Daniel Sokatch

Daniel Sokatch (born April 15, 1968) is an American activist, serving since 2009 as CEO of the New Israel Fund, which "supports causes in Israel relating to poverty, the environment, religious pluralism, and gender and ethnic equality."^[1] In recognition of his leadership and influence, Sokatch has been named multiple times to The Jewish Daily Forward's “Forward 50,” a yearly list of the fifty leading Jewish decision-makers, activists and opinion-shapers who have had a significant impact on the Jewish community.^[2]

Early life and education

Sokatch grew up in Cheshire, CT. His father, Seymour Sokatch,^[3] was the director of human resources at Yale University. His mother, Ann Stillerman Sokatch, studied counseling psychology at Southern Connecticut State College. He was also influenced by other relatives who encouraged his civic engagement and patriotism. His aunt, Lottie Gold, served as New York state's first female deputy secretary of state in the 1950s. Sydney Gold, his uncle, and Irving Stillerman, his maternal grandfather, served as New York City judges.^[4] When he was 11, his family moved to Cincinnati, OH.

Sokatch received his B.A. from Brandeis University with a focus on history, Near Eastern Studies and Judaic Studies. During his junior year, he lived in Ireland, studying the Irish conflict. After graduation he worked in social services in Boston from 1990 to 1994, helping the needy to find housing and other resources. That experience taught him how to advocate for the disenfranchised. In 1994 he enrolled in rabbinical school in Israel, hoping to become a religious leader focused on progress in social justice. But he left once he realized the rabbinical program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Jerusalem was committed to developing rabbis rather than activists. He graduated from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University with an MA in Law and Diplomacy. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Boston College Law School.^[5][6]

Career

He has published works in the Los Angeles Times, The Jewish Daily Forward, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, and is included in the anthology Righteous Indignation.

He was a founder of the Progressive Jewish Alliance and served as its first executive director. He succeeded in engaging Jewish youth in a way that many federations struggle to do. When it was founded, the PJA represented a break-away of younger and more liberal members of the Jewish community from more tradition organizations like the American Jewish Congress. Douglas Mirell, PJA president, said the reason for PJA's break from AJC was less geographical than ideological: The Los Angeles office was concerned that the national leaders were shifting to right-wing politics.^[7] With Sokatch’s leadership, the PJA grew from 250 members at its founding in 1999 to more than 4,000 ten years later. While at PJA, Sokatch served as a Visiting Instructor at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, teaching a class “Social Justice and Spiritual Activism,” and also served on the faculty of Reboot, a national network that connects Jewish Americans from the literary, entertainment, hi-tech, political, social action and academic communities.^[8]

From 2008 to 2009 Sokatch was the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. At the time Sokatch joined the Bay Area organization, it served a Jewish population of over a quarter million people according toa Jewish Community Foundation Study. The study asserted that the Bay Area constituted the third largest Jewish metropolitan area after New York and Los Angeles. The study also determined that half of married couples in the Bay Area Jewish community included a non-Jewish partner, and "as many children are being raised by one Jewish parent as are being raised by two." The JCF and the Jewish Community Endowment Fund budgeted more than $200 million to fund social services, educational and cultural programs in 2007 fiscal year.^[9]

In 2009 the New Israel Fund has selected Sokatch as the new NIF Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Larry Garber. Sokatch accepted the executive role at the $30 million Israel-Diaspora partnership known for its commitment to promoting equality and democracy for all Israelis.

References