CHARITABLE GIVING
“It’s partially because of
rising antisemitism,” Bronstein
said. “Our donors are motivated
to do something ... It comes up
in the majority of our conversa-
tions with our donors.”
And though no organization
wants to see increased antisemi-
tism and anti-Israel sentiments,
those incidents correlate with
an increase in giving.

“[Donors] see it in our
own emails or Facebook page
and social media, and people
respond,” Reed said.

Even though many of these
nonprofits experienced an
increase in giving this year,
not all members of the Jewish
community are interested in
donating to them.

Zev Guttman of Center City
hasn’t donated to any Israel
advocacy organizations because
of his focus on giving locally.

“Our sages say that a man
who is very wealthy and gives
proudly to all kinds of causes
in the community or the
world, but then his own wife
and children go hungry with
tattered clothing — that man
is a wicked person,” Guttman
said. “Charity starts at home.

Once you’re done taking care
of your home, then you expand
that charity by giving to your
immediate community.”
Instead of giving to larger
organizations, Guttman, who
considers himself “a man of
extremely modest means” and
financially impacted by the
pandemic, prefers to give to
Jewish communities in which
he’s already involved, such as
B’nai Abraham Chabad and
Congregation Mikveh Israel
in Philadelphia.

By giving locally, Guttman
can more easily see the impact
of his donation.

Even without giving money
to Israel advocacy organiza-
tions, Guttman is still a proud
supporter of Israel. His family
lives in Tzfat, and he hopes to one
day make aliyah to Israel. If he
were to move to Israel, he could
begin giving to Israeli organi-
zations because Israel would
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM become his local community.

If Guttman were to give to
larger Israel advocacy organi-
zations, he would seek greater
transparency from them,
wanting organizations to “show
exactly how their money is being
spent and where it’s going.”
In addition to contending
with those whose giving
priorities lie elsewhere, Israel
advocacy organizations must
also confront criticisms of
those disagreeing with policies
or actions of the Israeli govern-
ment. Some organizations are
using any ambivalence toward
Israel to their advantage.

“What those kinds of senti-
ments allow is for us to educate
people about Israel,” Reed said.

“In many ways, AFMDA is a
great argument to the ridicu-
lous attitudes people have and
the unfortunate rise we see [in
antisemitism] from time to time.”
AJC is continuing to focus
on advocacy campaigns, rather
than explicit fundraising
campaigns, knowing that
involving the community in its
mission translates to increasing
There’s a lot of work to be done. American
Jews are feeling like (they’re) on the defensive
with anti-Zionist voices.”
MARCIA BRONSTEIN
giving. Like other organiza-
tions, AJC is trying to keep the
fundraising momentum of the
past year.

“There’s a lot of work to
be done,” Bronstein said.

“American Jews are feeling
like (they’re) on the defensive
with anti-Zionist voices. We’re
aware of those challenges,
and we want to work towards
a world where there’s zero
tolerance.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
The Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation
operates the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza
and is the leading provider of educational programs in the
area. Take a look what we have achieved with only 2 staff
members in three years!
15,000 people have visited the
Holocaust Memorial Plaza
45+ events with 9 week-long virtual
series reaching over 6,700 people
710 teachers trained in 25 professional
development sessions
Our programs answer the urgent call to address rising
antisemitism and bigotry. Join us in our mission to preserve
the lessons of the past to build a future of tolerance.

Visit philaholocaustmemorial.org/support to learn about our
donor opportunities.

Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation
1617 JFK Blvd., 20 th Fl, #2015, Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-809-2474 JEWISH EXPONENT
DECEMBER 2, 2021
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