After this update was written, on June 16, Kaelen Sherman, the daughter of the late Honey and Barry Sherman, announced the donation of $25 million to TanenbaumCHAT for the creation of the Honey and Barry Sherman Education Foundation. Speaking to a large audience at the Beth Tzedec attending the school’s 2026 graduation ceremony for the Class of 2026/5786, Sherman said the gift was intended to honour her late parents’ appreciation and support for Jewish education. It will help to ensure that every family that wants a Jewish education for its child, will be able to afford one. The terms and conditions for the gift were not announced.
How praiseworthy and inspiring the generosity of Kaelen Sherman. She clearly understands the urgency and the resulting needs of this moment in Jewish history.
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‘Immersive Jewish education not a luxury, but a necessity’
Since “October 7”, the pathways of our children’s lives as Jews, are fraught in ways that we – their parents and grandparents – never thought we would ever see or experience in our own communities in our showcase societies of western democracy. Until we restore those pathways, we must enable them to trod confidently wherever they choose to find their paths in life.
Thus, as the school year winds down, we bring another op-ed to the attention of our readers on the indispensability of Jewish education in helping our children become – as Jews – self-confident, self-identifying, informed, knowledgeable and proud.
Earlier this month, eJP published the remarks delivered in March to a conference on the future of American Jewry, by Mike Leven, chair of the board of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy, and founder of the Jewish Future Promise. The op-ed was entitled, somewhat bluntly, “We already know how to strengthen Jewish continuity. So why aren’t we doing it?”
Apart from the American context, which is the starting vantage point, his observations apply wherever in the Diaspora, that Jews reside. GAJE followers will likely understand and share the key points that Leven emphasized. Nevertheless, we give his ideas and insights further life, because they are indeed, so very important to the needs of the “hour” in which we now live.
Leven sets his course at the outset of the essay.
“For decades, the American Jewish community has debated the future of Jewish continuity. We have invested in advocacy, Israel experiences, leadership development, synagogues, camps, Hillels, security initiatives and countless other worthy causes.
“Yet after the Oct. 7 attacks and the wave of antisemitism that followed, we were forced to face a hard truth: Too many young Jews are stepping onto college campuses unprepared — not just to defend Israel or Jewish identity, but to even understand them in any real, lasting way.
“Many cannot explain Zionism beyond a handful of slogans. They do not know the story of modern Israel, the pioneers who built it or the generations who struggled to keep it alive. Some have never heard the names Chaim Weizmann or Ze’ev Jabotinsky, let alone the larger story that led to the birth of the Jewish state.
“This is not a failure of our young people; it is a failure of our own making. We cannot expect young Jews to defend an identity they were never truly given the chance to understand.
“The truth is that we already know one of the strongest tools for building lifelong Jewish identity, literacy, confidence and continuity: Jewish day school education.”
After citing data on the extent of enrollment in the USA in Jewish day schools, and providing further cultural, sociological observations about Jewish education there, Leven states categorically: “[I]mmersive Jewish education is not a luxury, but a necessity.”
He calls for “more scalable” models of day school education that are affordable and efficient that are emerging “to meet the moment we are now facing.” He even provides examples of such models. (See the full article.)
Leven imparts am unambiguous message. His audience comprises the families looking for some way to enroll their children in day school and community policy planners and philanthropic leaders who need no convincing of the correctness of his views or that the task is indeed, imperative.
“Jewish day schools are no longer simply an educational alternative. For many families, they are becoming a communal necessity. The question is no longer if Jewish philanthropy will act, but when. The urgency of this moment demands a unified, immediate commitment to expanding day school access. Our children and our future cannot wait…. After Oct. 7, the choice is clear: act boldly to expand Jewish education now, or risk losing the next generation.”
The article is available at: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/we-already-know-how-to-strengthen-jewish-continuity-so-why-arent-we-doing-it/
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If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit to achieve fairness in educational funding, 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 Thank you, in advance, for considering doing so.
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Shabbat shalom
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education
June 19, 2026
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 