The Jewish world in the age of coronavirus – A special Israel Hayom project
Part VI: The effects of the pandemic on Jewish philanthropy
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the US-Israel philanthropic world, worsening an already-troubled reality shaped by generational shifts, sociological trends (including assimilation) and the decline in "solidarity" toward Israel. But what exactly has it hurt?
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Jane Weitzman, the former executive vice president of Stuart Weitzman and wife of famed shoe designer Stuart Weitzman has long supported the US Jewish community with her husband is now sits on the executive committee and boards of UJA of Greenwich and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. She says that donors have already started to focus on target-based fundraising long before the pandemic, to ensure that every dollars gets spent on what it has been assigned to, and notes that the overall decline in donations has been well documented for quite some time.
"It's not a new thing that raising funds for Israel is harder today. The coronavirus didn't change things. I have noticed that some donors have moved over the past several years, no longer being such staunch supporters of Israeli policy. The coronavirus crisis should be an opportune moment to remind philantropists that they should look at Jewish communities outside Israel, as they have been hit hard."
CEO of Birthright-Israel (Taglit) Gidi Mark, which brings young Jews on a free 10-day tour to Israel, says that Israelis have become increasingly aware over the past decade to their responsibility toward the greater good.
"There are many things that we as Israelis have to learn when it comes to the philantropic responsibility demonstrated by donors abroad, about how some of the wealth should go back to the community that helped you reach where you are," Mark says. "I am glad to have discovered that there is a rise in the contribution of Israelis to Taglit, and we are not experiencing any intention toward scaling this down on their part."
He adds that "for young Israeli expats, contributing to israel is a strategic investment in the country's long-term strength, and now that we have the coronavirus pandemic, we set up a virutal internship program that is the first of its kind globally, in which companies and investment houses help young apprentices. These businesses have understood that the donations that they have received is just as big as what they get back."
Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, the project's largest donors, have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Taglit-Birthright so far. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom. The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.
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