The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex: The History of a Multibillion-Dollar Institution by Lila Corwin Berman

Abstract

Reviewed by: The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex: The History of a Multibillion-Dollar Institution by Lila Corwin Berman Kathleen D. McCarthy (bio) The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex: The History of a Multibillion-Dollar Institution. By Lila Corwin Berman. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020. 280 pp. Lila Corwin Berman's excellent study of what she terms "the American Jewish philanthropic complex" asks a fundamentally important question in this era of billionaire donors and big gifts: How do you keep philanthropy intact without reinforcing inequality? Although she focuses specifically on the history of Jewish giving, the tale she tells has lessons for the field as a whole. Her stated goal is to move beyond earlier interpretations of Jewish giving as a form of "American Jewish civil religion" rooted in traditional values such as tzedakah (charity) and tikikun olam (repair of the world) and nurtured by American exceptionalism. Instead, Berman argues that Jewish philanthropy was, and is, firmly implanted "in the political economy of the American state," supporting "private forms of power over public goods and processes (7). Although her book begins in the nineteenth century, most of it deals with the years since World War II, with a particular focus on Jewish federations. Berman traces their evolution from "revolving door" charities that quickly moved donations to charities for immediate social welfare needs to richly endowed, politically influential institutions focusing on Jewish identity. In the early nineteenth century, both men and women actively participated in Jewish charities and associations. But as the charities grew and consolidated into federations at the threshold of the twentieth century, women were gradually marginalized, and by the late twentieth century those who remained found themselves in an extremely hostile environment, one infused with a toxic form of gendered politics. Berman's exploration of tax laws, political agendas, and an increasingly unbridled quest to stockpile money demonstrates that every aspect of the federations' growth lends itself to a tale of diminishing democracy and the consolidation of authority by men at the top. Initially, endowments were shunned. This began to change in 1920, when Jacob Schiff bequeathed $500,000 to New York's federation. It was a fairly unique event at that point, but when Schiff's son-in-law, Felix Warburg, added another $1 million endowment in his honor in 1922, it set a train of events in motion that drew the federations increasingly toward capital accumulation. Several factors converged to transform them from charities into quasi-community foundations with multi-million [End Page 81] and even billion dollar endowments. The horrors of the Second World War and the hope spurred by the creation of Israel convinced many federation leaders of the importance of setting aside funds for future emergencies and needs. Jewish communities were becoming richer and less in need of charity by the mid-twentieth century. Tax rates were also going up, making charitable deductions for big gifts more attractive. And as federations received more bequests, they became savvier about investments and tax laws, enhancing their appeal as financial advisors. Several individuals figure prominently in Berman's story, especially Norman Sugarman, an attorney who invented donor advised funds, and worked through public and private means to ensure that federation endowments received preferential treatment as public charities rather than private foundations, which saddled them with less onerous tax and administrative requirements and made them a preferred alternative for endowments and bequests. If all of this seems extremely technical, it is. But Berman skillfully weaves the minutiae of tax policy into a compelling story. As their resources grew, federation leaders such as Sugarman and Max Fisher, the millionaire president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds after 1969, used their institutional bases to pursue what Berman terms "depoliticized politics" (10). Not only did they lobby for favorable legislation, they also used their positions to shape United States policies toward Israel in the name of an American Jewish consensus that may or may not have existed. And a few leaders and major donors such as Sheldon Adelson used their positions and the influence accorded by their philanthropy to draw more wealthy Jews into the political camps of Richard Nixon, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. In effect, philanthropy paved...