How The Holocaust Influenced the NFL Vikings Management Style with Owner Mark Wilf

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if you've been consuming this show religiously pun intended you've come to expect that I'll open with some sort of detailed observation or breakdown of an issue negatively impacting the Jewish Community today I want to do something a little different because this week my fellow Americans and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving a holiday that at its best is meant to foster a spirit of appreciation and generosity a reason to sit around the table with our nearest and dearest and to reflect on all the good that we have in a world that can often feel scary or hopeless so in the spirit of that famous pre smallpox Community celebration we remember from so many centuries ago I'd like to focus on the idea of gratitude for as a global community of Jews and non-jewish allies we truly do have so much for which to be grateful while October 7th and its Fallout have undoubtedly brought about the darkest time of contemporary Jewish history The One Shining Light has been the way it has reignited the spark of jewishness in each of us or as it's called in Yiddish dos pin yid that little point of a Jew which I learned from author Sarah heritz who will be on the Pod very soon now this isn't just a gut feeling or an anecdotal experience there are mountains of hard data and the data is clear more Jews feel more Jewish or want to feel more connected to their jewishness than ever before within the Jewish institutional world they're calling this miraculous phenomenon the surge which coincidentally was my favorite soda in middle school so double win the statistics are remarkable since October 7th Jewish community centers or The JCC as it's commonly known in your neighborhood have experienced a 25% increase in early childhood program enrollment a 47% reported increase in home ritual and an 86% increase in interest around holiday programming Hillel International which acts as the hub for the Jewish community across college campuses has seen a 56% rise in job applications while keshet a Jewish lgbtq organization has seen a 200% increase in theirs Jewish telegraphic agency one of the world's key sources for Jewish news has seen 20% rises in both new viewers and returning there's good news for Jewish geners too for a change the Federation of Jewish camps saw a 25% increase in applications from college age staff the Shalom Hartman Institute a pluralistic Center for Jewish thought and education saw a 75% increase in applications for their teen fellowship and Twine a program of the humanitarian joint distribution committee saw a 368 per increase in enrollment in their Jewish holiday events for college students abroad Jewish philanthropy is also soaring Jewish federations of North America led by the efforts of my mother Julie have raised over $850 million to date for their Israel emergency C campaign funding dozens of on the ground initiatives in support of the Israeli people the American Jewish committee or AJC had their biggest fundraising year ever and federation's National young leadership cabinet of which I became a part this past fall saw a 25% increase in applicants and an increase in gift size by an average of $800 per person my favorite stat however is this one the Miller intro to Judaism program of which I am a board member provides a comprehensive foundational Jewish Education for anybody Jewish Jewish or Jew curious since October 7th we've seen a 71% increase in enrollment we have thousands of students online as well as in-person classes across the globe from Alabama to South Korea the demand has gotten so huge they had to create an AI chatbot to handle all the incoming communication if you want to get in on some of that booming philanthropy this would be a good place to do it another bright spot worth highlighting at least from what many of you have told me is this podcast and really not just the podcast alone but the community around the show that we are all creating together me my vulnerable and insightful guests my unbelievable Team without whom none of this would be possible and of course all of you to understand the impact we're having together just listen to some of the incredible comments you've been generous enough to share with me in a time where it's scary to be visibly Jewish living in a place with not a lot of Jews I realized how proud I am to be Jewish and I love it I listen to the podcast on my way to school and it always enriches my day and makes me feel comfort and pride in who I am I'm not Jewish and listening to you makes me better understand what it's like today to be Jewish you have helped me understand to view things differently than I did a year or two ago it has been so incredibly healing for me during this incredibly difficult time it's given my sister and I something in common to talk about in this political landscape I've been struggling a lot this year and this podcast has really helped me feel connected to the Jewish community in ways that had been difficult for me your podcast gives me that feeling of community and belonging I've been missing I feel more connected less alone and more proud to be Jewish every time I listen friends I am deeply moved by your words it is I who feel immense gratitude for each of you for allowing me into your homes and phones and cars and earbuds into your dinner conversations and private musings into your minds and into your hearts I created this show for you and to know that it is empowering and