Studies show that in the aftermath of natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis, indicators of resilience were better predictors of how well a community recovered than the things you might expect, like wealth or physical infrastructure. Amazingly, communities with stronger social relationships and more informal, grassroots networks had higher survival rates and were able to rebuild faster. Their economic recovery was faster, and their rates of stress and trauma were lower.

This is a concept that speaks to the very core of what The Glue is all about, the idea of what holds communities together in these most difficult times.

In this episode of The Glue, we speak to Dr. Daniel Aldrich, Director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University, and one of the foremost scholars on Resilience, who has also done quite a bit of research on resilience in Israel and the Gaza Envelope, in particular, even before the October 7th attacks, most recently serving as an advisor to Tkuma, the government’s rebuilding task force. You can learn more about Daniel Aldrich's work on resilience in this presentation about natural disasters.

We also speak with Jewish Federations of North America’s Vice President of Israel and Overseas and Israel Office Deputy Director Rina Goldberg, who has been instrumental in helping allocate funds from the the astonishing $860+ million Israel Emergency Campaign Jewish Federations have raised.

She helps us understand how resilience and resilience-building fit into our efforts to help Israel recover and rebuild its communities.

"The Glue, with Eric Fingerhut," is brought to you by Jewish Federations on North America, the backbone of the North American Jewish community, representing over 350 communities across North America. Find out how you can get involved or donate to your local Federation at www.jewishfederations.org.

Have something to say about the show? Email us at podcast@jewishfederations.org.

Executive Produced by Niv Elis. Produced by Charlie Freedman.

Two weeks ago, Jewish communal leaders from across North America convened in Washington DC for Federations' annual General Assembly, where we tackled the biggest issues facing our community.

In this episode of The Glue, we bring you the conversation between Eric Fingerhut, Pulitzer-prize winning commentator George Will, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as they discuss antisemitism, how Israel can win its war, the state of college campuses, and how American politics has changed since the election.

You can also check out another podcast that we recorded live at General Assembly: The “Wondering Jews” podcast with Mijal and Noam. Mijal Bitton was our “Scholar in residence” at General Assembly, and she and Noam recorded their very first live podcast episode there, with guest Megan McCain. Their conversation was extremely compelling, and I encourage you to check it out.

"The Glue, with Eric Fingerhut," is brought to you by Jewish Federations on North America, the backbone of the North American Jewish community, representing over 350 communities across North America. Find out how you can get involved or donate to your local Federation at www.jewishfederations.org.

Have something to say about the show? Email us at podcast@jewishfederations.org.

Executive Produced by Niv Elis. Produced by Charlie Freedman.

Over the summer, Jewish Federations joined with many other organizations to urge universities to make some changes in order to prepare for the onslaught we knew would be coming in the fall. While we’re happy to report that we’ve made some significant progress. there is still so much more work to be done, and unacceptable levels of vitriol and harassment of Jewish students.

Earlier this month, at the University of Washington, we saw one of the ugliest versions of this phenomenon in play when a group of leaders speaking up about antisemitism–not Israel or Gaza, but antisemitism–were shouted down and forced to evacuate for their own safety.

One of those leaders was Solly Kane, the President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, and Lauren Steinberg, Managing Director of Civic Engagement here at Jewish Federations of North America, who is taking the lead on the college campus issue. In this episode, we discuss what's happening on campuses, what's working, and what's not in the fight against campus antisemitism, as well as how it affects the broader community.

Read Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's full letter in response to calls for him to speak out about what happened at University of Washington.

To get involved, sign up for General Assembly Nov 10-12 at https://generalassembly.org/.

"The Glue, with Eric Fingerhut," is brought to you by Jewish Federations on North America, the backbone of the North American Jewish community, representing over 350 communities across North America. Find out how you can get involved or donate to your local Federation at www.jewishfederations.org.

Have something to say about the show? Email us at podcast@jewishfederations.org.

Executive Produced by Niv Elis. Produced by Charlie Freedman.