A Special Meeting for the Jim Joseph Foundation

Later this month, the Jim Joseph Foundation Board of Directors and Professional team will hold a special Board Meeting in Israel. The Foundation last held a Board meeting there in 2009, and Directors have elected to conduct another meeting in Israel as part of the Foundation’s ten-year anniversary. This is an important opportunity for the Foundation to pay respect to Jim Joseph, z”l, and to visit with grantees in affirming the prominent place of Israel in the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy.

Jim Joseph passed away suddenly in December, 2003. He had a deep connection to Israel and, as he desired, his family buried him there. A year and a half later, the Foundation as it is structured today was formed. One of its core values is “a strong commitment to the State of Israel.” It is a value that permeates the Foundation’s decision-making and informs many grants—from the iCenter, to the Bay Area Israel Education Day School Project (BASIS), to Brandeis University’s Summer Institute for Israel Studies, to Birthright, and many more.

It is against this backdrop that the Foundation embarks on this much anticipated trip. Since 2009, the Board has grown and the Foundation of course has evolved. The various “Foundation families” all have increased—grantees, individual beneficiaries, and even evaluators. We are grateful to them all (I wrote last month that I believe these elements collectively have helped to advance the field of Jewish education).

While the Foundation will conduct its regular quarterly business and welcome its newest Board members, Directors are very much looking forward to grantee site visits and personal interactions. They’ll enjoy a Shabbat dinner at Moishe House in Jerusalem. They’ll spend a portion of a day with Birthright Israel participants and Taglit Fellows, the elite cadre of American staff specially trained to enrich the Birthright Israel educational experience. They’ll hear first-hand from students and alumni of the Pardes Institute- Pardes Educators Program. And they’ll visit with the founders of SpaceIL, which is aiming to make history and land the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon—and to inspire a generation along the way. The iCenter is incorporating the SpaceIL “story” into curricular material working with Israel educators in the U.S.

Directors also will make a visit to the Bar Ilan University Shimon Ben Joseph Building for Jewish Education. In January 2007, the Board of Directors awarded a special, one-time capital grant for this state-of-the-art building in Ramat Gan, Israel (the Foundation’s policy is to not fund capital campaigns). This building serves as the University’s School of Education, the largest school of its kind in Israel.

All of these grantees are indicative of the Foundation’s commitment to Israel education and to enabling more Jewish youth and young adults to forge personal, meaningful connections to Israel and Israelis.

Upon our return, I look forward to sharing with you our experiences and visits with grantees and beneficiaries. In a few months, we will disseminate additional items to mark the Foundation’s ten-year anniversary, including materials about our founder and a reflection on the first ten years of the Foundation’s grantmaking.

Jim Joseph bequeathed an incredible gift—this Foundation—to the Jewish community. As we prepare for this special meeting, we honor his legacy, remember his love for Israel, and celebrate his commitment to Jewish education as an essential activity of Jewish life.