Hello, I must be going
I never questioned the meaning of the phrase "Jewish community" before, but after five days of the Gralla journalism program at Brandeis University, I realize how ambiguous the phrase is. No comments yet. You can be the first!
Today, with so many ways to define one's life as a Jew, it's unclear whether "Jewish community" means all of klal Yisrael or just its organizational structure. It's a question that underlies what Jews in America will do with their organizational infrastructure in response to the economic downturn.
Jacob Berkman, who blogs as The Fundermentalist on JTA's site, lays out the grim statistics and lots of old-line organizations have taken big hits, including the United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization for the North American federation system. Addressing an audience at the closing public panel of the Gralla week, he said that he thought that the Bernard Madoff scandal was just a small insult added to the main injury except in the cases of foundations that were completely wiped out by investing in the financier's Ponzi scheme.
For the most part, said Berkman, who covers the nonprofits and foundations that fund Jewish needs in America, the recession has brought most of the problem as endowment portfolios have declined in value by about 25 to 30 percent and family foundation funders as big as the Grinspoons have decided they have to be more strategic with their giving.
Some old organizations may be on their last legs, but that's OK because others like the Natan Foundation, a cooperative of philanthropists under age 45 who pool their money to fund innovative projects they believe in, are succeeding even in this down economy.
That testifies to the resiliency of the "Jewish community" in all its possible meanings, and it's a good note for me to leave on. As a result of this fellowship, I'm heading back to Phoenix with a surfeit of big ideas to digest and develop. I'm hoping they'll help improve Jewish News of Greater Phoenix and jewishaz.com, and maybe even help energize our Valley community.
17 Jul, 2009 >