BLAME

There hasn't been an instance of UJC failure these past four years where the finger of blame for any failure of UJC by UJC hasn't been pointed at someone or some organization other than at UJC's leaders, lay and professional, themselves. UJC Development efforts don't satisfy a group of Executives, blame the senior professionals; Operation Promise is aborted, blame the federations; UJC's Marketing efforts are criticized, blame the senior professionals; two, of three (so far) Strategic Plans go on the shelf, ignore the fact, the costs and go to the next; Dues aren't being paid, blame Federation Executives of the "offending" communities for being "unable to control their lay leaders;" UJC floundering, blame "the Blogs and the Jewish press;" no traction for additional dollars for the IAI, blame JCPA; $13.2 million in assistance for Victims of Terror after the IEC goes begging, blame the federations; Mailboxes for needs ranging from the Georgia-Russian War Victims to Hurricane Relief for Houston, underfunded by millions, ignore it and request more funds for something else; and, in apparent anticipation of the failure of the Satmar "rescue" of Yemeni Jews, blame this Blog. There should be a big sign hung in the new UJC space -- "The Buck Stops...There."

I may be critical of the constancy of UJC leadership's abuse of process, of its own governance, of its failure to think through plans thoroughly before rolling them out, among others, but two things UJC does so well: pay lip service and play the "Blame Game." I have apologized that I mistakenly and prematurely rolled out a Post on the UJC/HIAS/Satmar scheme for three hours one week ago today but I may not have noted that during those three hours UJC itself sent that Post on to a broad mailing list with the apparent observation on how horrible this was. UJC did not note that the Yemenite matter had already been covered more than once in the Israeli press even before my short-lived and mistaken Post publication on the 16th.

The factual situation confronting our Yemeni mishpacha today and their position will be available to all of us shortly. It will reveal circumstances either known to UJC and hidden from public view or, perhaps worse, unknown to UJC's leaders when they entered into their Satmar-driven "partnership." When all of these facts are known, then we will see where fingers point. By then, in addition to all else, I will certainly have heard from UJC "Anonymous" Comments that, in addition to all else, I am guilty of Blood Libel and worse.

So why the "Blame Game" here? Is it because after Rieger wrote that costs would be based on a Satmar estimate of which UJC apparently committed $800,000 (of money not its own and for which it had no commitments) with no authority to do so; or were federations resisting a financial "partnership" with the Satmars even for this humanitarian emigration from Yemen to Monsey, NY, or because they like I believe that there is a homeland alternative for Yemeni Jews -- Israel? Or is it because UJC's leaders realized that they had stepped into the sands of Yemen without thinking through the implications and found themselves in quicksand and looking for an excuse, believed they had found someone other than themselves to blame? Or have UJC leaders learned the facts on the ground in Yemen are far different than the reports they received from their new "partner," the Satmar, but being forever unwilling or unable to admit error, have focused their blame and vitriol on this small Blog and, now, on anyone else they can find?

Hiding under the cloak of anonymity as they have before, Commentators to this Post have gone so far as to suggest this egomaniac, Nazi lover, kill himself. I don't think so. And if this effort to bring Yemeni Jews to Kiryat Joel fails, there will be plenty of blame to pass around but, you can bet that UJC's leaders will accept none of it -- it's this Blog and Blogger, it's JAFI, it's the Government of Israel; it's those stubborn, proud Yemenite Jews, but not UJC and its leaders. Never UJC and its leaders.

Rwexler