SCAMS

I have suggested that the Global Planning Table is but a scam worthy of Three Card Monte. But, that's just part of it. The GPT is just a distraction, a very expensive diversion designed to keep our attention away from the day-to-day disasters coming out of 25 Broadway where painting failure as success is a day-to-day activity. Some examples may suffice:

1. Completing the Journey. In early 2012 or late in 2011, I can't remember anymore, the then Chairs and the current CEO did what they usually did when funding of a special need is required: They sent a letter to the federations seeking $5 million as the system's obligation to finish the aliyah from Ethiopia. Then, as they always do, they waited for the checks to come in -- and a few did. But, not much. Did JFNA's leaders visit the federations and plead, pound the table, mobilize its lay leaders? No, they ran some Missions to Ethiopia, magnificent, emotional and meaningful -- chaired by, among others, the National Campaign Chair. Fund raising...come on. JFNA raised and transmitted $938,000 of a $5 million commitment...a commitment that used to mean something. By mid-2013, JFNA realized it was in trouble (duh!!), and it turned up the pressure -- the New York UJA-Federation pledged $1.1 million (+/-) and the Jewish Agency reduced the total need to $3 million (not that the costs diminished, oh, no, just that JFNA told the Agency it would raise only $3 million; JAFI would have to absorb the balance). And, JFNA sent out another letter as is its wont; and raised  and transmitted another $40,000 -- yes, that's a whole $40,000. So, against an ask of $5 million, JFNA "raised" all of $978,000, New York UJA another $1,168,000 and JAFI has received $1,813,00. I'm waiting for the boxes of documents and conference calls to explain to you how this "Journey" got "Completed."   
2. The Negev. On March 18, in a lengthy Leadership Briefing, JFNA announced that its Negev Funding Coalition Appoints New Chair. The Briefing was, in the main, a means of thanking past and welcoming current leadership to the Coalition, listing the participating federations and announcing the "second funding cycle for two minor programs -- the sum total of all this effort; all these federations, all these leaders. Yet, there are those of us who remember when the focus on the Negev began as a joint venture among the Government of Israel, the federations and the Jewish Agency. We knew this would be an incredible opportunity requiring an investment of $100s of millions of dollars -- two priority regions were identified with the Government of Israel...and, now, these baby steps are the result? What a shame; what a travesty; what a disgrace. Within the GOI, JFNA has to be nothing more than a "joke of the day." As one who was engaged in this "process" from the beginning has observed: there is "...no institutional memory, no obligation to fulfill commitments, and no continuity of leadership." But, it's so much worse than all of those -- it is a history of promises made, promises broken. Follow the cups and that little pea.
3. Ibim. Then there is Ibim -- the major Absorption Center and Youth Village for the Falashmura. The beautiful place where the "Journey" continues in the mainstreaming of the Ethiopian Israeli population.  At one time a Western Region federation was the named partner in the funding of Ibim: signs of thanks were erected celebrating the partnership and JFNA, for a time, worked hard to assure that the community's support would not merely continue but grow. But, in the need to pursue new shiny objects, JFNA dropped its advocacy for Ibim  and that community -- the partner forever -- dropped its support -- leaving only the signs celebrating the "partnership." Where did this leave Ibim -- well JFNA was "selling" again -- no doubt another letter went out. It made one of its "commitments" (this means something else in JFNA-speak, of course) to JAFI (see 1. above) for $1.1 million -- so far JFNA has paid $520,000.

Friends, it's worse than Three Card Monte; it's way worse than The Shell Game...it's JFNA. 

Rwexler                 

FALLING APART

I hope that each of you had a wonderful first Seder and I wish you and yours a zissen Pesach.

I don't know whether the Federation CEOs, no matter their city-size grouping, in their annual retreats, actually talk tachlis with each other about what is going bad in their communities in an effort to assist one another. One would hope so. Yes, beyond the golf games, the distractions of staring at the barely dressed on Spring break, might they help those in need -- and there are so many in need. I am hearing that at least three Large City CEOs aren't "working out," are on the brink; and that's a real shame for them, personally, for their communities and for a system so badly frayed to begin with.