educating and comforting you means the world to me truly thank you for helping me to find my life's Mission and for joining me on the journey to accomplish that mission together my heart is full I know it's a ubiquitous phrase these days but its sincerity cannot be denied and for that I can do nothing else but give thanks this is the 11th episode of being Jewish with me Jonah plat [Music] [Music] today I'm sitting down with a person who has achieved success in multiple Arenas literally he is a co-owner of Major League soccers Orlando City Soccer Club women's league Orlando Pride and most famously the NFL's Minnesota Vikings set to demolish my beloved Rams at Sofi Stadium tomorrow night where I will be in attendance for the likely shellacking but his most important successes have been his contributions to the Jewish Community for whom he has worked tirelessly as a leader philanthropist and Holocaust educator Jews and sports fans alike please welcome Mark wil thanks for having me so you are celebrating the 20th season of your family's ownership of the Vikings when you took that leap in 2005 were you like I wonder what year 20 is going to look like or was it just let's see what happens well it was always a great dream of our family to to be involved with professional sports in the NFL we grew up just such big football fans and uh to be part of it you could never even dream the journey we've been on how incredibly Rich it's been how incredibly uh rewarding as far as the people we've met the experiences we've had and so it's been uh exceeded all our expectations so cool so you bought the franchise for $600 million it's now valued at over5 billion you have a beautiful Stadium an appreciative fan base a charitable foundation and you're tied for first of the highly competitive NFC North clearly something about the way you all are approaching this franchise is working extremely well how would you categorize your approach and how do your Jewish values play into it well I I would tell you ownership in in a sports league in particularly the NFL we view ourselves of stewards of a Community Asset a great franchise yes it's a business but we very much try to have a family atmosphere to it and we have the greatest fans in Minnesota the success is is is spread around in many ways and so um that's been what it's about and you mentioned Jewish values uh being part of a community uh being tolerant being part of social justice and awareness these are values that the NFL Embraces the Minnesota Vikings uh the soccer clubs were involved with the sports platform is very powerful yeah we know that and and through that we can kind of get our values through as far as making sure we can be good citizens and make sure Society can be better for it well that's fantastic I have to ask what are your predictions for the rest of the NFL season how you feeling well uh you know I I'll quote commissioner tagu when we bought the team 20 years ago he he did give us a warning uh the ball's not round and so it takes funny bounces you never know what to expect I think that's why people love the NFL yeah and uh you know when we were kids we were big Giants fans okay yeah grown New Jersey we would be devastated when the Giants would lose a game and my dad who had a lot of wisdom and a lot of experience would always tell us as kids after a loss and we couldn't do our homework we couldn't muster up the energy he'd say you know things could be worse guys you could be the owners and so uh we we again it's a privilege every day I can't predict the wins and losses uh we love quy our GM Kevin oconnell who was in LA of course our coach and all our players and staff so we're hopeful we're pushing hard for our viking fans to get a trophy one day so God willing we'll get there the Vikings really are a family business I mean your brother Ziggy is a co-owner your cousin Leonard's a co-owner your sons and nephew work for the team and many of the women in your family are on the Vikings Foundation board including your niece Alana who I went to college with I I think we actually took Sports business together funny enough uh worked out more for her than for me uh what does it mean to you to have your entire professional life both in real estate and in sports be a family affair from top to bottom you know I come from a family of immigrants my parents and grandparents all Holocaust Survivors so uh continuing the family Legacy and the family closeness is very important and in addition to business we're not everyone necessarily in the business uh being around Sports rooting for a team that we're involved with as well as philanthropy has kept the family very close and together and it's a great thing to experience as a family so all the all the relatives you talk about all the that spirit I think it's something that's a great model I think the ownership uh groups that we admire the most in sports are often family uh business type models and so that's what the kind of model we emulate and and uh that's what we've done at the Vikings what do you think is special about that like why is that something you admire and sought to emulate that family model I I think that's kind of how we want to even broaden that to the the the general staff and our fan base and the community is we try to have it a family feel we make sure our players and our staff and our fans feel part of something larger than themselves right and that can be as as uh as significant as having daycare on game days for our staff or a quiet room where families and fans can can experience that