Good Friday morning. In today’s edition ofYour Daily Phil, we profile theLa’aretz Foundationand how it pivoted after Oct. 7, and feature an opinion piece byLivia Thompsonabout proactive inclusion for people with disabilities. Also in this newsletter:Eden Golan,Haim SabanandSharon S. Nazarian.We’ll start with theAssociation ofAmericans and Canadians in Israel’s memorial ceremony for North Americans killed in Israel over the past year. Shabbat shalom! Over the course of 103 years, from 1920 to last spring,360 North Americans fell in battle or were killed in terror attacks in what is now the S ..read more

Over the course of 103 years, from 1920 to last spring, 360 North Americans fell in battle or were killed in terror attacks in what is now the State of Israel. Their names were inscribed on a memorial wall in a pine forest just off the Route 1 highway leading into Jerusalem, beginning with Jacob Tucker and William Scharf who were killed in the famed Battle of Tel Hai in 1920. The names of 77 more North Americans were added to the wall this year, 75 of them killed following the Oct. 7 terror attacks. More names are expected to be added from Oct. 7 as the fates of those still deemed hostages i ..read more

If you’d have asked Shelly Harel Pitman on Oct. 6, 2023, she’d have told you that her fundraising days were on pause. The most important thing in her world was her 2-month-old baby. On Oct. 7, everything changed in an instant. Having already formed the nonprofit La’aretz Foundation one year earlier with her husband, Mike Pitman, the couple — both of them from Israel — quickly decided to fundraise for victims of the terrorist attack and subsequent war effort. “We didn’t know yet what we were raising for but we got a lot of support in those first days,” Harel Pitman, 30, recalled in a recent ..read more

During the recent Passover holiday, Jews around the world gathered at Seder tables and were called upon to welcome the stranger and the person in need. We were reminded of our responsibility to ensure that anyone interested in learning about the Passover story can do so. Our use of the Haggadah ties each of us to our history and tradition, one of the many sacred texts that bind us together; and Seder rituals highlight that in our diverse and interconnected world, religious communities play a critical role in fostering a sense of belonging and spiritual growth. But true inclusion is opening t ..read more

Good Thursday morning. In today’s edition ofYour Daily Phil, we report on a major restructuring of the Conservative movement’sUnited Synagogue Youth, and feature an opinion piece byMimi Kravetz,Sarah EisenmanandDavid Manchesterdiving into new JFNA data on Jewish engagement post-Oct. 7.Also in this newsletter:Misha Galperin,Ezra ShankenandGary Sernovitz.We’ll start withAmerican Jewish leaders’ responses to PresidentJoe Bidenthreatening to halt transfers of offensive weapons to Israel if it launches a major ground offensive in southern Gaza. President Joe Biden’s CNN interview yesterday threa ..read more

Jewish life in America is changing at a rapid pace. The horrific Oct. 7 attacks against Israel were just the start, with the subsequent war in Gaza, the increase in antisemitism in America and continued widespread campus protests stoking fear and anxiety in our community. But these same events have also fueled an explosion in Jewish belonging and communal participation that is nothing short of historic. Jews are feeling more invested in their identity and community and looking for ways to connect, creating an opportunity for a sector-wide focus on driving engagement and membership. For Jewi ..read more

United Synagogue Youth, the Conservative movement’s youth group, is undergoing a dramatic restructuring, cutting out its regional framework and leaving only its individual chapters and overarching North American umbrella. The removal of this middle tier of the youth movement is meant as a cost-cutting measure, the group told stakeholders in an email on Wednesday. This is the latest contraction of the Conservative movement’s youth programs in recent years amid shrinking membership and budgets. USY in particular has been shrinking for several years, with chapters and regions merging. Late last ..read more

Good Wednesday morning. In today’s edition ofYour Daily Phil, we report on the activities of the Jewish Agency for Israel’sFund for Victims of Terrorand on PresidentJoe Biden’s Holocaust Remembrance Day speech yesterday.We feature an opinion piece byCantor Rosalie Willabout the importance of song at Jewish summer camps. Also in this newsletter:Eden Golan,Harris RosenandSam Salz.We’ll start withBirthright Israel’s preparations for its summer season. Zoe Wolf isn’t scared that her first tripto Israel will be during a war. After all, she’s just made it through her first year on a college campu ..read more

Zoe Wolf isn’t scared that her first trip to Israel will be during a war. After all, she’s just made it through her first year on a college campus. “Without question, I will feel safer in Israel right now as opposed to on any college campus in America,” said Wolf, who just wrapped up her freshman year at Florida State University and is slated to participate in Birthright Israel’s 10-day trip to the Jewish state this summer. She pointed to the unprecedented levels of antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric on college campuses since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks — including, at some schools, physi ..read more

Thanks to Rob and Elisa Bildner’s critical work with the Foundation for Jewish Camp, we know that participation in Jewish camp is one of the most significant predictors of Jewish engagement as an adult. We also know this: Singing together makes the summer. “Song is everywhere and the role of song at camp cannot be overstated,” observe Amy L. Sales and Leonard Saxe in their seminal book on the enduring impact of Jewish summer camp, How Goodly Are Thy Tents: “Song is used to bring order to chaos in the dining hall, to build community, to create spiritual moments. The songleaders are the hero ..read more