on campus, IPF fellows establish and lead student clubs, initiate events and programs and build relationships with classmates and faculty. They don’t do hasbara — they bring diverse Israeli voices and life experiences, in all their complexity, into the conversation.”

Read the full piece →

Worthy Reads

One Stop Shop: In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, contributor Dominic Ramas-Ruiz urges funders to back AI tools that gather volunteer, board and other civic opportunities on a single platform, noting that more than a third of Americans wanted to volunteer last year but didn’t know where to start. “For funders, this shared infrastructure could make the value of participation easier to see and quantify. For individuals, it could mean less friction and clearer entry points that could encourage a lifetime of civic involvement. And for nonprofits, it could create broader, more durable pipelines of support, making them more resilient over time.” 

Beyond Bibi: In The Times of Israel, Institute for National Security Studies researcher Ofir Dayan warns that replacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming election won’t on its own repair Israel’s global standing and urges the next government to curb settler violence and mend ties with Diaspora Jews. “Above all, Israel must treat diaspora Jews as family. They are not lobbying firms or ATMs, and their concerns should not be dismissed as attempts to weaken us. Rebuilding that relationship requires time and resources, including a willingness to listen when the conversation is uncomfortable.” 

Mizrahi Math: In The Wall Street Journal, Mijal Bitton does a deep dive into the voting behavior of Israel’s Mizrahi citizens, many of whom will choose next week between the Likud party that has been their traditional political home and the Yashar party of Gadi Eisenkot, a son of Moroccan immigrants. “Most Mizrahim don’t see themselves as oppressed. What they object to is condescension: many feel that the right treats their traditions with respect, while the left treats them as a problem to be modernized. The question is whether Eisenkot can break that pattern.” 

Leading Roles

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Major Gifts

The Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Foundation gave $25 million to the Terry Fox Foundation, an organization fighting to eradicate cancer…

Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada David L. Cohen and his wife, Rhonda, are donating $10.5 million to the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, the couple’s largest gift to a Philadelphia institution…

The National Fund for Sacred Places awarded more than $9 million to 30 historic congregations, chosen from 466 applicants, with grants of as much as $500,000 each to preserve their buildings…

Transitions

Maryam Henson is starting a new role at Pew Charitable Trusts as its vice president of philanthropy strategy and initiatives…

Rachel Snow-Miller is joining the U.K. nonprofit Jewish Health Equity Partnership as its national executive director…

CNN’s Bianna Golodryga announced she will leave the network after nine years; Variety reports that the longtime anchor and author of Don’t Feed the Lion is in talks with both CBS News and Politico…

Word on the Street

In a candid interview with Haaretz, World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder, once a close friend of Netanyahu, says the prime minister declined to sign a late-1990s peace deal with Syria that Lauder negotiated and warns that Israel stands to lose badly if Netanyahu wins next week’s election; read eJP’s recent interview with Lauder here…

At a state memorial for assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, President Isaac Herzog ruled out ever pardoning his murderer, Yigal Amir, and urged all sides to reject political violence ahead of next week’s election…

The Ford Foundation, which has assets of approximately $18 billion, is redirecting its giving toward strengthening democracy and expects to distribute $700 million in grants in 2027 as it moves to larger, multiyear awards while phasing out some programs…

Speaking at Sheba Medical Center’s ARC Summit, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said he remains bullish on Israel and expects an Israeli company to reach a $1 trillion market value within 10 years…

The San Francisco Standard examines how Anthropic’s pledge of 5% of its stock to a public benefit fund and Elon Musk’s plan to give each American child a SpaceX share mark a break from earlier tech philanthropy, with looser accountability, larger sums and closer political ties…

The New York Times interviews “Nobody Wants This” actor Jackie Tohn about the evolution of her character, Esther, and what she says is the show’s ability to represent “Jewish joy”...