they might want to a quiet room for their young children that maybe have have trouble in a stadium so those kind of things um those kind of values that emanate from a family type of look at things I think are a big part of of sports ownership that's fantas my my son who's five he gets a little bit overwhelmed by the sound at stadiums we were literally talking last night I can't tell you how many times we've seen multiple Generations together attending games and that's part of why we building the stadium and making the training camp everything first class we wanted to have families to be able to experience it and if you don't have the best environment uh that's not going to be possible so uh we're very proud of that fact and especially in Minnesota Upper Midwest you have so many great communities there where football is such a big part of their life and uh we try to make sure it's it's a special experience people are putting their paychecks towards tickets towards the experiences and we want to make sure it's first class all the way so I'm assuming the fact that you all you know work together every day you and your family must have been very close growing up as well right well we were and again um we had the model of our parents uh for instance my father and Uncle uh have had Nextdoor houses in New Jersey growing up together they shared a desk in their office for almost 40 years you know what they went through in in in the war and the Holocaust they they knew they lost so much and what was the remnants of our family we wanted to make sure they wanted to set the example to be close and that's very important and that's how we can maintain and pass on the values to our next Generations and that's beautiful that's what really matters in the end and that's so nice that you had that example were you guys religiously observant growing up we grew up in Elizabeth New Jersey and uh we had we came to a a very observant community Community we had Rabbi Pinas tits was a very uh strong role model for our family for many of the Holocaust Survivors that came the New York area came to the Elizabeth New Jersey Community because of this Rabbi and was he himself a Survivor or he he was not but he had a presence and and and when they did a lot of the Holocaust Builders they call them the builders many of the Holocaust families were in the real estate bu business and they gathered around that community that school and that kind of was shaped a lot of the values for our various families so so we grew up going to an orthodox Temple uh we had varying degrees of observance I'd say conservative to Orthodox levels and so that's how we grew up and more importantly it was about having a very strong Community a very strong tie to each other through Federation and through other things and of course the state of Israel that was our North Star for especially the survivors they were so proud of the fact that they had a big role in helping build the state of Israel and clearly these lessons have informed your entire life and and your whole value system well it was a very simple lesson that I still carry with me to this day had there been a state of Israel in those days as opposed to now the Jewish World the communal world and our own fam's world would have been very different the people and the lives that were lost and the future Generations were lost and what a lost not just personally but to our community to our Jewish community and To The World At Large yeah and that's something that I think um is is just drives me every single day let's get into your your parents and grandparents a little bit how much was their Holocaust Story part of your everyday life well I will tell you this they were very much um I mentioned their love of Israel yeah they had an equally great love and to this day of the United States of America so after their survival uh they came to the Birmingham Alabama Jewish Community okay that Community sponsored my parents and uh and and and the American golden Medina the Golden Country that was their dream to come here and to build a life from that point on and for us growing up we were very much pushed to get education to be part of American society and to thrive so we did not spend every day at the dinner table talking about their Holocaust stories and what they went through we knew almost intuitively that they went through some tremendous hardships every Holocaust Survivor family had a different experience but of course but for us it was very much uh go to school go to sporting events uh do the things that American kids do and are fortunate to do and and and begin to rebuild a life here in America in the Jewish community and in the community at large that that we could Thrive what was it something they spoke about at all or because I know some survivors came and they never wanted to speak about it again and some gush about it to anyone who will listen so they can share the story it's where did your folks fall it's a full spectrum I would say uh they didn't talk too much about the details when we were when we were younger children in my own case I'm the youngest in in in in my own family and uh when I was out of in law school in in the mid 80s um I was asking a lot of questions to my dad and my mom and uh we went on a trip to Russia and uh back before when there was still an iron curtain and we went to Russia and to Poland and we saw my parents hometowns and I asked all the questions I learned even in my 20s that I had an aunt who perished in the war and I had never known that Growing Up So something as