Month: April 2025

HEARTWARMING INSIGHTS INTO JEWISH PHILANTHROPY

A review of Solly Kaplinski’s evocative “Journeys into the Gentle Heart’ revealing the WHY of the WHO.

by David E. Kaplan

Travelling the length and breadth of Israel, you cannot fail to notice when visiting parks and forests, hospitals, water reservoirs, restored antiquities, universities and colleges, museums, kindergartens, special needs schools and other enriching medical, scientific or cultural institutions – the illuminating boards with the names of donors. These boards are an insight into the DNA of a special global Jewish community – a community of individuals who, having succeeded in their personal lives in the lands they live, then want to contribute to the success of the land of their collective dream – the eternal Jewish homeland of Israel.

Alongside the family names on these donor boards invariably appear the cities they hail from. Typically, you’ll see Sydney or Melbourne, Cape Town or Johannesburg, Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, LA, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia or New York or multiple cities across Europe and the UK to name but a few. Short in wording, these donor boards are long in their message. It tells a story of a collective venture – and for many of them an “adventure” – of like-minded visionaries and of shared family values that transcends global geography, embraces Jewish history and ensures Jewish continuity.

Helping Hand. Over 20 years of working with philanthropists, Solly Kaplinski  reaches out to donor families from Jewish communities around the world to learn what inspires or even “ignites” their passion to support causes in their home countries and Israel.

While earlier generations of philanthropists, notably the Rothschild and Montefiore families, contributed during the pioneering period to the creation and establishment of the Jewish state, the baton passed to ensuing generations who continued the legacy contributing to strengthening the state so that in the words of Israel’s illustrious diplomat, Abba Eban, “Israel’s future will be longer than its past.”

So, while we gaze at the donor boards and recognise many of the family names, what is less known is the ‘WHY’.

This is the question that fascinated Solly Kaplinski, who has spent much of his working life professionally engaging with “givers”. The result of his enquiry is his latest book ‘JOURNEYS INTO THE GENTLE HEART – The World Is Built With Kindness’, where Solly engages with 50 donor families, “who I know personally and with whom I worked – in some cases over a 20-year period. ”Most of the material “was solicited via a combination of interviews, drafts submitted and finessed, and zoom calls.” It makes fascinating reading and particularly instructive to those engaged in the multifaceted world of fundraising.

Solly has all the attributes to explore the world of Jewish philanthropy. An engaging personality, author, poet and the son of Holocaust survivors – his parents survived the Shoah as a member of the Bielski partisans in the forests of Poland – Solly, before settling in Israel with his family 25 years ago, headed Jewish Day Schools  first in Cape Town in his native South Africa and later in Canada.  In Israel, he went on to serve as Yad Vashem’s Director of the English Desk and thereafter served as the JDC’s Executive Director of Overseas Joint Ventures. These experiences gave Solly an amplified insight into the global world of Jewish philanthropy and to understand the mindset of donors.

Kaplinski’s ‘Journeys into the Gentle Heart’ enables readers to accompany 50 storytellers from all over the world sharing their personal journeys, delving into what fuels their philanthropy. (Graphic design is by Leora Blum of Ra’anana)

An added dimension to his book is that it was written over a period of traumatic transition in the Jewish world covering pre and post the October 7, 2023 massacre. Has something fundamentally changed in the nature and scope of fundraising from pre to post October 7, 2023? Solly recalls in his foreward, a memory of the response of Jewish communities in South Africa and around the world “when confronted with Israel’s existential crises in the days leading up to the 6-Day War in June 1967, when mass graves were being prepared in Israel,” and how huge sums of money were raised with people “even pawning their jewelry and selling other items of value, to rally to the cause.”

Such was the passion and the commitment that has not only persisted but intensified over time. Rallying “to the cause” remains a key thread throughout Solly’s book and clearly reinforced following October 7.

“The massive challenge” in the post October 7 world, Solly writes, “is to focus on Israel’s long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction which will be incalculable.” His guess is that “donors will be faced with how to continue supporting the causes which speak most to them – and how to reconcile that, given the new realities of Israel’s desperate situation and plight, where one may feel obliged and compelled out of necessity, to engage in more Israel-centered philanthropy – a no-choice philanthropy. Of course, it doesn’t have to be an either-or choice: the pie can be expanded and there will be many who will give over and above.” I sense Solly is eluding here to the similarity of the calling today that transpired during the pre and post period of the 6-Day War.

