HMMMMMM?

A while ago Jerry Silverman spoke to the Boston CJP Federation Board. I don't know his subject matter but, perhaps he was there in response to the following scenario:

Before Jerry's visit to his home federation, Barry Schrage, the Boston CEO who has led his community quite effectively in directions that would suggest that he has no use for our system's overseas allocations methodology and little need for the federation construct that has rewarded him handsomely over the decades, sent an e-mail to his Large City Federation colleagues. Therein Schrage informed his fellow CEOs that the Boston CJP leadership, under the circumstances of falling campaign and great needs, could not support JFNA Dues at the level called for by a $30.3 million 2010-2011 Budget.

As I understand it Steve Nasatir and others of Barry's colleagues responded, urging his fellow CEOs to support JFNA Dues at this critical time...perhaps Schrage responded to Nasatir and friends, or others did, I do not know. What I do know is that Barry shared his federation's decision with his fellow CEOs as a subtle urging that their communities follow Boston's lead. Let us hope they don't.

At the birth of what is today JFNA, the totality of the federation system -- each and every community -- committed to (a) pay Dues and (b) hold their Israel and overseas allocations at the 1999 levels for two years. In UJC's first year only one federation breached this obligation -- that federation was Boston. And, in Year 2, UJC was further undermined as a number of federations joined Boston -- none of them Large Cities. Now Schrage is at it again.

So, my hope is that Jerry Silverman, privy to the Schrage correspondence before his appearance urged Boston's leadership in no uncertain terms to (a) support Dues in full while (b) reinstating its allocation to Israel and overseas needs to JAFI and JDC. I fear that Jerry is just too nice to have done so -- at least in public.


Rwexler