close as that and as powerful as that was something I only learned later so again everyone had a different experience but our experience was uh thankfully sheltered in a way where we could live our life freely and practice our Judaism and our and and are being part of America in a very free way so you you mentioned Russia and Poland were did you have one parent from each or where was the borders moved around it's a complicated history U my my father grew up in a small town called Yus Poland and uh when when the uh uh the the Russians and the Germans had a treaty to divide up Poland they were in a border area and eventually they were booted out and eventually made their way to Siberia to a labor camp and then later to a place not far from Afghanistan halfway between Japan and Europe to be as far away as possible to live out the war wow so they were never under direct Nazi occupation my mother was from lvav Poland and uh she had a much more Haring experience in a way um her my grandmother my Babu Miriam she's one of the heroes and role models of My Life um they were in the lvav ghetto there were 180,000 Jews in the lvav ghetto and my my mother's family was one of the very few to survive intact as a family unit wow they escaped the ghetto U My Grandmother Had Christian papers to work work papers so she along with my mother and Uncle who were little children went to work on a farm the farm worker didn't know they were Jewish or she would have turned them into the Germans and my grandfather did not have those papers and so for two years they worked on that farm and my grandfather was hidden under the floorboards of the barn for those two years wow in The Damp W they snuck him in there at some point yes and every night they would bring him food and in fact later in the 50s he passed from uh uh he got a disease from living that way for those years in in in the during the war so God um kind of experience where um really the strength and of my grandmother to make sure that they survived was a hour to hour minute to- minute thing and so my mother thank God who's still living still still has those memories and shares and talks about it much more freely uh to school kids and others now so that's great it's very powerful when we talk about children of survivors even grandchildren often we talk about inherited trauma is that something you feel you've experience I will tell you uh myself my brothers my cousins we were so fortunate and all the families that grew up together in in northern New Jersey that we all knew each other had a very rich and wonderful experience so we did not at least that I know experienced that Trum in fact in 1980 um I was just graduating high school and we went to Israel it was the first Gathering ever of Holocaust Survivors wow in Jerusalem there were over 10,000 people went and I recall going there and there were all kinds of workshops for second generation and psychological trauma and the things you're talking about and to me it was like what is all this stuff it was really strange to me now I'm not um diminishing in any way uh people have had all kinds of experiences all kinds of experiences with via their parents or their own experiences and so we were very blessed and what I'm hearing is that sort of the the balm to that trauma is supportive close-nit family and community and just love and support exactly and I think um we had that strong family connection and even among our business partners there was a very close Spirit of kinship that even to this day exists in many ways so uh that was a a way for them to survive they were so busy working to build a life together they didn't have time uh to to dwell on the things now what they went through and and the things I know my grandmother I know she didn't go to to sleep a single night without thinking about all those horrible stories and the relatives she lost and all that but for us as young people it was all about us and they really really um we strong and courageous to let us lead the lives we've been able to lead sound like amazing people aside from obviously this hugely significant core piece of your Jewish identity growing up were there any other programs or places or people that helped you form that sense of Jewish identity well I think from for my my family and my dad in particular Federation Jewish Federation and the institutional Community to and Israel bonds to build Israel to build a strong Jewish Community was something very much a part of life he was very active nationally in uja and raising funds and doing those kind of things and that was the driving force it was about uh not just the state of Israel but also giving to education that was something very important and you know we're very proud of the fact this year we're celebrating the 60th year of our family Foundation wow and as immigrants only 10 plus years into this country they had the vision to say we want to make sure to establish strong communities so for me growing up it was about my dad taking me to Super Sunday making phone calls to raise money and to help volunteer um it's going in the 70s when there were Russian immigrants coming to our community and helping them with my mom to set up an apartment and to bring them food and welcome them so those kind of experiences made me begin to have a taste of how powerful is and the fact that we were fortunate in business beginning to have some success there but always to give back and making sure less fortune and of course the community be strong your parents are sadic I mean I mean you you're so blessed