HUH??!!

A good friend, a great fund raiser and a careful reader of the Israeli press sent me an article --http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Labor-MK-raises-hefty-sums-from-US-millionaires-387052 -- on the "prodigious" fund raising by (or, in my case, on behalf of) MK Nachman Shai's campaign for reelection to the Knesset. Shai, according to the article, had raised NIS 140,000 in campaign contributions -- at today's exchange rate, that's about $35,000. (It's worth comparing that sum with the reported $11,000,000 raised by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his reelection here.)

Anyway, this would all be just a footnote but for the following opening paragraphs:

"Labor MK Nachman Shai succeeded in attracting NIS 140,000 in campaign contributions for next Tuesday's party primary, mostly from prominent American Jewish leaders...

He received  large donations from Minnesota Vikings owner Marc Wilf, Chicago philanthropist Richard Wexler, Milken Family Foundation executive director Richard Sandler, and Ben Gurion University of the Negev executive director Doron Krakow."

I am honored to be on a list with two such generous lay persons and a great professional and I hope their contributions were truly substantial -- my "large donation" was for all of $100, and I wish it would have been more. It's clear that $100 goes a long, long way in Israeli politics, at least to the Post.

I hope Nachman gains a high spot on the Labor Party List in the party vote next Tuesday. Our friendship and my respect for him grew out of his  professional leadership of JFNA's Israel Office, where he provided North American federations and JFNA with the insights of one with his great background and where his interests were always in serving his constituents, not in building an ever-growing silo as has been his successor. 

So, my thanks to The Jerusalem Post for elevating $100 to the level of "large donation" and my best wishes for success to our friend, Nachman Shai.

Rwexler