Man on a Mission. Solly Kaplinski (right) on a JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) mission visiting local Jewish communities in Estonia, seen here in the capital Tallinn. (Photo: courtesy JDC)

Noting the current “frailty and fragility” of Israel’s current situation and “the horrific rise in antisemitism around the world,” Solly surmises that the current “joint partnership” between Israel and the Diaspora Jewry “may very well need to be refracted through a different prism.”

This intensified concern for Israel is shared by many of the donors Solly interviewed. Canadian philanthropist and corporate lawyer, Gail Asper from Winipeg, expressed that “…when Israel is in crisis as a result, for example, of the devastating and horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, I feel it is our responsibility to make Israel, the only home for the Jewish people, a top, unconditional priority.” President and a trustee of the Asper Foundation, Gail sums up a common sentiment of most donors when she concludes:

“If we all work together, we can ensure the Jewish people will flourish in perpetuity.”

In the same vein, Executive Director of ANKA Property Group,  Vera Boyarsky from Sydney Australia believes:

“Without a healthy Israel we can’t hold our heads high and confidant. As my late father said, “Give till it hurts as it’s only money; the people in Israel are giving their lives.”

Set on addressing the needs of Israel’s tomorrows is Sir Mick Davis from London, whose brother Ricky Davis participated in Israel’s heroic Entebbe Raid of 1976. Says Davis:

“When this war is won…philanthropists will need to channel energy and passion into addressing the challenges of Israel’s future strength. For too long we have allowed massive economic, educational, and health disparities to fester in Israeli society, creating divisions that have been too easy for unscrupulous populists to exploit. We must strive to distribute access to the opportunities of Israel’s innovative economy the length and breadth of the country, across every section of the economy.”

Jewish Outreach. Inna Vdovychenko of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee meets with a Jewish senior in need in Odesa, Ukraine. (Photo: Courtesy JDC).

Davis sees the role of the philanthropist in “ensuring that Israel is able to maintain its qualitive edge in the years and decades to come,” and “while it is not ours to finish the job, our Jewish souls will not allow us to desist from it.”

In addition to a love of Israel is the aspect of family values, of instilling in the next generation the desire to contribute to the upliftment of those less fortune or in need. Both are best articulated by Jeremy Dunkel from Sydney, Australia:

“Philanthropy is often part of the conversation around our dinner table, as we hope to pass on our love for, and commitment to the global Jewish community to our children. The tragic events of October 7 have only reinforced this, illustrating that we are one people, and are collectively responsible for the welfare of our brothers and sisters in Israel, and throughout the Diaspora.”

Also emphasizing the enormous impact of October 7 is retired Baltimore judge, Ellen M. Heller.  Raised in a modest “blue collar” East Baltimore neighborhood after the end of WWII “where we were the only Jewish family. My family, like others, lived modestly. Most of the clothes my sisters and I wore had been passed on by cousins.” For Ellen, October 7 is a date “that will always be in the annals of unthinkable, cruel pogroms against Jews: the slaughter of innocent people – grandparents, parents, children, infants. With this day of devastation, I have realized an important component of my philanthropy: the giving that comes from the emotion, the strong anguish to be of help and to save lives – in this instance Jewish lives, lives of our people. This giving derives from the basic instinct and determination that our people and the existence of our Jewish homeland must survive.”

For some of a particular generation, a strong motivation towards philanthropy has been the impact of the Holocaust. This is the case with Eva Fischl OAM, President of The Joint Australia, who defines herself “as a Holocaust survivor,” and says plainly, “my actions are a product of that definition.” Being a Holocaust survivor, “carries huge baggage around my survival. It depicts pain, anxiety, fear, sorrow, sometimes guilt of surviving with the knowledge that both family and others have died.” For Eva, it propelled a devotion “of 42 years of my life to my fellow Jews – anchored by the belief that the Shoah, the supreme example of rendering people powerless, behoves those that can – to help.”

So too are Lottie and Ervin Vidor from Sydney both Holocaust survivors, “who arrived in Australia with just the clothes on our backs.” Lottie came in 1949 “with my parents, after wandering around Poland for almost four  years in the hope of getting a visa to the USA or Australia…”

For the Vidors, “…to support the local community as well as Israel is in our DNA – and makes us feel both humble and grateful.”

