Jewish Philanthropy: Implications for Israel and the American Jewish Community
Despite recent criticism, Jewish philanthropy has largely been the envy of the philanthropic world. Indeed, for more than a century, Jewish giving has been amazingly successful, although its long-term future is uncertain given contradictory trends related to engagement in American Jewish life.
That is one of the major takeaways I came away with after reading a new book, Jewish Giving: Philanthropy and the Shaping of American Jewish Life, by Jack Wertheimer, Emeritus Professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and after perusing an interview with him following its publication. A comprehensive, balanced and measured study, Wertheimer traces the historical development of Jewish philanthropy from the colonial era until the present. Considering he addresses a topic with potentially serious implications for Israel and the American Jewish community, this important book deserves much more attention, particularly at a moment when everyone’s gaze is understandably elsewhere.
In the early years, the philanthropic needs of the Jewish community were primarily met by synagogues, benevolent associations and landsmanschaft. But over time the structure of the Jewish community quickly and dramatically evolved at the turn of the century, especially after the large influx of Eastern European Jews. This is the result of the creation of Jewish Federations throughout the country, along with the establishment of a large network of additional agencies, institutions and later “friends of” organizations. Taken together, they comprise what is now considered the Jewish philanthropic enterprise, focused on assisting Jews in the United States, as well as those in other countries, including Israel.
Wertheimer points out that this far-reaching enterprise raises a phenomenal and incomparable amount of money. For example, he estimates that in 2020-21 or so between $13-14 billion has been contributed by Jews to a variety of Jewish organizations and institutions. Of this stunning amount, Werthheimer figures that approximately $6.5 billion has been donated to the religious sector, including synagogues, day schools, yeshivas, higher education and so on, while $1.5 billion has been given to Israel institutions, with the remaining balance going to a diverse array of community relations, welfare and educational-cultural agencies. In a notable departure from the past, he claims that Israel giving has become much more diffuse, with an increasing amount of funds in recent years going to a wider spectrum of organizations, in which donors have greater control over how the money is spent, rather than just through the UJA system.
At the same time, however, as incredible as is the sum of money raised by the Jewish philanthropic sector, Wertheimer notes that in recent years the base of contributors has become significantly narrower – meaning that Jewish organizations and institutions must increasingly rely on a much smaller group of major donors. Indeed, he indicates that today 90 percent of the funding of Jewish organizations is only coming from 10 percent or so of donors. This is highlighted, Wertheimer says, by a 2020 Pew Research Center study showing that in the previous year only 48 percent of Jews contributed to Jewish groups, which he maintains is historically unprecedented. (This percentage may have increased somewhat in the aftermath of October 7, but this was the only data available to him at the time of his study). Perhaps equally, if not more concerning and confounding, is that when assessing overall Jewish giving, Wertheimer reports that in the past proportionately more has gone to nonsectarian rather than to Jewish causes.
Nevertheless, despite these developments and other flaws, he believes that what the Jewish philanthropic sector has accomplished is extraordinary. As Wertheimer says in the conclusion of the book: “…American Jewish philanthropy…[is] a history of remarkable achievement. In generation after generation, generous donors have created and sustained a vast network of Jewish institutions and initiatives designed to enhance the lives of American Jews and provide aid for Jews in other lands.”
The big question, of course, is what’s going to happen in the years ahead. It’s always hazardous to predict the future but in the short-term things are likely to be more or less the same, with perhaps some shifts in priorities in response to compelling opportunities or crises of the day. But the longer term is an entirely different matter. It will largely depend on two countervailing trends at work in American Jewish life. On the one hand, there is a core group of Jews (both older and younger) who are deeply involved, and based on experience, they will probably continue to contribute to Jewish organizations and institutions. It is possible that they may be joined by the surge of new givers, who have become more engaged after October 7 and, relatedly, to the upsurge in antisemitism in the United States, although that remains to be seen.
On the other hand, recent National Jewish Population and Pew studies have consistently shown that an increasing number of Jews are no longer affiliating with Jewish communal organizations and institutions. This is true of many adult Jews but is especially the case among younger Jews. Indeed, a critical segment of the younger generation is not only less involved – if not alienated – from any kind of Jewish activity. They increasingly have also distanced themselves from Israel, a situation that has only become more pronounced in response to its war with Hamas. Since, in principle, they could be potential contributors to the Jewish community in the future, this growing phenomenon is problematic from a philanthropic standpoint.
At a time, then, when the latest Jewish Federation of North America study indicates that approximately 30 percent of otherwise unaffiliated Jews – the so-called “surgers” – desire to be more engaged, the Jewish community must seize this fortuitous occasion and provide special programmatic opportunities to help move them along in their Jewish journey. What’s more, in a general vein, the community must also make a greater investment in Jewish/Israel education but to appeal to those who are drifting away it must not only be authentic and taught in a realistic, tolerant and pluralistic manner. It also needs be framed conceptually in a way in which Israel is a major element in one’s Jewish identity, but not the only element. If these vital steps are not taken, the assimilatory forces could become more dominant, and they will have a direct impact on future Jewish giving, with potentially profound consequences for Israel and the American Jewish community.