And, most sad, there is no national organization to which a CEO can turn. Because, along with almost the totality of lay leadership with any sense of history or best practices, there is not one professional at JFNA any longer with a background in federation. (Yes, for a few months more, Paul Kane is still on board, but one must ask whether anything in Paul's deep background at the New York UJA-Federation is a transferable experience.) In the past, the national organizations drew on the best and brightest of federation CEOs for their professional leaders -- from a Phil Bernstein, z'l, the pro's pro, to Marty Kraar,z'l, from Stanley Horowitz, z'l, who trained so many of the great LCEs, to Brian Lurie and Bernie Moscovitz, fonts of never-ending brilliant ideas, there was always someone at the helm for so many eras who could provide guidance   
or programmatic ideas or a group of national lay leaders on whom a federation  with a specific problem could draw. Who at JFNA today has any experience that would be of any value to any CEO (other than Bill Daroff) in any community regardless of size? The CEO has, to his credit, visited more federations than his JFNA/UJC predecessors combined -- but are those trips worth it when he speaks in that jargon of cliche and marketing (or are those the same) of how great we are and seemingly hears nothing (or, maybe, it's that he fails to understand what he is hearing)?

Wouldn't it be fair to think that after an investment in excess of $600,000,000...yes, $600,000,000...JFNA, our sad, pitiful JFNA, would have developed a team of federation-centric experts, a federation "SWAT-team," if you will, ready and able to quickly address and advise every federation in need as to how to address issues of campaign, organization, constituency, hrd...any issue; sadly, the cupboard is desperately, terribly bare. Instead, we have a "tool kit" for new CEOs...terribly deficient and totally inadequate. There are the CEOs themselves in conference calls and on their list serves, but those are hardly enough in these complex times and hardly a substitute for the capable national organization we had thought we would have had. (Mentoring might help if it really worked. I am reminded, however, of one new LCE who at a meeting with his peers lamented one thing or another. "We have to get you a mentor," one of his colleagues replied. "I have one," said the LCE seeking help, "It's you." Another CEO of a different City-size told me of his many calls to JFNA for help, and getting...nothing.) Instead, we have pros who send out Briefings about being at the White House, or writing an election report delivered by her CEO...

For far too long, federation leaders have allowed JFNA to be about...itself, and little else; lay leaders who view their roles as "follow the leader...irregardless of direction or the lack thereof; or, in the case of many...too many, "blindly protect the leader" without regard for the consequences. 

There are, it seems to this outlier, some very simple, very practical solutions. And, all of you know where to start...don't you?

Rwexler

SMARTS

I have always found that those of you who read this Blog (an admit to it) demonstrate smarts and insights that far, far exceed mine. The Comments to my Posts almost always demonstrate a knowledge of our system that is far greater than those leading JFNA have in the past ever demonstrated.  For example:

  "Many of these words (the 'jargon' of the 'professionals' at JFNA ) come from the newly minted cult of grantmaking foundations that have created there own pseudo-science and language around accountability, documentation and evaluation. Foundation CEO's are the new high priests; program officers their levites with very little value added over the three old fashioned questions: What are we gonna do? How're we gonna do it? And how will we know if we are successful? Of course the old fashioned way doesn't look as pretty on an excel spreadsheet but it sure saves trees and compensates for lack of direction and serious thinking. It is doubtful whether Ben Gurion, let alone Herzl, would have gotten a nickel under the new model."

Or this in response to the Golden Calf Post:

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

 1) The GPT is to answer the demands of the small Federations. (Bold Face lie)

2) If we fail to support the GPT, the national system will disintegrate/fail (Read: Jerry and Kathy will be emmbarassed) (Read further: If Jerry racks up another major failure - maybe his contract will not be renewed)..."

Or, this, in response to the Post on a former Chair's quest for the Conference of Presidents highest office, where I cited her love of Gilbert and Sullivan:

I am the very model of the modern Jewish leadership,
I've press releases,witty quotes, reciting federation's postal zip,
I know all heads of agencies, and cell phones of the special few,
From Michaels down to Edgars and even one Israeli too,
I'm very well acquainted now with budget things financially,
Consultants, projects off the books a very practiced speciality,
bout GPT and Vegas three I'm teeming with a lot of news,
Give me five, a tutor too, I'll even talk about the Jews,
I am the very model of the modern Jewish leadership...

That was from the famous "Gilbertstein and Sullivansky."

And, in celebration of the Pesach Holiday, let's close with this:

"The Four Sons of JFNA

The Wise Son: Caught up in the minutia of marketing and GPT press releases

The Bad Son: Who denies the very essence of community building and collective responsibility

The Simple son: Who thinks that #ish came from Sinai

The Son who cannot ask: You know, like soliciting donors for the annual campaign?"

