HA HA HA??

1. As those of you who read these Posts regularly know, I am Twitter illiterate -- I neither Tweet nor "belong" to Twitter. Unlike the Chief of Twits, uh, make that the Champion Tweeter, JFNA's own William Daroff, at a certain age (mine) life is too full to bother. But, many of you have forwarded on to me the inanities that fill JFNA's official "Tweet pages." For some folks at JFNA seem to have a lot of time on their hands. I could reprint two or three of these a day that appear to be what passes for "humor" among "professionals" at an organization that wants to be taken seriously. Instead, here are two that must have had them laughing in the halls at 25 Broadway:

              a. "What are you doing with your leftover matzo?"

            b. "Reason to go this years JFNAGA -- make a pilgrimage to the holy                                     birthplace of...Natalie Portman."

2. Then there was this....this...thing: rather than just announce what could be a great National Young Leadership Mission to celebrate Israel at 65, some twit headlined the email transmittal -- Give Israel The Best Birthday Present Ever...A Visit. Got it? Our travels to Israel are our "gifts to Israel." 

I think that I still have a finely-tuned sense of humor. The only humor I find in the daily twitterings of JFNA is in the fact that no one there has the good sense to stop them.

3. Then there is the not so funny -- damn sad, in fact. Jonathan Lichter, who, over 37 years of passionate service as General Counsel, assured that, first, the United Jewish Appeal and, then, JFNA, were protected, retired last month. For many years, Jonathan and I were the best of lay-professional partners as he worked assiduously and tirelessly to insure that our organizations' fiduciary responsibilities to not only themselves but to our partners and beneficiaries were assured. He exemplified the best of professionals. So, how was Jonathan treated upon his retirement? The CEO celebrated his successor -- the only...only...reference to Jonathan in two separate statements from Silverman, one internal, the other public -- was the following: "She succeeds Jonathan Lichter who retired last night after so ably serving our organization for 37 years," buried in the praise for this successor.

I will assume that the CEO just didn't know Jonathan and certainly did not know the extent of his contributions. And, that's not funny; it's a shame.

4. And, finally, what could be more telling about the lack of purpose or even the lack of seichel, the lack of judgment, at the top of JFNA than this effort at being "one of the boys" than this snippet sent to me in a Comment to this Blog:

JFNA CEO Jerry Silverman doing the Harlem Shake with NYL Cabinet on the NYL Cabinet Study Mission to St Petersburg and Stockholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Q107Ef7hw

I am certain that CEO Jerry believed it to be "funny." (And, one would have to ask -- why, other than building his mileage account, was the CEO on this "Study Mission" to begin with? Just to be with the "newgen?")

Sad. So sad. All of it.

 Rwexler