Fighting back
The Hamas assault on October 7 and the ensuing war have spurred influential philanthropists in Israel and the Diaspora to give generously to the war effort, fund game-changing initiatives, effect social change, and speak out effectively for Israel and against antisemitism at public forums and in the media.
Dr. Miriam Adelson, whose casino magnate husband, Sheldon, passed away in 2012, is the richest Israeli in the world. She is the owner of Israel’s free daily newspaper, Israel Hayom, a major donor to United Hatzalah, and a leading supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In November 2023, she wrote these memorable words in an op-ed published in Forbes Israel:
“We Israelis, we Jews, love life. And we are done with meekly counting our dead. We have given so much to the world, so much to generations of civilization. Now it is time for some reciprocity. Don’t be dead to us. Be decent and fair. Be morally and intellectually clear-eyed. Be brave. We will not forgive our enemies in Gaza or anywhere else. Nor would you. And nor shall we forget the many who stand by us, understanding that our fight is their fight, too.”Sir Frank Lowy, who was born in Slovakia, made his fortune in Australia and made aliyah in 2018. A mega-donor to Tel Aviv University, inter alia, he donated $18 million to TAU’s International School in memory of his late wife, Shirley, enabling it to expand, enrich, and diversify its student body and study programs. Lowy is the founder of the Lowy Institute, Australia’s leading foreign affairs think tank, and chairman of the Institute for National Security Studies, an independent think tank in Israel that studies key issues relating to national security and Middle East affairs.
The Schusterman family’s philanthropic foundation funds a range of initiatives in the United States and Israel, pursuing more just and inclusive societies and distributing over $400 million annually to a variety of causes in both countries. They made their fortune via the family business, Samson Investment, one of the US’s largest oil and gas companies, and created the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1987. Since Stacy H. Shusterman took over as chair in 2018, the foundation has increased its support for vital educational programs and social services, including the Israel on Campus Coalition and Israel Institute, the Schusterman-Israel Foundation, Birthright, the ROI Community, and the Jerusalem Season of Culture.
Ofra Strauss is an Israeli businesswoman’s icon who, since 2001, has chaired the Petah Tikva-based Strauss Group food corporation, started by her family. She also chairs the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce and the Maala-Business for Social Responsibility, as well as serving as president of Jasmine, an NGO that promotes Jewish and Arab women’s entrepreneurship. A former chair of WIZO, her vast philanthropic activities include the founding of a scholarship program named after her grandmother Hilda Strauss, a co-founder of the family business, and serving on the boards of HESEG, the Israeli Foundation for Former Lone Soldiers from the Diaspora and the Taub Center for social policy studies in Israel.
Yael Eckstein has served as president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews since the 2019 death of her father, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who founded the organization in 1983 to promote better understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews and build broad support for Israel. Since October 7, she has boosted the Fellowship programs that provide food, medical and financial aid, and security to millions of needy Israelis. The organization also facilitates aliyah for Jews from around the world and assists impoverished elderly Jews and children in the former Soviet Union. Under Eckstein’s leadership, the Fellowship – which has offices in Jerusalem, Chicago, Toronto, and Seoul – is continuing the pioneering bridge-building work that has brought together millions of Christians worldwide to support Israel and the Jewish people.
Eitan Neishlos, based in Dubai, serves as president and founder of the investment house Neishlos Capital and spearheads the Neishlos Foundation, a philanthropic platform fostering coexistence, tolerance, and unity among the younger generation. The mission is achieved through Holocaust education initiatives and by promoting bonds of kinship and respect between Jews and Arabs, inspired by the Abraham Accords. Neishlos began his philanthropic journey in memory of his grandmother Tamara Zisserman, a Holocaust survivor whose life was saved by a Christian family. Most recently, he expanded his investments into security and film production, notably bringing some of his business endeavors to the United Arab Emirates.
Olessia Kantor, born in the Soviet Union, began as an investigative reporter but moved to Israel in 1995 to escape censorship. After fleeing domestic abuse, she found refuge in a shelter where she learned Hebrew and rebuilt her life. Overcoming many challenges, she became a successful businesswoman and dedicated herself to philanthropy, supporting battered women, promoting Jewish-Catholic dialogue, aiding Jewish centers, funding scholarships, and contributing to cultural restoration in Israel.
Now a best-selling author and mother of four, Kantor is actively helping victims of the October 7 War, including traumatized survivors and wounded soldiers. Driven by her belief in the power of hope, she continues to give back, inspired by her own journey of resilience.
Henry Swieca, a billionaire and investor based in New York, made headlines when he quit the board of Columbia Business School at the end of October, saying the campus had become unsafe for Jews since the launch of the Israel-Hamas War. A child of Holocaust survivors, Swieca is the founder of Talpion Fund Management and had been a member of the Columbia Business School’s Board of Overseers since 2014. “With blatantly anti-Jewish student groups and professors allowed to operate with complete impunity, it sends a clear and distressing message that Jews are not just unwelcome, but also unsafe on campus,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “My resignation is an expression of my deep concern for the direction in which the university is heading.”
In a similar move, Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife, Batia, whose philanthropy focuses on cultural and educational causes in the US and UK, resigned from the executive board of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in mid-October to protest the university leaders’ response to the Hamas attack. Ofer is the son of shipping billionaire Sammy Ofer, who was once Israel’s richest man.
“Unfortunately, our faith in the university’s leadership has been broken, and we cannot in good faith continue to support Harvard and its committees,” the couple said in a statement. “We denounce those who seek to place blame on the people of Israel for the atrocities committed by the terrorist organization Hamas.”
The bold actions taken by Swieca and the Ofers not only had a domino effect but ultimately contributed to the resignations of three Ivy League presidents (Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania) over the institutions’ mismanagement of pro-Palestinian student protests related to the Israel-Hamas war and their perceived failure to address antisemitism on campus.