Steinhardt Urges Jewish Orgs to Do Better, But How?

This week, philanthropist Michael Steinhardt took the microphone for a speech to a group of philanthropists and Jewish professionals that seemed to condemn Jewish organizations for focusing on discussion and conversation over action. According to TJCTV, the speech "came at an event touting a study claiming Birthright Israel, which was founded in part by Steinhardt, has done quite [...] a lot to combat intermarriage." (You can view the study here, and you may also wish to read "The Birthright Israel Program: Present and Potential Future Impacts.")

In the speech (which you can view in its entirety below), Steinhardt noted the "difference between having dialogue and being right." "In the Jewish world there’s a great deal of focus on dialogue," he said. "A lot of people are “doing their best” and it’s just not so good. It’s accepted, and there’s very little internal dissension." 

He also points out that the subject of their gathering, Birthright Israel, was "overwhelmingly disliked by the midstream, institutional Jewish world. Most things that are going to change the world are at their inset disliked," he noted, saying that "conversations [...] don’t change the Jewish world. They don’t change the appalling level of education in the non-Orthodox Jewish world." To change that required "something very, very different," he said. 

He addressed the "oodles of PhDs" in the Jewish world and called the impact of their work "gornisht" (nothing). "This is an important study that says some significant things. But do you remember any Jewish study meaningfully changing the Jewish world? I don’t. This might. [...] Is the world interested? It takes something very special to create change. Birthright and how we did it created change. Change requires pain, difference, dispute, argument, and unless we’re going to do that, we’re going to be nice and polite and get nowhere."

I don't wholly disagree with Steinhardt - education outside the Orthodox world is definitely lacking, dayschool educations are increasingly prohibitively expensive, and if we only spend our time sitting around talking, nothing gets done. But while Steinhardt points out these issues, I'm not sure what the takeaway is. So, Jewish orgs shouldn't just sit around talking. They should do. But do what? This is a nonspecific call to action. What I would have liked to have heard was a battle cry: "Let's make Jewish education the right of every child, no matter what their financial situation." "Let's collaborate on projects between young Jewish innovators and struggling Jewish institutions." But as it stands, as shocking as it may be to be reprimanded by Michael Steinhardt, the question is still "now what?"

Comments

[Ben Atlas]

In this clip Michael Steinhardt spoke directly to Barry Shrage of CJP who was the host of the event and presented the study. In this context Michael Steinhardt criticism was very specific and loaded with constructive suggestions between the lines. I wouldn't know here to begin really.

[Esther Kustanowitz]

I should have mentioned that this clip, disembodied like it is, doesn't give us the context of the speech. I would have liked to have seen that context explained somewhere, but haven't so far.

[Steven I. Weiss]

Esther -

I'm happy to provide what context I can. As is mentioned in the clip, it's from an event covered in this week's newscast (http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2009/10/week-in-review-october-30-2009/).

As to a more specific context, there really isn't one. After various presentations on the study suggesting Birthright creates more Jewish in-marriages than most programs that grab Jews at that age, there was a q&a session. With no specific stimulus, Michael Steinhardt delivered that speech.

So, there's not really a lot of context for it other than "this is Steinhardt's opinion, as stated at a public event to various Jewish leaders."

Yes, he's addressing Barry Shrage, Gary Rosenblatt, Stephen M. Cohen and Leonard Saxe, but I'd assume that has more to do with who was in his field of vision at the moment than anything about those individuals, specifically. It probably could've been anybody in the world of Jewish leadership.

As to what Steinhardt wishes people would do, well, he's looking for partners to fund both Birthright/BirthrightNEXT, and something else he's been pushing for recently: a 1-2 week course on Jewish literacy, to be arranged/taught by Saul Ansky of the Yiddish Book Center. That's what he's been talking about lately, in interviews and other public statements.