In response to the question, “how are you?”, a Jew today, in Toronto or Tulsa or Turin, will likely offer a variation of the following response: “Good. And not so good.” If the person who asked the question is also Jewish, she or he, will understand the response without further inquiry. (Individually, things are good. Collectively, as a people, things could be better.)
The vile, shameless, aggressive nature of the hatred expressed toward Jews and Israel is increasingly alarming. And the frequency of the manifestations of that hatred, equally so. The situation is upsetting and jarring. And as we noted last week in this space, through Adam Hummel’s observations, feelings of anger by Jews in June of 2025, are wholly justified.
But our feelings of anger, though righteous, are also wholly inadequate and insufficient prescriptions as the “next step” in protecting ourselves and our society from the haters and from their destructive odium. Anger must lead to concrete individual and collective remedial action.
These days, community activists, educators, policy planners and a great number of “ordinary” Jews agree, that the best response to the loud, threatening malefactors who are bothered by Judaism and by Israel is fostering strong Jewish identity in ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.
Filling this “fighting-back-appropriately” prescription leads Jewish individuals and Jewish communities directly to expanded access to meaningful Jewish education, and if possible, to Jewish day school. GAJE hastens to add that meaningful Jewish education is an answer, in its own right, for discovering and leading a meaning Jewish life and not only as a response to anti-Jewish menacing crawling through western societies.
It is as the pathway to an engagingly moral, fulfilling Jewish life that we bring an article about Jewish education to readers’ attention. Specifically, we shall excerpt from an opinion piece written by Mikhala Stein Kotlyar.
Kotlyar is a grants manager at Reut USA’s Tikkun Olam Makers, an Israeli American nonprofit advancing assistive technology through frugal innovation.
In an article entitled, The Cost of Continuity for the Jewish Middle Class, published two weeks ago by eJP, Kotlyar pleads with community leaders to steer Jewish philanthropy towards making Jewish education truly affordable for middle class families. The fact that she works within the community and identifies with the community – our causes, purposes, past and future – makes her column even more poignant. She seeks Jewish education for the sake of her children. But as the times in which we live teach us, it is equally for the sake of the society in which our children will one day play a sustaining and contributing role as knowledgeable, proud Jews.
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“Imagine a world where every Jewish child could attend day school. Where Jewish values and leadership, Hebrew language and connection to Israel were guaranteed and not gated by income. Where Jewish identity, community and pride were built every single day.
“Now imagine what we are risking by failing to make that world a reality. For many middle-class families, the barriers to day school education aren’t just tuition costs. They include unpredictable aid, mounting fees and year-to-year uncertainty. The result is a cycle of stress and instability that makes planning for Jewish education nearly impossible.
“Jewish day schools are the most powerful continuity tool we have. As Jehuda Reinharz, president and CEO of the Mandel Foundation, noted in a recent interview in these pages, day schools are essential to fostering resilience for young Jews. That kind of resilience isn’t theoretical; it’s formed in classrooms and lunchrooms, in Jewish spaces that affirm our children’s Jewish identities.
“And yet, middle-class families are being priced out of all this. Too often, they earn just enough to be ineligible for aid but not enough to cover full tuition plus fees. This leaves even current day school parents in a precarious state, unsure from year to year whether they can remain in the very schools that fostered their children’s Jewish identity, community and connection.
“I know this because I am one of them….
“This is the call to conscience. The money exists. The question is whether we have the will to reprioritize and place Jewish day school affordability and continuity at the center of our philanthropic agenda. It’s time to treat day school affordability and predictability not as fringe concerns, but as core investments in the Jewish future.”
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Kotlyar displayed considerable courage in writing this piece. GAJE recommends it. It can be accesses at: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/the-cost-of-continuity-for-the-jewish-middle-class/?utm_source=cio
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GAJE expects to be before the Court of Appeal in the Fall, arguing for the right to a hearing on the merits of our application for fair educational funding in Ontario. When we learn the date of the hearing, we will share it with our readers.
If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit, please click here. Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of helping to underwrite the costs of the lawsuit. For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
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Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
June 13, 2025
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 