The Latest From The Foundation

Photo: WGF Class 25 celebrates their graduation after four years in the Wexner Graduate Fellowship (not pictured: Dalit Horn and Raysh Weiss). The following remarks – originally started with a joke – are excerpted from a talk Jeremy gave during last week’s WGF Winter Institute in Fort Myers, Florida. According to the Pew Study, 42% of North American Jews think that having a sense of humor is an essential part of

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Foundation Partner Alisa Doctoroff on being named to the 2015 Forward 50. Vicky Glikin, WGF Alum (Class 22), on her appointment as Senior Cantor of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, TX.  Jennifer Gorovitz, WHP Alum (San Francisco 06), on joining the New Israel Fund as Vice President for Operations and Administration. Jamie Hackel Hyams, WHP Alum (San Francisco Pro), on joining the Hebrew Free Loan of San Francisco as

This first-hand account of the terror in Paris was written by Aaron D. Panken, WGF Class 8, and first appeared on JTA’s website on Monday, November 16, 2015.  PARIS (JTA) — My son and I met in Paris on Friday morning, walked the charming streets of the City of Light, visited the Picasso and Pompidou museums, then went to synagogue at the MJLF (Mouvement Juif Libéral de France), one of

Pictured from right to left: Marcia Cohodes, WHP Alum (Minneapolis), Stephen Hazan Arnoff, WGF Alum (Class 13) and Ofer Chen, current WIF (Class 27), meet each other at The Wexner Foundation Reception.   Ofer Chen, current WIF (Class 27): My favorite thing about the GA was the feeling of a special connection bonding all participants from so many places and opinions into one community, and allowing each of us to approach others and

Celebrating Mordy’s JPRO Young Professionals Award at the Wexner Reception at the GA. Pictured (from left to right):  Rabbi Jay Moses (Director, Wexner Heritage Program; WGF Alum, Class 5), Jordanna Birnbaum Amsel (WGF Fellow, Class 27), Cynthia Bernstein (WGF Alum, Class 22), Rabbi Elka Abrahamson (President, The Wexner Foundation), Mordy Walfish (WGF Alum, Class 22) and Or Mars (Director, Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program; WGF Alum, Class 6).   The following is

In this week’s Torah portion Toldot we read an interesting yet strange story.  Isaac is getting on with his years, and his eyes are dim. He wishes to bless Esau his son, and he tells him “bring me some food, and then I will bless you”. His wife Rebecca overhears the conversation, and in an effort to ensure that Jacob gets the blessing and not Esau she comes up with

Definitions of peoplehood remain terribly outdated and ineffective precisely when they are more necessary than ever. The recent Pew survey about the changing American religious landscape provided some important news for American Jewish leaders — young Jews are not alone in rejecting religious categories of identity. We now know that the category of “JNR” (“Jews of No Religion”) — an acronym that brought great consternation to the American Jewish community

Have you ever “meltzed” (waited/bussed) a table? Gotten a band-aid at the “marp” (infirmary)? Or selected an elective for “Shabboptions” (Shabbat options) or “t’floptions” (tefilliah options)? Then you most likely attended or worked at a North American Jewish overnight summer camp. These words stem from Hebrew (and English) but have developed uniquely in the rustic settings of Jewish camp. Over the past two summers, along with our colleague Sharon Avni,

The annual Wexner Israel Fellowship Alumni (WIFA) Institute met last week in Haifa. It was a full program, including an in-depth look at municipal turnarounds in cities such as Akko, Karmiel, Yeruham and Hura. Another topic discussed, following Rabbi Elka Abrahamson’s opening remarks, was the fraying relationship of North American Jews and Israel. The new chair of the WIFA Council, Nadav Tamir, drafted this call to action in response. The

Many thought leaders say the Jewish community is torn by dissension and that we should work on ways to build ahavat Israel and understanding across differences. The Shabbat Project, which coincided with Friday evening, October 24th, 2014 until sundown on Saturday evening, October, 25th, 2014 was the most profound example in recent history of Jewish unity. The concept behind The Shabbat Project, the brainchild of the Chief Rabbi of South