There’s a fair wind stirring in Israel. It’s the steady rise of philanthropy, now thriving in a culture that heretofore relied primarily on the government to solve social ills.
Our story this week on page 26 turns a spotlight on Israel’s new generation of philanthropists: millionaires and billionaires who helped build the “Start-Up Nation,” and have now turned their prodigious management skills and financial resources to improving Israeli society.
Some work to improve literacy or create work opportunities for at-risk youth. Others strive to build business alliances between Israeli Jews and Arabs. Whatever the target, these philanthropists learned government cannot and will not solve every problem, and that they have the power to make a difference.
This is true not only within Israel proper. Israeli beneficence has global dimensions, and can only help the country improve its image around the world. That’s a most welcome side effect.
It is by no means a stretch to claim that the Bay Area Jewish community played a role in nurturing Israel’s burgeoning culture of giving.
After all, the connection between Silicon Valley and Israel’s powerful high-tech sector is a well-established fact. Many of Israel’s wealthy made their money by teaming up with Bay Area venture capitalists and by opening offices here.
These same entrepreneurs cemented ties with the local Jewish community. What they found here was a culture of giving that has few rivals.
The three local Jewish community federations as well as Jewish charitable foundations all have a large philanthropic footprint in Israel. Is it incorrect to say that we, and other American-funded social service initiatives within Israel, have acted as a model for this new Israeli money? We don’t think so.
There is still a long way to go before Israel fully adopts the dimensions of philanthropy we take for granted in the United States. Israeli tax laws lag far behind ours here, corruption is a problem, and the mindset that government will always be there to pick up the slack still abounds.
Yet all that is changing before our eyes, and we can take heart from that.
Israel is not America; America is not Israel. We cannot expect Israel to copy every aspect of our intricate, uniquely American style of giving. But all signs point to a more generous form of Israeli philanthropy in the years ahead. Since it’s a small country, the ripple effects will be felt far and wide.