Ben Pery, CEO of the nonprofit Momentum of nearly 13 years, has big plans in his new role, which he began on Monday, as CEO of American Friends of Tel Aviv University, which he called a “dream” job.
“It’s not just about transactional fundraising, but how we build our values together, our shared interests, bringing more wisdom, interest, relevancy from Israel to the States and vice versa,” he told JNS. “I believe in immersive experience.”
“I hope my board will buy into this vision and buy into doing a lot around engagement,” he said.
Pery, a Tel Aviv University alumnus and Israeli-American who lives in Bethesda, Md., hopes to “build brand awareness” and to emphasize “shared principles” which “strengthen Israeli and American academic and civic life.”
Those include “innovation, academic freedom, excellence, diversity of thought and a deep commitment to addressing real-world challenges,” he said.
“From the United States, we bring philanthropy, global partnerships and best practices in fields such as biomedical research, civic leadership and entrepreneurship,” Pery told JNS. “In turn, Tel Aviv University offers extraordinary intellectual capital and values to share with America, advancing science, democratic resilience and social progress.”
“It’s a true two-way bridge of ideas, collaboration and impact,” he said.
Israel’s largest university, and the world’s biggest Jewish one, isn’t as well known in America as it ought to be, according to Pery. The school’s “best untold story,” he told JNS, is “how relevant what’s happening there” is to the U.S. Jewish community.
“The untold story is how central Tel Aviv University has become to Israel’s future and how deeply that future is connected to the American Jewish community,” Pery said. “TAU is driving Israel’s innovation economy, health-care system, cybersecurity, arts and culture, and global diplomacy. It is where Jewish, Muslim, Druze, Christian and international students learn and lead side by side.”
The fundraising arm’s new CEO hopes that there will be more sharing of “medicine, technology,” as well as “the full range of climate science, sustainability and environmental innovation that TAU is advancing.”
“This includes climate tech, water technology, renewable energy, sustainability policy and resilience research,” he said. “TAU is a global leader in confronting the climate crisis, with strengths in desert agriculture, food security, environmental engineering and clean-tech entrepreneurship. There is tremendous potential for collaboration with U.S. partners to advance shared solutions.”
Pery added that the university has partnerships with more than 300 partnerships worldwide, with more than 100 in the United States. This includes partnerships with New York University, Northwestern University and Stanford University, he said.
Pery told JNS that under his 13-year stewardship, Momentum, a nonprofit that empowers Jewish women, grew “substantially” and went from five employees to 65 today and from a $1 million budget to $24 million.
In May, Tel Aviv University’s medical school received a $125 million donation. To other would-be donors, Pery said that the reason to give to the school is to celebrate “the strength of Israeli society.”