of such incredible role model parents absolutely it's amazing to sort of you know see all your success and the man that you are clearly so much of it comes from what they instilled in you it's really beautiful well not just that and and that that's true no question we have those role models and and and and also just cherishing life right you know what they went through and how great this country was to them and how blessed we are to have a St of Israel I'm blessed okay it's one generation move but I have a a first row seat if you will to the fact that there what happened to their lives because what they went through and now what we're blessed to have and yes we have tremendous struggles now but look at the blessings we have and that's something I try to make sure we try to find the common ground and to find the good things that we can work off of yeah your father was the first North American chair of March for the living so first of all I'd love for my audience to hear from you what that is and also I want to hear how your family became so involved like I said education is a major driver for us in terms of making sure uh the future generations and we see how uh literacy of the Jewish world and and just current events in general is lacking so big time the March living back uh I think it was in the 70s or early 80s I'm not sure exactly the dates but he along with some others were part of the founding group wow and it's it's a trip with thousands of young people going every year every other year sometimes going to aitz going to the camps to visit and see the horrors that were and to learn the history of the Holocaust but the trip concludes with a trip to Israel right so you see the past and you see the future and so um we were blessed even a couple years ago to go my father passed nine years ago and um we dedicated a March in his honor and in his memory a few years back and just to see how the strength of that there are now future generations of course millions and millions of lives were extinguished and the future Generations that would have come with but now we have young people that love Israel that are jewishly educated they're jewishly minded and that gives everybody hope I think that's great for not just the Jewish Community but also like I said for society in general that out of the ashes can be positivity can be growth and can be hopefulness yeah what did it mean for your dad to have survived those Horrors then become the leader of bringing people back to understand them I mean that's that's a pretty amazing Arc my father was a very humble man and he was all about getting to work to do the to do those things so uh for him it was no choice we had to have all the things that he helped to build including for instance yadvashem yes that every world leader every person that can millions and millions of people can learn not just about the Holocaust but the lessons it teaches about humanity and tolerance these horrific events and and the uniqueness of the Holocaust happened with very small steps in the beginning right and those small steps led to very horrible things and that's why we have to be very Mindful and not take anything for granted no doubt So speaking of yadvashem your family is the single largest supporter of yadvashem which is the amazing Holocaust Museum in Israel I mean that speaks volumes to me that you support it in that way but tell me in your words you know what that means to you and what it means to have built yourselves up from nothing to come to the position where you're able to make such a significant contribution that's so important to your family and as you said you know the global Community well for those of your viewers who've been I'm sure it's not so hard to explain but those who haven't I urge every person in humanity to go to that Yash if they have the opportunity to do so and certainly everyone who comes to Israel that's that's almost an automatic and again it goes back to the Northstar in my personal life is that what the world would have been like back then had there been a state of Israel and what's powerful about the museum is and and all the experience I've had around that is how their life was before the War I grew up in America in a nice neighborhood with nice schools and my parents had the same experiences right they were in Poland my my mother's father had a lumber business they were successful they they LED their life and so there are a lot of similarities to have a a nice life in diaspora and that's how the Holocaust story Yem is told and then you go through the horrors and then you see light of Israel and exactly and each step and then but then at the end of course the tragedy the millions and millions murdered six million Nas that are lost forever and and what that would have led to but then afterwards to see the state of Israel something that was built out of those ashes and uh it's a very powerful Arc and it's something it's just a great reminder and education so we're very proud of our involvement with the EM as I know many people are and so yeah speaking of uh Holocaust Education uh a 2020 survey across all 50 states found that nearly a quarter of people between ages 18 and 39 think the Holocaust was either exaggerated or didn't happen at all first of all what does it feel like to even hear that it just reminds me of the fact that every generation has to be taught from scratch M it's um it's on us uh I don't necessarily blame the young people right but I blame the grown-ups in the room and it's incumbent on all of us and when we talk about