 

These are just four of many, my friends.


Keep 'em coming.

Rwexler 

THREE CARD MONTE

David Butler didn't set up a card table at the Global Planning Table Committee meeting on March 13 and put three bent cards on it in front of the gathered few; and he didn't roll out the old shell game with three cups and a pea, either. But it was sure the next best thing to that hoaried street scam. For that is what the Global Planning Table has become.

And G-d knows how many forests have been cut down to the stumps to produce the volumes of paper wasted in this first year effort "celebrated" at this first year "anniversary." But, Three Card Monte is what the GPT always was, only it has become even worse. It began even before Butler signed on in a disingenuous claim that it was designed to raise more funds for the core work of JDC and the Jewish Agency; then it morphed into "this will really help the Small Cities;" and, now, as we have written, it is the mantra that "JFNA will self-destruct if the Global Planning Table isn't implemented" -- apparently "implemented as we dictate."

So it is that about 100 pages of "Confidential" drafts and "Confidential" power points were distributed to the GPT Committee (you know, the one that lacks any power other than to "recommend" to a "Partnership [they love that word, don't they?] Steering Committee" tightly controlled by Manning and CEO Jerry) for the March 13 meeting. Several folks forwarded these documents to me -- and, I read them. I see no reason that they are "Confidential" other than the fact that the GPT leaders may rightly believe they would be embarrassed were they to be more freely distributed. After all, wouldn't you be embarrassed if a Report, preliminary or final, included something like this:

• Out of 157 federations, 23 participated in providing "community input" -- that's all of 15% -- but, don't worry, best I can tell from reading the "survey input" (in another document of course), your issues -- every one of them -- were ignored in their entirety. Did anyone at JFNA reflect on the fact that only 23 federations cared enough about this GPT -- the "saviour" of JFNA itself -- to even respond to the fervent pleas of JFNA and GPT staff and lay leaders? After all, this thing is being "sold" today as bringing down the Temple if it isn't implemented. (Oh, and also 85 -- of a "market" in the 1,000s -- individuals completed on-line Surveys.) I am not making this up;
• And, there was also ample space for total gibberish. For example, in describing "How the GPT Does Its Work," the First Year "Report" suggests, in pertinent part -- Successful partnerships central to our ability to deliver collective solutions to important issues within the global Jewish community. Uh huh.
• All of this culminates in Three Commissions and 14...that's right, 14..."Areas of Work."Nothing manageable, of course; nothing within the capacity of JFNA as proved over these past 12+ years;
• And there are going to be some "Signature Initiatives" on top of this Tower of Babel.

The documents are filled with the concept of "we" -- "we" doing this, "we" doing that. Yet, "we" is never defined. Is it seriously contemplated that "we" is JFNA which, to date, has delivered little if anything that would qualify it to deliver here; is "we" the federations; is "we," the Joint or Jewish Agency (World ORT seems left out)?

And, without breaching confidentiality, I think I can tell you that JFNA's commitment to "Zionism" is well-stated.

So, friends, let me assure you that you should be able to find the pea under the cup marked "all things to all people" -- as in, "if you don't know where you're going, any/every road will take you there.

Welcome to Year 2 of the Global Planning Table. OK, is the pea under Cup 1, 2 or 3?

Rwexler

1939

A professional for whom I have the greatest respect reflected on a conversation he had over twelve years ago with a Jewish leader many us knew. Reflecting on the organization then just organizing that is today JFNA, that prescient leader predicted:

     "Soon it will be 1939 all over again: JDC will be fund raising for itself; the Jewish Agency likewise; Jewish federations will be so weakened they will hardly be able to rise to the crises that require collective action; and our national organization will be nothing more than a trade association."

And, friends, here we are, 12 years after our hopes and dreams of a national organization was born to increase our financial resources and increase the number of donors and increase the allocations to our great partners were draped under the banner of a new organization, one that has wholly failed to meet the objectives designed for it -- and we find that it is 1939.

And, G-d forbid that we need another Kristallnacht of 1938 to see that what we have is not working.

What we have today is an organization that lacks both passion and purpose, adrift like the Carnival Triumph awash with the stench of failure. It is too much to expect the new Chairs of the Board and  Executive to be able to steer this ship when so many associated with its failure -- sycophants and hangers-on who applauded every failure as success -- remain empowered. But, then again, clearly these self-same folk will applaud new successes just as loudly.

