Not in Heaven: Legacy Jewish institutions are pivoting to meet the moment. But do we even still need them?

The North Star team is taking the day off and will return soon. Please enjoy this recent episode of another podcast from The CJN, Not in Heaven, all about the future of communal Judaism.

Over the last century, North American Jews have poured untold millions of dollars into an alphabet soup of legacy institutions: UJA, CIJA, ADL, JNF, et al. And yet, after 19 months of rising antisemitism—while Canadian and American Jewish communities feel like they’re free-falling through a crisis—many have been asking, “What have we been giving all this money for? Where are the results?”

To wit, two recent pieces published in the New York Post ask these exact questions. Rachel Sapoznik, an entrepreneur, wrote an opinion piece headlined “Why I’m ending my donations to US Jewish groups and seeking new leadership to protect US Jews,” in which she calls for American Jews to support (mostly Republican) pro-Israel politicians instead of the Anti-Defamation League. Kathryn Wolf, a journalist, wrote a similar piece in the same publication that juxtaposes major organizations’ glitzy galas and celebrity endorsements against a growing wave of grassroots Jewish activism.

In Canada, against the backdrop of louder upstart Jewish advocacy groups, the Centre for Israel Jewish Affairs parted ways with former CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel, a diplomatic leader who held the post for nearly 40 years, and replaced him with Noah Shack, who accepted the permanent position on June 27. “We have to be nimble,” Shack told The CJN. “We have to try new things and do whatever we can to win.” But to what extent should the Jewish community pivot away from these legacy organizations, who’ve spent years building goodwill with all levels of government and non-Jewish organizations? Is any support the Jewish community now finds not due to years of quiet, behind-the-scenes bridge-building?

Not in Heaven host Avi Finegold has long been critical of Jewish communal organizations—though he might also find himself disagreeing with the most vocal activists vying to replace them. In this week’s episode, we unpack the pros and cons of how far these institutions have taken us, and what comes next.

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