Feeding the Hunger for Jewish Belonging and Education

From eJewish Philanthropy (January 19, 2023)

Most recent conversations in the philanthropic community are about Israel and antisemitism. Lost in these discussions is a positive and significant philanthropic opportunity arising from Oct. 7: responding to a new hunger among American Jews for participating in Jewish communal life and learning more about their Jewish heritage.

The data is overwhelming. Prizmah: The Center for Jewish Day Schools surveyed 110 schools and reported that 4 in 10 day schools have received enrollment inquiries from public school or independent school families since Oct. 7. NCSY, which offers Jewish learning clubs at public and private independent schools, experienced a significant increase in participation in their clubs as well as requests to open 70 new clubs for next year. NCSY Director Rabbi Micah Greenland also mentioned to me that more students are publicly identifying as Jewish by wearing Jewish stars or tzitzit.

Read the full article by Yossi Prager in eJP.