A 26-year-old Orthodox Chabad rabbinical student was stabbed in the back Wednesday evening in a possible hate crime in Manhattan’s Diamond District and taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Less than a day later, the Chabadnik returned to the same blocks to help Jewish merchants put on tefillin, telling Chabad[dot]org, “We’ll never back down”...

Sol Werdiger, the chairman of Agudath Israel of America, endorsed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for reelection, citing her decision earlier this month to opt the state into a new federal scholarship tax credit program for which Agudath Israel had advocated…

Venice’s Jewish Museum reopened yesterday after a seven-year, $6 million renovation that adds a reconstructed 16th-century apartment…

Israeli writers Ron Leshem, executive producer of HBO’s “Euphoria,” and Amit Cohen have reportedly been hired to write “Zodiac,” a Marvel spy series for Disney+ due in 2028…

Bill Ackman and former Google chairman Eric Schmidt are investing in Two Delta, a secretive Israeli AI startup…

Photo of the Day

COURTESY/AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE

 American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch (second from right) and President Bobby Lapin (right), along with Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC’s director of interreligious affairs, and Joyce Silberstang, AJC chair of interreligious affairs, present Pope Leo XIV with an artwork celebrating Catholic-Jewish ties yesterday during a meeting in the Vatican. At the meeting, the pope pledged to fight antisemitism and reaffirmed Nostra Aetate, the 1965 Church declaration that rejected blaming Jews for the death of Jesus. 

“[The meeting was] very powerful because of what the Pope said to us about his commitment, the Church’s commitment to fighting antisemitism and ongoing commitment to engage in the dialogue that we participate in throughout the year,” Deutch told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod.

Birthdays

COURTESY/JEWISH CONFEDERATION OF UKRAINE

Boris Lozhkin, president of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and vice president of the World Jewish Congress, turns 55 today

FRIDAY

Herbert Simon, chairman emeritus of the shopping mall developer Simon Property Group and the principal owner of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, turns 92

Gerald Sorin, distinguished university professor of American and Jewish studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz, turns 86

Nahum Barnea, Israeli journalist who has written for Davar and Yedioth Ahronoth, he won the Israel Prize in 2007, turns 82

Kenneth Feinberg, attorney best known for his role as special master for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and for similar roles in a number of mass torts, turns 81

Alfredo Arrigo Sadun, neuro-ophthalmologist, academic, author and researcher, he is vice-chair of ophthalmology at UCLA, turns 76

Moshe "Mori" Arkin, Israeli businessman, he is the founder and chairman of Arkin Holdings, a pharmaceutical company, turns 74

Ira Steven Behr, screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on “Star Trek,” turns 73

Sam Raimi, filmmaker, actor and producer famous for creating the cult horror “Evil Dead” series, as well as directing the original “Spider-Man” trilogy, turns 67

Kenneth D. Tuchman, founder and CEO of global outsourcing company TeleTech (now TTEC), turns 67

Simon Rosenberg, founder of the now-shuttered New Democrat Network, turns 63

Gordon Korman, author of 100 children's and young adult fiction books, turns 63

Kenneth Kurson, former editor-in-chief of The New York Observer, turns 58

Adriana Debora Kugler, former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, she is a tenured professor of public policy at Georgetown, turns 57

Trevor Engelson, film producer and literary manager, best known for his three-year marriage to Meghan Markle starting in 2011, turns 50

Shaina Wasserman, interim COO at Temple Shalom of Newton

Ari Rennert, CEO of Renco Group, a family-owned private holding company founded by his father, Ira Rennert, turns 48

Allison Preiss, communications consultant

Benjamin Haddad, minister delegate for European affairs in the French government, turns 41

Amy Kurzweil, cartoonist for The New Yorker, turns 40

Ayelet Kahane, director of development at Mabua Israeli Beit Midrash

Annika Lichtenbaum, senior associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Rachel Shabad, former speechwriter and special assistant at the U.S. Department of Labor, now a sales manager with the Empire Portfolio Group

Allison Rachesky, vice president of content marketing and partnerships at SiriusXM

Richard Rubenstein

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

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