So what might be done? Consider...

• The Chairs, the CEO and a group of CEOs representative of all City-sizes convene a briefing for the JFNA Board to assert that they will join together in lockstep to assure that funding for the ultimate objectives of the Global Planning Table will be solely driven by new and increased financial resources over and above current allocations;
• The Chairs assure that they, with the CEO, are reviewing all JFNA programs to offer the JFNA Board a set of priorities, scaled to the JFNA Budget, for the Board's approval,  of which the highest priority will be a refocus and reset of Financial Resource Development;
• With the leaders of the JDC and JA, the Chairs will announce an Advocacy Task Force comprised of lay and professional leaders to visit federations in depth and advocate for the priorities of the Agency and Joint;
• Undertaking an in-depth analysis of current core and project allocations to the Joint/JA to determine the actual "split" as at December 31, 2012;
• Ending the investment in the JFNA"brand" refocusing marketing and communication efforts on federations and the annual campaign.

...and such other matters as might be suggested.

What have you got?

Rwexler

CATCHING UP

Sadly, as most of you are aware, one of JFNA's least attractive characteristics is a lack of institutional self-awareness. It has become almost genetic. Examples:

•  The continuing abuse of the basic concept of the "collective:" This week the CEO was quoted in a self-congratulatory release on what appeared to have been an otherwise excellent Development Professional Institute:  “The Institute reflects how high a priority JFNA assigns to supporting development professionals as the demands of their roles change,” said Jerry Silverman, JFNA president and CEO. “Our investment in them helps them to realize our collective goals.” One of the chief objectives of the Institute was to provide participants with the opportunity to build peer networks and learn from each other, Silverman added."    As we have noted before, friends, the CEO, after 3+ years, fails to comprehend the meaning of "collective" in the context of federations' ethos. Time and again, JFNA has just inserted "collective" as an adjective. not as the compelling value that distinguishes federations' sacred work from all other charities. (And, no, I am not neglecting the hyperbole of the CEO's suggestion that JFNA "prioritizes FRD. As with most things, if just saying it made it so!!
• 13,000 women and men, 2,000 of them students, attended the recently concluded AIPAC Policy Conference. Remember that number. Maybe 1,000 men, women and a few students attended the 2012 General Assembly. One organization, AIPAC, knows its purpose and pursues it with passion and commitment; JFNA, on the other hand, has forgotten its purposes and drifts aimlessly like the Carnival Triumph, sewage in its wake, powerless. The 2,000 students at the AIPAC Conference are treated as adults in Washington; the close to 1,000 who attended, e.g., TribeFest, a JFNA "signature event" pandered to the same age cohort with Olympic swimmers and some B-list personalities, in Las Vegas (next year in...New Orleans). Why does one organization succeed and the other fail? Rhetorical question.
• Have you ever noticed the similarities between the current iteration of JFNA and the game of futility "Whac-a-Mole?" That's the game where you delete a "mole" whose head has popped up only to find it reemerge through another hole, where you smash it again ad nauseum. The game name is used colloquially "to denote a repetitious and futile task." JFNA'a version of "Whac-a-Mole" is played with things like TribeFest and Select Core Priorities, which, just as you think they have disappeared in their failure and futility, they pop back up again devouring millions of dollars and 1000's of hours of time. Yep, JFNA --the Jewish institutional version of "Whac-a-Mole."

Rwexler

GIVE ME THAT MICROPHONE...NOW!!!

                       Ambition should be made of sterner stuff

In response to my Post on JFNA as the Potemkin Village of Jewish organizations, some alert readers offered Comments that suggested, well, read on...

With a resume of multiple titles but no successes, the immediate past Board Chair is making a typically overly-ambitious and overly-aggressive run at the Chairmanship of the Conference of Presidents. Those participants in the February Conference of Presidents Mission saw this unbridled ambition in full flower -- what some would call a "charm offensive." (Others might limit their comments to "offensive.")

I am conflicted in urging you to urge national agency Chairs whom you may know whose organizations are members of the Conference to oppose this further quest for power, glory and a microphone by one who cannot cite a single achievement over 6 years as, first, Chair of the JFNA Executive and, then, its Board, other than that she ran meetings with efficiency (unless you consider hiring CEO Silverman and micromanagement achievements) and that she sings (even Gilbert and Sullivan) beautifully. For, after all, if she gains this new position maybe...maybe...JFNA will be rid of her interference with JFNA's new Board and Executive Chairs and, maybe, the GPT will finally be fairly evaluated without the nefarious and constant dictation of outcomes by the Past Board Chair .