Originally from Cape Town South Africa Peter and Elaine Smaller from Sydney, have just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and are “enjoying the philanthropic side of our lives.” This would appear to be an important factor in sustaining enthusiasm for constantly giving. Peter says he grew up “in a household where philanthropy was ever present.” Of his parents, “I never heard them say no to anyone asking for help – both Jewish and non-Jewish causes.”

From War to Work. JDC has developed programs to help reservists and disabled veterans transition back to work and fill roles required by Israeli businesses in order to return to full productivity. Pictured here are reservists at a management training initiative. (Photo: Courtesy JDC).

Elaine sees the need “to build a strong Israel. Especially today. That sense of – we are nothing without a strong Israel-has driven my philanthropy. I am eternally grateful for those who live in Israel and face a daily existential threat, so that I can live in peace in the Diaspora.”

There are those that give out of deep religiosity. For Nicole Yoder of Jerusalem, “Giving reminds me that I have nothing that I didn’t receive as a blessing from above. This keeps me grounded. Giving enables me to express my compassion. I like to give where my giving can make a life changing difference to someone.” As Vice President for Aid & Aliyah at the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, “…it is a source of joy and fulfilment that the ICEJ has defended and stood with Israel, especially today.”

There are throughout  instructive tidbits. For example, one anonymous donor from Washington, USA, expressed that what was especially important for him was “…that the maximum amount of my gift actually reaches the people in need and is not lost in the administration of the organization.” In this respect he refers to a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early first century CE, Rabban Gamliel who once said, “Do not give an excess tithe through guesswork.” (Pirkei Avot 1:16).” In other words, “Do your homework!”

Miracle Makers. With entire cities and kibbutzim in Israel evacuated to hotels in the Dead Sea region, the JDC established temporary schools and kindergartens — in partnership with the Ministry of Education for 2,500 evacuated children also connecting these young people with teams of trauma psychologists. “Nothing Short of a Miracle”: Dead Sea Emergency Education …

For Kevin Kalinko of Sydney whose family supports many Israeli charities as well as local and international Jewish causes, one of the questions now being raised as they define their family’s philanthropic strategy  is “Do we give more to fewer organizations or less to more organizations?”  Wanting to optimize one’s impact, I assume it’s not an uncommon challenge to most philanthropists. An illuminating gem in the Kalinko interview was  his recollection from his early 20s while backpacking in Turkey on a very tight budget, “I negotiated to buy yesterday’s bread for half price from the local bakery in Istanbul. One morning, I was sitting on the side of the road in front of the bakery, with yesterdays pide about to eat my breakfast,” when he noticed that the man sitting next to him had a selection of cheeses, olives, vegetables and bread. “He looked at my pide and back at his meal and then offered to share his meal. When I paid more attention to the man…I realized he was homeless. He had little to give but was willing to give that which was important him.” This story reminded me of Solly writing in his foreward of cases of Jews in the Diaspora in response to the 6-Day War of “even pawing their jewellery and selling other items of value, to rally to the cause.”

Solly delightfully likens a fundraiser to a shadchan – a matchmaker. He refers to a lesson he learnt from his teacher Rabbi Edward Abrahamson, “that a shadchan doesn’t just bring a man and a woman together to get married; he or she is giving them the great z’chut to find a partner in life, to raise a family – and to build a Jewish home. And in a similar vein, we as fundraisers, are helping donors to understand – and embrace the power that they have to do good and do what is just, right, honest and moral.”

In what motivates all these donors to so generously support causes “close to Home” – where ‘home’ could be the city where they live or their beloved Israel where their heart lies no less, I will end with Sara and Irwin Tauben of Montreal.

Active in India. Jewish philanthropy is not restrained by geography. Seen here is Solly Kaplinski, JDC’s Executive Director of Overseas Joint Ventures with professional JDC staff in Mumbai, India.

Like many of the donors in Solly’s book – as with Solly himself – the Holocaust casted a giant shadow over Irwin, whose parents were the “sole Shoah survivors of their families” and who came to Montreal “with nothing but love for each other and the will to succeed – and to give their family a better life.” One month after their arrival in Canada, Irwin was born.

Says Irwin who together with Sara, support causes in Canada, worldwide and Israel:

“My father used to tell us: ‘Never look up; always look down.’  This was his way of telling us not to envy those with more, but to be grateful that we can help those in need.”


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The book – useful for those in the field of fundraising and resource development – is available for free and can also be read free online at: www.journeysintothegentleheart.com





While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

REFLECTIONS ON A ‘REVOLUTION’ IN GAZA

Who Cares About the Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza?