mandatory Holocaust Education and and doing the tours and visits and we're very proud in fact in the Sports World we bring a group of young high schoolers from Minnesota every year to the african-amer museum and the Holocaust Museum and to learn about these histories and to become better educated about what it means to be a a good citizen and to care for each other so I hear those stats and of course it's troubling but it it reinvigorates us all as it should be rein reinvigorates me to do more and listen October 7th um the statistics of young people becoming more interested in learning and finding out what's going on in the world Jewish you mentioned young Jewish people I think there there there's been a real Renaissance of people wanting to learn more about their history about their identity to volunteer to do what they can because it's very real to the Next Generation and I think it's a wake up call for all the Next Generation to uh to to do more you're incredibly involved with the Jewish Community we've already talked about a number of things and a number we haven't even talked about you're former president of the Federation of Greater Metro West the immediate past chair of the board of the Jewish federations of North America post my mother now holds shout out to Julie um and you're now the Julie yeah thank you Julie uh and you're now the chair of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel I mean holy like do you eat do you sleep well like I said it's um I just have again I I I was surrounded by role models that that never really just they just did right and I try my best to to do our our part and like I said you mentioned the Jewish Agency for Israel yeah um really part of the founding of the state of Israel and the largest beneficiary of American Jewish community dollarwise and and peoplewise and so we do some incredible things um we've since October 7th for instance we have a victim of Terror fund and within 48 Hours of anybody in Israel having a terrorist attack there's a check delivered from the Jewish Community worldwide to say we're thinking about you this will help you get back on your feet and then beyond wow and this doesn't necessarily go to Jewish people any victim of Terror whether it's Jews Christian Muslim Israeli um so so we're very proud of that and the fact is for the last 30 years since the fund happened there were 10,000 recipients uh for this fund wow in the in the year since October 7th that has doubled over 10,000 families just in this past year receiving those funds thousands of them needing three four years of Rehabilitation mental counseling all the rest so that's one point of light another point of light 1,500 Israelis came this past summer I know summer camp is something you're passionate about big time and your family 1500 campers came from Israel to North America many of them some of them were hostages wow and they came the summer for respit for an experience to be bonded with the Jewish community and they came to Summer Camps all across North America so these kind of things building a community and making us stronger is very powerful can you talk specifically about your work with the Jewish Agency for Israel with ukrainians over the past couple years I'll tell you one powerful story um my dad grew up in osv like I said and there's a small Border Town between Poland and Ukraine medika and and in there we went a few weeks after the War Began we went to the border crossing and thousands and thousands of refugees Jewish non-jewish the rest were coming in and the very first thing I mean back then um my father my parents nobody in the world cared about them they were refugees no one gave a darn about the Jewish people yeah and here it is 80 years later and the very first flag at that border is a mug and do it an Israeli flag there's a Care Center the Jewish agency The Joint were all there to greet these refugees to help them on their way to help them find refuge and that's a very powerful thing to all of us should be proud of yeah is that when you talk about the work going on in Ukraine and even Ethiopia I going to get to ethiop you know these are communities that are um forlorn affected I people don't realize since October 7th there have been over 30,000 oim immigrants coming to Israel during a war during a time where missiles are are flying over their heads so there there's a great uh yearning for having that haven even with everything going on and we talk about the Ethiopian Community yeah we brought over you know many many thousands operation Solomon operation Moses over the years and only recently we just concluded included uh operation uhel and it brought another few thousand so now there's the last remnants of the Ethiopian Community we still take care of them in Ethiopia and hopefully there'll be some more coming in particularly family reunification that's something very important where um parents and children or siblings are separated to bring the remnants of this community to Israel you and your Vikings ownership group have been totally Unapologetic in your Jewish advocacy which I just really want to come men you for first of all it doesn't go unnoticed I mean let's start with the holidays so the Vikings and the Orlando City Instagram they commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and all the other Jewish holidays I mean you got pictures of hanuk kot and yum kipur in Hebrew what does that mean to you to be able to use a major platform like that to normalize Jewish life and what has the response been to it well it's been