It might be wise for someone to warn Malcolm Hoenlein of the continuous interference in JFNA's professional administration by this professional volunteer; it might be appropriate for the Conference of Presidents' Nominating Committee to reflect upon the history of its Chairs, almost all of whom left the organizations they chaired in a far better place than this self-appointed "nominee" left hers. 

Then, there is Manning's opinion, expressed at a small Subcommittee meeting of the JFNA Global Planning Table, that the word "zionism" is "too controversial" to appear in a JFNA document, or words to that effect. She denied saying these words...but she did. While this report led to strong condemnations (of me), denials all around and JFNA's public reaffirmation of its commitment to Zionism...yes, she did. This was not JFNA's or the federations' position, it was hers but, as Chair... Can an organization dedicated to Israel, and dedicated to Zionism even consider Manning for its Chair when its members include every Zionist organization in America, every organization which unequivocally supports Zionism? Rhetorical question.

It was Oscar Wilde who observed that "ambition is the last refuge of failure." As one of the FOBs would write: "Yup."

Rwexler

THE GOLDEN CALF OF JFNA

A recent Parsha of the week highlighted (or, low-lighted) the nefarious episode of the Golden Calf. This, of course, brought to mind JFNA's current slavish devotion to its Golden Calf, the Global Calfing Table -- uhhhh, GPT. I have begun to hear, as an almost constant refrain, that "if the GPT fails, JFNA will 'disintegrate,' 'self-destruct,'" etc. No one can explain why that would be the case, just that that would be so. 

And, if one agrees with the dire, foreboding self-prescription (for this doomsday scenario originated at 25 Broadway), then shouldn't there be some introspection as to "why?" How could the collapse of the most poorly thought-through program doom the organization that designed and promoted it? As best I can tell, few if any believe that the Global Planning Table as conceived and as designed will have anything but marginal value, so the sales pitch has become: "if you vote against this, then you and your federation will be responsible for the collapse of JFNA. How could you do such a thing?" And, the response is not, as it might/should have been, "How can we fix this thing so that it will deliver value to the federations?" (And, we have offered remedial proposals on these pages.) The response has been nothing more than an acceptance of the speculation as if it were true.

Now, we would probably all agree that JFNA has produced almost zero deliverables for the $600,000,000(+) that the federations have paid in Dues. Things are so bad that the organization "redelivers" failures and paints them as successes -- in the last month, TribeFest reared its ugly head once again, notwithstanding its manifest failure; and, now, Strategic Core Priorities, the program that has failed, like Festivus, not once but twice, is brought back for a third time. If at first (and at second) you don't succeed, fail, fail again. (You will recall that the Select Core Priorities was to be the precursor to the "success" of the GPT. It has proved, instead, to be the predictor of nothing more than failure,)

I have been around for too long, for sure. I have heard many a rationale for some truly great national plans and programs -- usually enthusiastic and always easily understood. To hear some of our system's best and brightest lay and professional leaders argue for the GPT on the basis that "if we fail to support it, the national system will disintegrate," is the saddest excuse for what promises to be an expensive disaster that I have ever heard. Further, such an argument merely demonstrates the vacuity in any argument of support for the unsupportable. 

The "marketing plan" is now: "The GPT -- support it or JFNA will die." Doesn't resonate with me, how 'bout with you?

Rwexler 

WASTE

I print this JFNA Briefing in its entirety:

"Jerry Silverman Meets With President Obama in Advance of Presidential Visit to Israel  March 7, 2013

Today, Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America, along with other national Jewish leaders, met with President Obama at the White House to discuss the President's upcoming trip to Israel. “On behalf of The Jewish Federations of North America, I very much appreciated the opportunity to meet with the President about his upcoming trip to Israel and the Middle East. As Jews and as Americans, we are proud to see our President visit our ancient homeland and engage with the Israeli people. The President’s trip is yet another demonstration of the continued strength of the deep and historic bonds between the United States and Israel.”