By Jonathan Feldstein

Over three to four consecutive days this past week, Gaza has witnessed an unprecedented wave of demonstrations by what appears to be average Gazan civilians against Hamas, the Islamist terror group that has ruled the enclave since 2007. Estimates differ about how many have been involved each day or cumulatively, but it appears that thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets, chanting slogans and brandishing handmade signs like “Hamas does not represent me”, and “The people demand the toppling of Hamas”. There is no denying that with Hamas’ terrorist mafia-like grip on Gaza, protesters may be risking their lives to oppose a regime known for its brutal suppression of dissent, or anything seen controverting its strict, jihadi Islamic ideology.

Hamas Brutally Tortures, Kills Gaza Civilian as Palestinians Protest & Seek Pro-Iran Militants’ Exit

Indeed, there are reports now of armed Hamas terrorists threatening, beating, and even killing or deliberately targeting and executing protesters, and blaming the protests on Israel as they conflate the protestors with Israeli collaborators. Already the family of one slain Gazan protester blames Hamas for his death. Ariel Oseran from i24 NEWS reported:

“The family of murdered Oday Nasser Al Rabay, 22, said that he was found dumped in front of his family home over the weekend in the Gaza Strip, after he participated in demonstrations against Hamas. According to his relatives, he was kidnapped, tortured, and then executed by members of the Islamist movement.”

Rabay’s funeral on Saturday attracted scores of people who marched and chanted “Hamas out!” Since the demonstrations began, this is being seen as the first murder in retaliation by an angered Hamas.

Gazans against Hamas. Right and center: Signs in Beit Lahia: “The blood of our children is not cheap” and “Enough wars” (Wafa, March 25, 2025 (Hamza al-Masri’s Telegram channel, March 25, 2025)

Occurring amidst an ongoing war and renewed Israeli military combat, these protests, signal a potential turning point in Palestinian “resistance” – not against Israel (as Hamas and other Iranian backed proxies as well as many Western narratives often frame it), but against Hamas itself. However, the interpretation of these events – the  protests and Hamas’ ferocious retribution  – reveal a stark contrast in narratives, from the lack of Western media attention to the selective outrage of “pro-Palestinian” activists only demonstrating against Israel, and not Hamas – the real culprits who are threatening and inflicting death and destruction on their own people. All this transpires in the context of social and ideological undercurrents reflected in polls and actions showing wide support among Palestinian Arabs for Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, attack, massacre and kidnappings.

Rejection of Hamas. (Right): Burning tires in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City (Hamza al-Masri’s Telegram channel, March 26, 2025). (Left): A protester in Beit Lahia holds a sign reading, “Hamas does not represent us” (Mustafa Asfour’s X account, March 26, 2025)

Hamas’s first official response to these protests, as reported, exemplifies what appears to be desperation and weakness. The group accused Israel of orchestrating the demonstrations, labeling them an “incitement campaign” against the “resistance.” It has cautiously acknowledged the protesters’ frustrations, attributing them to war-induced suffering rather than genuine anti-Hamas sentiment, while subtly threatening dissenters through its “resistance security” apparatus’ internal civil control of its broader terror operations. This rhetoric underscores Hamas’s precarious position: it lacks the infrastructure to jail or systematically suppress such large-scale unrest, yet it could not afford  – one would have thought  – to lose face by cracking down violently on its own people. The murder of Oday Nasser Al Rabay and reports of a further brutal crackdown on protectors now negates that assumption.  It’s being reported in Ynet.news.com that residents in the enclave are saying that at least six Palestinian protest organizers have now been executed by Hamas, while others have been publicly beaten.

‘Killing’ Dissent. Hamas operatives kidnapped, tortured, and executed a 22-year-old Palestinian man, Oday Nasser Al Rabay, after he participated in demonstrations against the group in Gaza. Rabay’s body was left outside his family home.

Confronted with a situation it was unprepared for, Hamas seeks to redirect the narrative, urging protesters to focus their anger solely on Israel – a strategy that aligns with its historical deflection tactics but seems increasingly untenable as Gazans have begun to equate Hamas with the war’s devastation.

Opinions have been expressed surmising that Hamas’ apparent recent willingness to enter into another ceasefire that will see the release of more of the 59 hostages still in their captivity is to afford the terrorist group the opportunity to focus on suppressing the protesters instead of being hamstrung fighting Israel. This assumption is not without merit.

