Rebecca Leventhal and Michael Bohnen, Co-Chairs of CJP's Israel Innovation Mission 

In July, community members traveled on CJP's Israel Innovation Mission to meet with social entrepreneurs addressing post-October 7 needs in our homeland and to think strategically about how CJP and their Israel Emergency Fund (IEF) Task Force can help drive progress during this emergency, as well as into the future. The 20+ lay participants (including past board chair Shira Goodman), first-time visitors to Israel, and a non-Jewish ally, brought cross-disciplinary thinking to the process of funding CJP’s Israeli grantees. Rebecca and Michael co-chaired this new model of mission and worked collaboratively with staff to recruit participants, shape the agenda, and think critically about how to productively engage this large group in offering observations and advice to CJP staff and the IEF Task Force on how to deploy their funds.  Building off the experience and reflections of the broader group, Rebecca and Michael brought these recommendations to CJP's IEF Task Force, resulting in over $10 million of emergency funds being deployed.