Saturday, January 31, 2015

NO SHAME

       350,000 -- The number of Jews at risk this Winter in the Ukraine
          $2.7 Million -- The amount in the aggregate raised at JFNA to assist
       Ukrainian Jews through the Ukraine Assistance Fund

Maybe you had some hope that JFNA would emerge from what is now approaching a decade of building on one failure after another, and might actually succeed at something...anything. But it was not to be. After the fiasco of its non-existent failed Continental response to the terror atrocity on the streets of Paris, the totally inadequate action to assist Ukrainian Jewry is like a period at the end of a sentence. As the NCESJ's latest Weekly Update asserts: "We continue to receive alarming news from Jewish communities in Eastern Ukraine" and the WSJ headlined yesterday "In Ukraine Civilians Again in Crossfire." Apparently the majordomos, lay and professional alike, at 25 Broadway don't read.

Across the Continent there appeared to be a recognition that with winter upon them, and the country still under direct threat with the prospect of peace talks having foundered and war reignited, we would step forward with an enhanced and focused effort for our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine. At the 2014 GA there did appear to be the hope of a real commitment to raise the tens of millions necessary to provide the Ukrainian Jewish community, through the JDC, with everything from blankets to food to medical care to our support for JAFI's efforts at increased aliya, at a time when it appeared that the Evangelical Christian community through the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews was on the cusp of meeting our historic and very Jewish responsibilities -- all at a time when the Ukrainian currency has been devalued exceeding 50% and, in Eastern Ukraine, occupied by Russian separatists, pensions wiped out, and the daily terror of renewed war everywhere. The speeches at GA 2014 -- as always with JFNA, words...just words; the effort...none.

Yes, once again, JFNA "efforts" consisted of an impassioned speech or two, maybe a letter or two, and some calls to the City-size groupings of federations. But fund raising, hell no. As I write this, there is a -31 degree wind chill and I am sitting at my computer in my well-heated office in Chicago thinking of my/our visits to the apartments of our Ukrainian mishpacha, bringing food packages, vital medicine and a human touch in the Summer and Spring, the apartments drafty even then, maintained with dignity, no matter the circumstances. I can only imagine the conditions under which our extended family are living in the midst of the bitter winter in Donetsk or Kiev, or wherever they may live -- with electricity blackouts, food and medicine running short and hope running out and war all around. The situation in Eastern Ukraine right now has been described by the NCESJ as experiencing "..a dangerous escalation of fighting and rising death toll."  "The war is exploding anew in Ukraine" the New York Times reported one week ago. And JFNA does nothing, its leaders'  ostrich heads in the sand.

The two Co-Chairs of the JFNA Ukraine allocations process are terrific leaders -- I know they would go anywhere to help raise the dollars to effect real "fund raising;" I know that they could recruit other lay leaders to join them. But, JFNA doesn't know how to raise money any more -- it is not even a shadow of what once was the greatest and most respected fund-raising vehicle in Jewish or non-Jewish life -- it does not even try. 

For JFNA -- just can't be bothered. After all, they had to plan a Retreat, a high end donor Mission to Shanghai, maybe another illusory Signature Initiative, and other, equally important stuff. And there were vacations. Oh, there is a Ukraine Assistance Fund and a nice link on the JFNA website to the "Mailbox" (JFNA must have a helluva time keeping track of all the Mailboxes it has opened over just the last year) it has opened to collect the pledges it doesn't solicit -- even Jerry "Mr. Mailbox" Silverman probably knows after five years that this Mailbox Method isn't fund-raising but with Jerry one never knows what he knows. 

Ahhh me. Where is the effort? Where is the passion? Where is the fund raising? What the hell does "Philanthropic Resources" do? Is there a National Campaign Chair any more? Is there a National/Continental organization any more? Was the Ukraine Emergency on the agenda anywhere at the JFNA Retreat concluded just days ago? Of course not.

The scoreboard tells the whole story. This episode is beneath contempt. It is not just a shameful episode, and it is just the latest one; it is a shame; it is our shame. It is our embarrassment. It is JFNA 2015 playing violins while the Ukraine burns.

My friends, it didn't/doesn't have to be this way. 

Rwexler

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The effort? The passion? JFNA's staff was to involved in designing pretty graphics for Tu B'Shevat on "what inspires you?" to figure out a game plan to put those words into action. Be it Ukraine, Paris, or even at 25 Broadway.

Anonymous said...

And, on top of it, that "What Inspires You" is a campaign theme for so many others -- typical of these dullards to think they have created something "new" when they should be doing their jobs. This wouldn't be happening if JFNA had a Board Chair or a CEO.

Anonymous said...

Makes one wonder why we even need a national system any longer -- maybe we just need the U.S. Postal Service (same success rate as JFNA) and an infinite number of P.O. Boxes, and an event planner. There is no longer any hope, if there ever was, that under this leadership JFNA will ever find its way.

Anonymous said...

This is the very bottom of the very bottom that JFNA has been at ever since the Jerry "Era" began. Can anyone think of a single fund raising accomplishment of this sad group under what passes for leadership right now?

Anonymous said...

On the Chinese calendar, the New Year begins on February 15 as the Year of the Wood Sheep, over at JFNA on January 1 clearly began the Year of the Ostrich. Yep, the ostriches have a Solidarity Mission to France but for Ukraine's Jews it's a French message: "Let them eat cake."

Where is the outrage?

Anonymous said...

Moving from JFNA to NY, anyone on what the heck is going on? First Met Council, now FEGS?

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150130/NONPROFITS/150139985/major-social-service-nonprofit-to-shut-down

RWEX said...

When I wrote about the sudden discovery of huge deficits at FEGS and the corruption at the Met Council months ago, I never expected that bankruptcies would have been in the offing. These were the evident results of a failure of lay Boards to monitor professional activities.

Anonymous said...

Richard, You continue to write as if the current federation leadership gives a s--t. You may not understand it, but by their acts, they just like getting together and doing absolutely nothing. They call no one tom account, and most still pay Dues because then they can go to meetings like the ones just concluded and accomplish absolutely nothing -- even for our People in crisis.

Yeah, we're at the very bottom and our leaders are bottom-feeders, and it's only going to get worse.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of "NO SHAME" -- yesterday EVP Gurvis sent out a congratulatory Memo on Feds raising $675,000 to aid French Jewry and today, Siegal, who seems to not know what he signs his name to (just appears to want to have his name on everything and anything), sent out a summary of activities in France by JDC -- note not about the activities of JFNA which are non-existent. Soon we will receive a summary of the Solidarity Mission to France -- Gosh we are good>

Anonymous said...

To those of us that didn't receive Siegal's note can you publish what he said about JDC activities? Was there no mention of JAFI (or perhaps ORT which I think has schools in Paris.)

Anonymous said...

It was merely a retransmittal of a JDC Report on JDC activities in France.

Anonymous said...

we gave what we were asked for (our fair share) and did so within a week. maybe we should have been asked for more?

Anonymous said...

To the last Anonymous -- there is absolutely no reason to believe any ask made of a federation by JFNA has any basis in fact. I know that JFNA leaders were told that the cost of caring for only the most needy Jews in the Ukraine and maximizing Aliyah this Winter would have been $10 million -- and those who provided this guidance were just ignored by JFNA. Things are even worse at JFNA than Richard writes on these pages. The organization has made itself TOTALLY IRRELEVANT

Anonymous said...

Of all the sad chapters of this failed organization, this abdication of all moral responsibility by Michael Siegal, Dede Feinberg and Jerry Silverman is the saddest of all. It is the ultimate evidence of JFNA's bankruptcy. They deserve no more chances.