Brutal Response. After days of anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, Hamas has responded brutally, killing six Palestinians in the enclave. (Image for representation/Getty)

Contrastingly, the Western media’s response – or lack thereof – has been glaring. While visual evidence of the unprecedented wave of thousands protesting across Gaza, mainstream media outlets have downplayed the scale – reporting of mere “hundreds” of demonstrators – or the potential significance of the population beginning to rise up against Hamas. This downplay of facts is a manipulation of the news, reflecting a media complicity to not deviate from the entrenched  Hamas narrative that the terrorist organisation is the legitimate voice of Gazan  “resistance”. Outlets like Al Jazeera, widely criticized as a mouthpiece for Hamas, have been accused of ignoring or distorting these events to protect the group’s image. The absence of robust press coverage not only obscures the courage of Gazan protesters but also perpetuates a one-dimensional portrayal of the conflict, sidelining the internal Palestinian Arab dynamics at play. News outlets like Al Jazeera intentionally inhibit the strengthening of widespread dissent.

Finding their Voice. (Right): Protest in Beit Lahia; (Left): Protest in Deir al-Balah(Hamza al-Masri’s Telegram channel, March 26, 2025)

This selective media attention impacts the “pro-Palestinian” movement in the West, particularly evident in protests and campus activism. In Washington, D.C., and on U.S. college campuses, demonstrators continue to chant anti-Israel slogans, oblivious to the Gazans risking their lives to oppose Hamas. Receiving filtered news, they adhere to the strict ‘party line’ of not confusing the narrative that it is Israel – not Hamas – that is evil.

This reveals the dishonesty of a media more invested in an anti-Israel agenda than in supporting the genuine well-being of the Palestinians, especially when protests target an Islamist group responsible for decades of oppression. Signs in Gaza reading “Hamas is a terrorist” and pleas for peace, go unacknowledged by the alleged “pro-Palestinian” activists, who appear to prioritize ideological hatred of Israel over the actual well-being of Gazans.

Yet the hopeful signs must be tempered by sobering realities. Banners proclaiming, “Hamas does not represent me” and chants demanding an end to the terror group’s rule suggest a burgeoning resistance within Gaza, seeking liberation from Hamas’s grip. However, this shift may be more strategic rather than ideological. Polls conducted since October 7, 2023, consistently show over 80% of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and the “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria) approving of the Hamas massacre, which saw Gazan civilians along with Hamas terrorists participate in murder, rape, and looting alongside the terror group.

Eyewitness accounts and footage reveal Gazan civilians cheering as hostages were paraded through the streets, and many hostages later reported being held captive in civilian homes. Seventeen months later, as Israel cuts humanitarian aid to try influence the speedy freeing of hostages as time is running out, these protests may reflect concerns of survival rather than a rejection of the underlying genocidal anti-Israel ideology with which they have been indoctrinated for generations.

Cry Freedom. A Hamas terrorist operative is surprised by a Gazan breaking free from his shackles (cartoon by Dajwar Ibrahim, March 26, 2025)

Amid the protests, one needs to avoid a naive misinterpretation of the protests as progress. While opposing Hamas’s tyranny may be real, there is no evidence to suggest that average Gazans have had a change of heart or that they no longer remain committed to the destruction of Israel. In this view, the protests are less a moral evolution than a self-serving reaction to Hamas’s failures, with the same “butchers and rapists” now facing the rubble of their own making. This perspective casts the demonstrations in a tactical pivot, not a renunciation of the hatred that fueled the massacre. It underscores that the true solution for peace in Gaza must be a wholesale ideological change. There is no evidence of this – as yet – in any of the protests.

Who is the Real Snake? Hamas trying to discredit the protestors in this cartoon by Alaa’ al-Laqta, a Hamas’ inhouse cartoonist, of a “snake” among the protesters. (Filastin al-Yawm Telegram channel, March 27, 2025)

There’s a contradiction that must be laid bare between those who see a glimmer of hope in Gazan protesting against Hamas and those who see only enduring enmity despite the protests to rescue Gazans from Hamas. The lack of press coverage and the disingenuousness of “pro-Palestinian” activists complicates these events. What remains clear is that Gazans are speaking, risking their lives to demand change.

Whether the world listens, and how it interprets these events, will shape the discourse around this unprecedented moment in history, and impact the future.



About the writer:

Jonathan Feldstein ­­­­- President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Jornal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.





While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).