Before a live audience including a delegation from UJA-Federation of New York, the largest local philanthropy in the history of the world, Noah Efron, Allison Kaplan Sommer, and Don Futterman discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.
Israel’s Urban Poorgeoisie
Amia Lieblich, professor emerita at the Hebrew University, has turned her gaze and attention to a group she calls “The New Poor.” “The new poverty,” she writes: “is poverty that is unexpected, given the place that those who suffer from it started. The new poor are people who stood on their own two feet, or who were supposed to stand on their own two feet economically, but for some reason the ground withdrew from beneath them.” Who are these folks? Do they represent a social problem and challenge that needs to be addressed on its own terms?
The Promised Podcast Guide to Purse-String Power
American Jews continue to be astonishingly generous in their contributions to Israel, but some voices are calling for them to use their cash as leverage to strong-arm some changes in Israeli attitudes. What ought donors want to change in Israeli society? What is the best way to help bring about this change? Is it a good idea to use philanthropy as a cudgel?
Still and All, Israel
Around Rosh ha-Shannah, Rogel Alpher published a column in Haaretz called “Why I am Leaving the Country” in which he explained that “Israel is not worth the price it extracts from us, that is the truth.” A few years ago, a Facebook page called “Olim Le-Berlin” — we are moving (or “ascending”) to Berlin — gained thousands of followers. The hosts of the podcast have their criticisms of Israel, and their worries about the future of the country and, therefore, their own futures. Yet they are here. How do we harmonize between our criticisms of Israel, and our worries, and the fact that we made this place our home by choice and, effectively, we each day make this choice anew?
Music: Vocatikva Ensemble – Social Music!
Eliad Nahum Mashup
Kulam Rokdim Achshav
Idan Reichel Mashup
Hahkam ba-Shemesh
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Photo: A young Israeli man walks down the stairs to his apartment in Tel Aviv. Photo by Danielle Shitrit/FLASH90
