Community leader Harel Turkel talks about why he joined Jmore’s board of directors.
When the community calls, Harel Turkel always picks up.
Not only is Turkel a member of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore’s board of directors and board of governors, he is also current co-chair of The Associated’s Israel and Global Initiatives Task Force, immediate past president of Jewish Community Services, vice chair of development for LifeBridge Health and a Sinai Hospital board member.
Turkel, a Wexner fellow, is a member of Chizuk Amuno Congregation’s Board of Directors and serves as its vice president of development. For the past 17 years, he has been married to his wife, Randi. They have three children who attend Jewish day schools.
Recently, Jmore spoke with Turkel to learn about why he decided to join Jmore’s nonprofit board.
How did you get involved with the board of directors of Maryland Jewish Media’s Jmore nonprofit initiative?
I’ve worked with Marc Terrill, and he’s been a mentor of mine for probably 20 years. So when he reached out to me and told me he was starting this new initiative, explained the mission to me, and asked me to join the board, it was a no-brainer. I had an instant yes for him.
Why do you think this is an important mission?
Post-Oct. 7th, [there has been a huge] amount of misinformation and influence that’s coming across social media channels. This next generation really don’t have the words and tools to [protect] themselves against this flood of antisemitism and anti-Zionism they’ve had to endure on campuses and even high schools. I don’t see it going away anytime soon, unfortunately. Someone could say it is a direct link to the war on Gaza, but I think this is antisemitism — its ugly face that’s now shown itself. It’s going to take a while to put it back in its box.
As the nonprofit board, I think we have the ability to help prepare this next generation to have effective conversations, to advocate for what they stand for, and to really be a voice in a community that is losing its confidence in this larger existential fight for Jewish values and the state of Israel.
What do you see as the Jewish community’s primary challenges today?
The Jewish Diaspora community has become so comfortable that we didn’t see this coming. We were caught off-guard with the hatred. We stood with [other groups], through every cause that has existed, for the last 15 years. And when we needed someone in our corner, the corner was empty.
Now, we’ve learned that we are only here for ourselves. We have to be, as is said in the Torah, a light upon the nations, and we can’t just be silent any longer.
We have to use our influence, resources, connections to make our case, and we can’t just expect our kids to advocate for themselves or for our people like we did.
I was in Florida visiting my sister for her 40th birthday recently and we were commiserating about the fact that we grew up in a generation that didn’t deal with antisemitism in high school or college or thereafter, like our parents did. My father tells me stories of growing up in Baltimore City when there were signs that said, ‘No Jews, no Blacks, no dogs.” That seemed so far away. But now my son, who’s 12, shows me how he’s being harassed on TikTok because his profile has an Israeli flag and a yellow ribbon. Luckily, he’s not afraid to speak up for himself. But that’s on social media, right? What happens in real life? Is he going to have the wherewithal and the confidence to speak up for himself as a high schooler or as a college student or beyond?
So I think our biggest challenge is how we craft this solution or solutions, whatever they may be, so that they resonate and it’s not just noise for this generation that has so much other noise coming through to them all day with their mobile devices.
Why would you like to see the community continue to support Jmore as a nonprofit media company?
[Before Jmore], there was definitely a void in the community, vis a vis a Jewish publication. So when Jmore hit the scene, it seemed like a breath of fresh air. It was a clean, crisp publication; the events were really nice; and the articles covered the entire gamut of our community, and not just a small cross-section. Now, we have the broad readership we were looking for and we can utilize our nonprofit status to bring speakers and have seminars and use our fundraising arm to affect some real change that only happens as a 501(c)(3), in my opinion.
What skills do you bring to the table to help with the initiative?
For better or for worse, I’ve been involved with nonprofits for probably 25 years around the community and in national Jewish organizations. I think I have learned how Baltimore plays into the larger American Jewish scene, and have helped navigate our community particularly in my current role as the Israel and Overseas chair for the last two years, post-Oct. 7th. I think I have a unique ability to combine donors, influencers, current generation and the next generation.
Where do you envision Jmore in a decade?
In a decade, we will have built up enough goodwill ambassadors and deep relationships that we are the convener of all things pro-Israel education and American Jewry. We’re a centralized hub in Central Maryland to prepare teens and college students to have the tough conversations. There’ll be a boot camp that’s attended by individuals, and it’ll be the talk of the town.
Kids ages 15-18 and their parents will know that before they leave the comforts of their public or private school here, they will have had an insightful relationship with a mentor from Jmore, someone from our board or one of our committees that will prepare them to go into the next phase of their life.
Jmore will be [a cause] that everyone wants to fund, is happy to support and finds it fresh and different than what’s being offered by other Jewish organizations. It’ll be its own platform that may collaborate and congregate with other affiliated organizations but will stand on its own two feet because it has such a unique value proposition that no one else in town is doing.
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