I am so happy for Jerry, aren't you? Do you see anywhere in this Briefing that JFNA (not Jerry) was invited by the Conference of Presidents along with representatives of each of its 51 member organizations (and the White House added "other activists"); that this Briefing was about as filled with information as a blank page (for the details, read Nathan Guttman's informative 10 paragraph article on the meeting in The Forward at www.forward.com; and is CEO Jerry that needy that he had to be instead of an important donor or other lay person? (You may recall that when Michael Siegal, who is, after all, the Board Chair, chose to accept an earlier White House invitation, CEO Silverman was rumored to have been stomping around his office muttering that it was he who should have been there!!)

I wrote an FOB that this was so pathetic; that leader wrote back that "pathetic is almost sweet; this is just ____ ugly." It was also pointed out to me that when the State of Israel was created it "...ceased to be our ancient homeland and became our Modern State." Ohhhh, but that's in Israel's Declaration of Independence and that's so 1948.

Rwexler

LAUGHS?

In its attempts at relevance in Israel and to us, JFNA busied itself during the run-up to the recent Israeli elections and in the aftermath with providing "insights" through some candidate conference calls (valuable) and "analysis" (really, really laughable). Some of the latter reflect more on a lack of knowledge about the history of JFNA than the evident lack of insight into the Israeli elections.

Examples:

• In a post-election JFNA backpat for some reason focusing on the "exclusive" pre-election candidate calls, I got a real laugh out of the following: discussing the participation of Member of Knesset Dr. Nachman Shai, it further identified Nachman as "former Senior Vice President of JFNA's predecessor, UJC." Hello!! Do some people at JFNA believe that UJC was somehow a different organization than UJC? IT WAS A NAME CHANGE!! Jeez.
• Then there was this most bizarre transmission: CEO Jerry sent out under his name a post-election analysis (itself a summary so unbelievably basic that it could have been replaced by (a) one written by my youngest grandchild or (b) with the actual Israeli press stories on which it was based...But I digress...) Apparently smarting from the lack of "credit" the JFNA-Israel Director, for no other purpose sent out the exact same Memo to her mailing list with the following cover: "Our office prepared the following update, which Jerry Silverman has just sent to Federation executive directors..." Yes, grab "credit" where you can -- even for the worthless.
• Then, someone from inside the Bat Cave at 25 Broadway wrote in an Anonymous Comment that there were 600 participants listening in on JFNA's post-election analysis conference call. Sure, brought to you by the same folks who count attendance at the GA and a succession of Fests.
• In this age of social media, it is certain that JFNA needs a Facebook page. But does our national organization have to embarrass itself on its own pages? How about this one, sent on to me by a FOB: "JFNA Poll: How are you celebrating Tu B'Shevat, the birthday of the trees? Are you planting any trees? Going to a seder? Eating a new fruit?" Then, this one: This time of year there are a lot of colds and flu passed around. Time for matzah ball soup! Do you like yours with chicken chunks or without?  ( I'm not making any of this up -- it's JFNA, after all.) Send your answer to #stupidity.
• Have you heard about the community that received a very substantial gift to its campaign endowment, one that might spew out $700,000 (+/-) annually into its campaign, but decided to count the entire endowment gift as if it were a current campaign contribution to "pump up" its moribund annual campaign?  Can you imagine the breakdown in trust this misrepresentation could create not just within that federated community but with this most generous donor? When stuff like this happens, you just scratch your head and wonder what has become of us?

OK...not so funny.

Rwexler

THE ETERNAL SHELL GAME

Now you see it; now you don't. The one constant at JFNA over the years has been the shell game. Some times it's played by the CEO and his staff, sometimes by a lay chair so focused on his/her agenda, that even lying is permitted for "the greater good," of course.

With all of its eggs in the Global Planning Table basket, and that process still controlled by a Past Chair who just will not, cannot let go, and her willing CEO (well not "hers" anymore except in her mind), and the larger federations generally interested in preserving the overseas allocation process to their own leaders, not some group controlled by others  (and certainly not JFNA), the GPT is now, for the first time, being rationalized as "something for the Small Cities." If this gets any worse, pretty soon CEO Jerry will be running around shouting "Do it for Kathy; oh won't you do this for poor Kathy, she wants it so much." It is truly bizarroooo world, my friends. 

How much has this doomed exercise -- and I mean "doomed" from the beginning -- cost the federations. Has anyone asked for an accounting? Demanded an accounting from Day 1? Has anyone said to Kathy and Jerry: "We're putting this on hold until we know the costs to date and to come? David Butler....ever ask? Michael Siegal...would you please ask? Our new Chairs are now in charge, aren't they?

Now you see it; now you don't...it's JFNA.

Rwexler