very positive but in all fairness uh we recognize all the holidays I know was all the commemorations from every religion and every uh because the beautiful thing about sports and the Arts have it and others but Sports bring people together M and that's so powerful and I really work very hard in the boardrooms of any these leagues or any committees to make sure that the lines inside the boundaries are polit politics free zones as much as we can have them and try to have themes that we can all rally around and most importantly to love the game itself because that brings us together and so um you know when it when it came to October 7th for instance yeah uh when we made a a moment of silence for the victims and the hostages that was something we just felt was so important because I think every nationality was affected by that Tragedy by that Massacre so those kind of things um we're proud of and again but we're we we recognize we're part of a larger world and so we bring our Jewish values but we talk about making sure that Sports is for all and it's a platform we can all Bond around so on October 8th you made a statement on the social media accounts of both the Vikings and Orlando city which was as follows the Hamas attacks on Israel are horrific and senseless our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent civilians and all those impacted by terrorism we stand in solidarity with the people of Israel very powerful what was the decision process like to put that statement out it's a balancing of a lot of factors but we felt there's certain moments and for instance we had the murder of George Floyd if few years ago MH and we also had a similar debate around that and we felt an urg to say something now the wording of it had to be balanced had to uh make sure that it was worded in a certain way that uh uh that it recognized the pure tragedy of it on a human level yeah I mean I think that's the power of I mean um I applaud I know I know for instance uh right here in La the the Nova exhibit yeah was here recently and I think it's important to tell the story that it's not about any one side or another those were people that just went to a music festival and I think every human being can relate to that and so we have to make sure we tell the story in as little political way as possible as humanitarian way as possible and make the point that people lost their lives and and and we empathize do you ever look at the comments on these social media posts occasionally I looked at some of the comments on these and for that statement in particular you know for every thank you there were two you know whatabouts or free Palestines or just stick to sports or I hate this franchise now I mean what what do you make of that there are certain moments where we just feel we have to step up and say something when they become of of that magnitude and that uh historic it's it it's meant to speak up again um that's a balance we try to strike so now I understand you've been to Israel three times since October 7th uh I just got back from a trip there myself which was fantastic can you give me like one or two of the most impactful experiences you had on those trips I mean so many of course any time meeting with the hostage families and we pray every single day that they that they they find peace and that they get returned um I remember going to the hostage Square in Tel Aviv and I went there on Friday night on Shabbat and to see the table of over hundred at that point Chairs set for Shabbat empty those kind of things are visual going to the South and be visiting a newos or uh or going to the Nova site and just seeing the faces one by one the individuals you it's almost again the Holocaust also it's one by one each person is a is a whole world to itself sure and you felt it that way when you went to visit so and of course then going to the north and we visited some of the families uh that are affected we we went to absorption centers that AED in the north no absorption centers are for immigrants when they come into to Israel we have almost 4,000 citizens in IM from Russia Ukraine nearly 30% are under 35 years old young educated people coming to Israel to build a life even during these times we have senior centers uh that we go visit and we have to make sure that there were bomb shelters nearby we have to make sure there's taken care of and safe and they're staffed I mean I'm so inspired by the Israelis and their resilience and their professionalism I I get to work around staff in the nonprofit world that dedicate their lives to taking care of each of the community so you know we go through things here and of course on campuses and all the rest but what they're going through is life and death and uh it's something I just uh I feel so proud to be uh in any way connected to the to the Israeli Society how supportive has the NFL community and sports community at large been towards you as a Jewish and Israel Advocate I I think uh we have great people in the NFL in the soccer World or all the sports people I've met across all the leagues and we we do Bond around things like uh about hate uh about social justice we gather together we have a committee on the Minnesota Vikings where we fund and the players decide where the money goes to so whether it's criminal uh reform or voting getting out the vote or police reform all these kind of things um we you know we share our personal story with players and our staff about what my parents went through but they've gone through things sure they've gone through things in high