Michael Balaban's Update on the War in Israel (Clone)

- Michael Balaban
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia President and CEO

There are moments when the world feels both very large and very small at the same time.

We watch the Olympic Games and see nations marching under their flags. We tune in to the Super Bowl halftime stage and see culture, identity and belonging projected to hundreds of millions of viewers. These are moments designed to unify and to remind us of shared humanity.

And yet, for Jews around the world, these global stages often come with an undercurrent of anxiety.

Will Israel be singled out?

Will Jewish identity be erased from conversations about diversity?

Will antisemitism be dismissed, minimized or misunderstood?

At the same time, Iran continues its open hostility toward Israel, funding and arming proxy forces while threatening regional escalation. The headlines shift daily. The rhetoric intensifies. And Jewish communities everywhere feel the tremor.

This is not paranoia. It is pattern recognition.

We are living in a moment when visibility and vulnerability travel together.

But here is what I have learned over the past year: pressure clarifies purpose.

In Greater Philadelphia, our community did not shrink in the face of uncertainty. It did not retreat. It did not wait to see what would happen next.

It acted.

This past year, our community raised $25.7 million for the Annual Campaign — meeting urgent needs and powering vital programs. We secured $103.2 million in firm commitments toward a five-year endowment campaign — focused on building long-term strength and stability for generations to come.

These numbers are not simply financial metrics. They are statements.

They say: We understand that Jewish continuity is not self-sustaining.

They say: We will not outsource our future.

They say: When something more is demanded of us, we respond.

Four years ago, our Federation faced significant structural challenges. Today, we are reversing more than a decade of decline, reducing long-standing debt and building new momentum. We are investing in security. In elder care. In youth engagement. In fighting antisemitism in K-12 schools. In strengthening Israel connections.

And yet, financial strength alone will not secure the Jewish future.

That requires vision.

Recently, I spoke to Jewish agency directors and our Board of Rabbis about what I called a “moonshot” for Jewish life in Greater Philadelphia. Not a slogan. Not another initiative layered onto an already crowded landscape. A shared, measurable commitment to expand Jewish engagement in everyday life.

What would it look like if:

• Every Jewish household had a meaningful Shabbat experience in their home?
• No elder or isolated adult felt alone?
• Every child who wanted Jewish Day School, Jewish camp or a youth group community experience had an affordable pathway?
• Israel connection became lifecycle-aligned, accessible and central — not peripheral?

These are not abstractions. They are choices and opportunities that will grow our future.

And in moments like this, when geopolitical tensions rise and public discourse grows more polarized, it is tempting to define Jewish life only through defense.

Security is essential. We invest heavily in it. We work closely with law enforcement and national partners. We monitor threats and respond swiftly.

But if our response to external hostility is only protective, we miss the deeper opportunity.

The most powerful answer to hatred is not withdrawal.

It is vitality.

Our responsibility here, in Greater Philadelphia, is to ensure that Jewish life is not merely reactive, but radiant.

That we are not simply protected — but purposeful.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught that religion begins with the awareness that something more is demanded of us. In this moment, something more is demanded of Jewish leadership, Jewish institutions and Jewish families.

Something more than managing decline.

Something more than surviving headlines.

Something more than nostalgia.

It demands courage organized around community.

Jewish Federation, at its core, is simple: One Jew asking a second Jew to help a third Jew.

It is how we built this community 125 years ago, when eight independent Jewish agencies, each doing sacred work in their own way, chose something radical for their time. To pool resources. To align priorities. To act not as competitors, but as a collective.

They formed the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia because they understood something enduring: our strength would never come from fragmentation. It would come from shared responsibility.

That decision, seven organizations choosing unity over siloes, shaped everything that followed. It allowed us to respond to waves of immigration, to economic hardship, to war, to antisemitism, to the founding of the State of Israel, to local crises and global emergencies.

It is the same model that allows us today to invest in security, fight antisemitism, strengthen Israel connections, support vulnerable neighbors, and launch a $300 million endowment campaign that secures the future.

The world feels large right now.

The headlines feel relentless.

The stakes feel high.

But our path forward is not new.

It is the same path our founders chose in 1901:

Shared vision.

Collective courage.

Mutual responsibility.

One Jew asking a second Jew to help a third Jew.

This is how we built this community.

That is how we protect it.

And that is how we carry forward – together.

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