Articles

In 2004 UCLA emeritus professor, David Rapaport, one of this nation’s experts on terrorism published his “Four Waves on Modern Terrorism”:

Wave One: Anarchism 1880-1920

Wave Two: Anti-Colonialism 1920-1960

Wave Three: New Left 1960-2000

Wave Four: Religious 1979-2010

Later this spring, the Pew Research Center will be issuing its latest demographic findings on the state of American Jewry. This latest survey follows its 2013 analysis of Jewish Americans, providing a further analysis of the changing profile of our community.[1]

In this moment, both in advance of that report and in connection with some new national data concerning American society, these ten findings may provide some useful insights. Some of the data being introduced here will directly align with the forthcoming Pew report, while other elements will likely reflect other social and ideological trends that may have particular significance for Jewish audiences and our institutions, moving forward.

We are living in a new American political environment, where a war against minorities in general, and Jews in particular, has been launched. This moment represents the single most significant threat to Jews since the Shoah. The scope of anti-Jewish expression is not bound by a broad increase in the number of anti-Semites but rather in the ability of these hate actors to actualize their beliefs and carry forward their plans. In many ways, social media has enabled these players to gain significant media attention and visibility.

We are all creatures of our environment. Our respective political cultures reflect our particular social orbits, belief systems and particular loyalties. Our respective political identities are shaped and influenced by our broader general beliefs about our society and our place within it. Certainly, our cultural experiences, personal values, and historical encounters inform and help to frame how we see and engage with politics.

Reason and truth represent the essential ingredients for preserving social stability and ensuring continuity, yet today these principles are under attack. In some measure, the celebration of “truth” and an appreciation for “reason” appears to be passing from the contemporary scene.

In 2007 Dan Brown, the founder and publisher of eJP, envisioned the design of this e-platform based on the mission of the now dormant ePhilanthropy Foundation and its role within the broader field of philanthropy. Dan reflected on how particularly helpful these folks were in conceptualizing this publication, along with the owners and operational team of CONVIO, an on-line nonprofit fund-raising platform.

For significant parts of the last several centuries, the great Jewish families of Europe, Asia, and North America were central players in international business and commerce but also created the infrastructure and framed the norms for modern Jewish philanthropy.

Words are simply not adequate to define or contain the emotions following the assault on January 6 on the U.S. Capitol and American democracy.

We Jews have a profound stake in this nation. We were here from the very beginnings of this experiment in democracy. Washington’s extraordinary letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1790 affirms this unique connection:

One of the most underreported components of the Jewish response to this pandemic has been the extraordinary contributions of the nearly 50 agencies that comprise today the International Association of Jewish Free Loans. Situated here in North America and across the Jewish world, these historic agencies, large and small, have made an essential difference in the lives of the thousands of families and individuals whom they have assisted over this past year.

A new year provides us with the appropriate occasion to offer resolutions, make predictions and even offer aspirations for what might be next!
Indeed, as so many have expressed, we will be happy to see the end of 2020. We should remind ourselves that we entered this year with the promise of a robust economy and the start of a new and exciting decade, these earlier expectations now seem so remote, to some extent unreal.