school shootings at Games and Things in their own households so everyone comes at it from different perspectives but I find the sports world really coales around themes about common Humanity fighting hate and really great support and I think it makes in in a really significant way of difference what advice do you have for folks who might want to become more involved in the Jewish community service work as as you are but maybe don't have the resources to be as philanthropic do whatever it takes whatever you did yesterday do a little bit more today and that could mean having a Shabbat dinner with friends and talking about Community it could be volunteering uh delivering Passover uh food baskets or spending an hour with an elderly person in a in a senior home there's so many opportunities I'd urge people to go to their local community that could be the Jewish Federation it could be any other number of organizations and I know everyone's busy with careers with family with the daily things going on but it's so rewarding being part of something larger than yourself and I think that's what community is about so makes your life richer and God willing if you young people will have kids one day that can be an example for them to carry it on so um you know it's not something necessarily innate in people but it's a habit that everyone should learn in a small way whatever small way to start and then it grows from there good advice what areas of need are you most focused on right now well I will tell you on a personal level uh certainly since October 7th um Israel we have to heal yeah uh in Israel um that's going to take a very long time and we have to begin rebuilding I know your mom and your family is aware of this and uh we're hard at work to start beginning that process to start looking at what it's going to take to rebuild and it's going to take a lot yeah at the same time um I think campus life is something we have to be concerned about oh yeah I think it's going to take decades to transform it back to where it needs to be I'm I'm hopeful that things are a little bit better this year in terms of universities and leadership in universities trying to make sure to promote opportunities where there's no fear that students can at least have dialogue in a safe setting a bare minimum a bare minimum but I think we're getting closer to that bare minimum than we were a year ago I'm hopeful but we have to be optimistic and we have to be hopeful because I had the privilege again to grow up around people that saw the worst in humanity and the worst tragedy in human history and yet with all that they went on to build a life and move forward and I think we have to do that like again through all the things I talk about education and tolerance and I think um hopefully we're beginning to be at the beginning of that journey to Great North Star to have okay so we usually finish off the show by taking some questions from our social media audience who have some questions for you um David Michael Barrett asks what's the biggest misconception about Jews and sports wow that's uh I I would say there's the misconception that that uh and uh uh that were more suited to ownership maybe than playing sports the the Jewish ath is not strong but we have some incredible uh athletes through football through all sports so that's a misconception but yeah maybe there's you know uh again relative to our numbers uh there's some there's some great Jewish athletes and it goes beyond Sandy kofax and Hank Greenberg so of course um at Joselyn h23 asks why are the Vikings jerseys purple that's a good question we'll have to get our crack research department but I will tell you it's a bipartisan color cuz it combines red and blue there you go and I tell all our Jewish friends we are the only team I mean the Rams could maybe make an argument but I don't think it's good but we have a show far a true chaff far on our helmet so for any of your fans that are maybe confused come on join the vacuum bandwagon I like that so my my brother-in-law has a question at AAR 291 shout out to Avery um how have you and your wife prioritized your philanthropic efforts there's so many different things you're you know involved with how do you decide where to focus your attention education Jewish Community Israel are still our primary drivers but of course social justice is a very huge part of our of our work as well as the Arts and hospitals and universities and all the rest so I'd say the majority of our of our funding is to Jewish causes but we have a significant nearly half of our funding is also for secular causes as well amazing we're very blessed to be in a great country that promotes philanthropy that promotes the idea of giving back so we're very privileged and honored to be able to be participating in that that's great and last but certainly not least at mentions says big fan of yours but need to know are the Matt Stafford trade rumors true um I can categorically deny all those uh rumors but I know Kevin oconnell our team working hard to see if we can disrupt it because he's a great quarterback and uh the Rams are lucky to have him and he's got a ring to prove it know that's right I was there amazing day yes yes Mark thank you so much this was really terrific and I I really appreciate your time and your your cander and uh I wish you all the best of luck in the MLS Playoffs and uh in the rest of the regular season thank you Jonah and thank you for what you do and congratulations on this podcast and uh and and may you have continued success thank you [Music]