In eJewishPhilanthropy’s exclusive opinion column “The 501(C) Suite,” leading foundation executives share what they are working on and thinking about with the wider philanthropic field. 

At the core of Jewish tradition is a set of interwoven obligations to look after our own while simultaneously working toward a better future for all. We are, as Rabbi Sid Schwarz describes, both “Exodus Jews,” focused on our survival as a tribe, and “Sinai Jews,” bound by our covenantal calling to care for others. 

These dual tribal and prophetic roles are a source of continued inspiration for us at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. They are what drive us to invest in strengthening the Jewish people and Israel, as well as in building more just and inclusive societies. 

Indeed, for 35 years we have been helping people connect with their Jewish identity, Jewish peoplehood and Israel. We invest in Israel, Israel on campus and the U.S.-Israel relationship; and we fund efforts in the U.S. to strengthen democracy and voting rights, gender equality and reproductive rights, public education and criminal justice. 

But what has typically been a point of pride for many funders working in Jewish and secular spaces now feels like a point of tension. After the horrors of Oct. 7, how can we justify working toward a better world when our own people are in such distress? Shouldn’t we now, in this moment of moments, choose between the universal and particular?

Our answer is no. The impulse to restrict our focus to Israel and Jewish causes is understandable, as is the pull to give in to the ideological forces that would have us recuse ourselves from the fight for a more just world.

But ceding our spot at the table of humanity will not serve us, now or in the future. 

Our job as funders and practitioners is not to unravel the sacred bonds of our tribal and prophetic responsibilities, but rather to hold both. To choose both. 

Israel and the Jewish community deserve extra and ongoing support through this crisis, to be sure. After the attacks, we joined with many in the Jewish community to provide emergency support and ramped up our long-term Israel and Jewish giving. Our work in Israel was and remains all-consuming for many on our team. But we have sought to ensure our response comes in addition to and not instead of our universal commitments. 

This is not easy in a post-Oct. 7 landscape. At a time when the word “Zionist” is treated as a slur, it can feel treacherous to move forward with pride and take up space as Jews. It can also feel risky or even futile to push back against the extreme voices on both the right and the left. Yet pushing back in the name of our mission is what we must do: While others may see tensions between our work to advance gender, racial and economic equity and our work to strengthen the Jewish community and Israel, we see our Jewish values in action in both.

Moreover, in this hyper-polarized world, we see how crucial it is that our Jewish and secular work reinforce each other. Historically, what has been good for liberal democracies has also helped the Jewish people. The stronger our country’s civil fabric, the stronger the American Jewish outlook. 

Even before Oct. 7 and especially since, we have found that being as clear as possible with our grantees about who we are and what we stand for has allowed us to continue serving our mission alongside a diverse array of partners. For us, this has meant helping our secular partners understand our Jewish and Israel work, and our Jewish and Israel partners understand our secular work. It has also meant being more upfront about our core values and non-negotiable red lines. We strive to stay in relationships with our grantees and to foster open, respectful conversation when tensions do arise. While we have not always succeeded and while we continue to improve how we do this, we have found that in many cases, these conversations lead to deeper understanding, shared learning and opportunities for repair.

This same ethos extends to our work to foster nuanced dialogue about Israel and Jewish identity and other pressing social topics. The more space we can create to hear one another’s perspectives and break down the “pro” and “anti” dichotomies that are holding us back, the better off we will be as a Jewish people and as a country.

Staying focused, committed and courageous in a moment as fraught as this one is no easy feat, but the stakes themselves should motivate us. Never has there been a more important time to show people who Jews and Israelis are, forge allyships and demonstrate our commitment to humanity. 

The ancient tension we hold between our universal and particular callings is a feature of Jewish peoplehood, not a bug. We have been the stranger, so we know how urgent it is to care for our people. We have been the stranger, so we know how urgent it is to care for others. 

My message is not only to continue to uphold our legacy but to do so with pride and confidence. We belong in the arena working on behalf of a better world. It is precisely how we live up to our sacred obligations as Jews. It is our avodah, our holy work.

Lisa Eisen is co-president of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, which works in the United States and Israel to achieve more just and inclusive societies. Eisen leads Schusterman’s Jewish community and gender and reproductive equity grantmaking portfolios.