Noteworthy

The First Tisha B’Av Since October 7, by Benny Lau (SAPIR)

“The pain of this Tisha B’Av comes not only from the horrific events of October 7, but from the burden of our former Covenant of...

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Jewish Masterpiece: Judaea Capta et Israel Liberata, by Philip Getz (SAPIR)

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, it can tell just as many lies. (Or many more in the age of AI.) This is...

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‘Independence Day’ Revisited: A Jewish Reflection on Modern Challenges, by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)

“I hadn’t thought about the film until recently as July Fourth approached this summer. For the first time, the film seems very Jewish to me....

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The End of History and the Donning of the Kittel, by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)

“The Israelites of the Exodus were embarking on a new chapter — writing, for the first time, the next page in their history. They were...

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The Golden Age of American Jews is Ending, by Franklin Foer (The Atlantic)

“Though right- and left-wing anti-Semitism may have emerged in different ways, for different reasons, both are essentially attacks on an ideal that once dominated American...

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The Jewish Mainstream, by Adina Poupko (SAPIR)

“While we are at such a momentous and perilous time in Jewish history, we need to direct much more of our communal attention — expressed in organizational...

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Podcast: The Nightingale of Iran

“It was a golden age for Jews in Iran. In the 1950s, a religious Jew – Younes Dardashti – became a national celebrity, singing at...

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How Can I Help to Destroy Hamas Today? by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)

“If you are an ally of Israel there are really only two questions that ought to animate you right now. The first is, ‘How can...

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The Role and Relevance of Museums Today: From the Universal to the Particular, by James S. Snyder (SAPIR)

“Museums can be universal and all-embracing or, like Jewish museums, particular in their focus. Each has the potential to place the material heritage of individual...

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Censorship is Not a Jewish Value, by James Kirchik (SAPIR)

“Resisting the temptation to respond to words and ideas we hate with hatred of our own, whether in the form of a raised fist or...

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“I returned from the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington, D.C., and as a result, I’ve had to cancel two weeks of meetings, am carb loading, working in my pajamas and missing fresh air desperately. Was it worth it?

It was life changing.”

Related Grantee: Film and Media Collaborative - Gesher Multicultural Film Fund

“As COVID-19 drastically affects the world, our country and our community, we know that many of our grantee partners and other organizations face unprecedented challenges and concerns. We want you to know that we, your philanthropic partners, are in this together with you.”

“Whether you are guiding staff about travel or remote work arrangements, wondering what other groups are doing in response to Covid-19, fielding donors’ questions about your nonprofit’s response or the impact on planned events, or worrying that the virus will dampen your fundraising, it’s a lot to handle.

To help you cope, here are a few online resources we’ve collected…”

“I’m not sure that everyday, individual givers—who account for 68% of giving to American nonprofits, and who interact with and benefit from institutions that are the bedrock of our communities and that enrich all of our lives—understand that we’re currently at risk for losing much of what we hold near and dear in our communal lives…”

“…an innovative, interactive, voice-led, online experience, enabling people to converse directly and enjoy virtual time with [Rabbi Sacks], one-on-one.”

Related Grantee: Office of Rabbi Sacks

“Somehow, in 1995, these young, devout, idealistic Jewish superheroes – deeply pious, theologically rigorous, yet outward-looking, too – zeroed in on one of the greatest clashes between those within the rabbinic mind-set and those beyond it: the wedding.”

Related Grantee: Tzohar

Related Grantee: Maimonides Scholars

“As in the United States, where a coalition of donors quickly pulled together an $80 million emergency fund as the pandemic gained ground this spring, the JDC has led an emergency program to provide relief to 1,600 Jewish families in 16 countries, including 11 in Europe.”

Related Grantee: Pandemic Humanitarian Relief Program

“In the wake of COVID-19 closures, seven Jewish foundations formed the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF), a $91 million interest-free loan and grant program, to help sustain Jewish institutions during the pandemic. . . . ‘This loan has helped us continue to support the mental, physical, social, and spiritual health and well-being of our community.'”

Related Grantee: Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF)

“[T]he team included. . .a 17-year-old high-school student named Yahel Manor, who is responsible for some of the team’s most interesting discoveries. . . . She reached Kaminer’s lab through Alpha, a program for high-school students with outstanding aptitudes for science and math.”

Related Grantee: Future Scientists Center

“As the JCRIF Aligned Grant partners launch a second round of grantmaking, we want to share some of the key takeaways from the first round of the JCRIF Aligned Grants that might be useful to others, and that will also inform the next stage of our work.

. . .From the outset, JCRIF’s grant funders described their goal as not simply preserving institutions . . . but rather thinking broadly about preserving the functions that Jewish communities need to thrive.”

Related Grantee: JEWISH COMMUNITY RESPONSE AND IMPACT FUND (JCRIF)

“The Jewish Journalism Fellowship is a new, year-long program designed to help local Jewish news outlets thrive in the twenty-first century media landscape. A project of Maimonides Fund, the Fellowship will support a cohort of local Jewish news organizations in strengthening their capabilities in the areas of audience development, organizational sustainability, and Jewish community engagement.”

Related Grantee: Jewish Journalism Fellowship