WHO'S RUNNING THIS CIRCUS?? SPECIAL EDITION

I admit to being misinformed when I wrote that the lay and professional leaders of JFNA, Israel and Overseas and the Global Planning Table had met a few weeks ago to establish guidelines for the smooth functioning of JFNA in the overseas arena. I apologize for this misinformation. I know I was misinformed because I, like many of you, received the GPT: Phase Two -- Next Steps one-pager immediately before the JFNA Board meeting and it disclosed that absolutely nothing has changed.

To wit:

• It is the GPT that will "work in collaboration with our partners and other organizations" on all overseas "initiatives"
• It is the GPT that will "assess the impact of collective funds"
• It is the GPT that "will continue to serve as a planning arm for JFNA...facilitating a next round of thinking and strategizing by Federations

Oh, there is lip service to the GPT's work which "...will complement and be synchronized with the work of the Israel and Overseas Coordinating Council and advocate for increased Israel and overseas funding, but, just to underscore its hegemony in this area, the GPT paper makes certain that we know that it is the GPT "Partnership Committee (which) will continue its mandate (??) to develop..." allocation recommendations (which the Partnership Committee [permanent Chair, Kathy Manning, of course] will "advance" to the JFNA Board). 

If you were to read the real, original mandate of the aggrandizing Global Planning Table, you would know that what were originally to be requirements of Phase One of the GPT -- funding its Strategic Initiatives and assessing the impact of global services and funding, among other things -- now have been shifted to a Phase Two that was never contemplated.

And, just to further put JFNA's Israel and Overseas Coordinating Council in its place, the GPT unilaterally announced, in this "paper" that it "...will continue to be a freestanding Committee within JFNA, reporting to JFNA's Board..." and, thereby, not reporting to Israel and Overseas.

And the Israel and Overseas Coordinating Council -- what will it be doing? Best I can tell, its new Chair will be tossed a few bones -- like leading a Solidarity Mission to Paris -- and sent to the corner where he can reflect upon being misled. 

In America we have grown used to reporting our losses as victories (Vietnam, Iraq come to mind), declaring victory and moving on. At JFNA, and especially, within the GPT "process," we just deny our failures, count losses somehow as "victories" (after all this spurious "Paper" reported that "[D]uring its first three years, the GPT successfully facilitated planning and program development processes" -- that's three years and that's success and over there -- that's the Brooklyn Bridge we want to sell you) and just continue to  build loss upon loss, with never ever a report on how much money has been and is being wasted 24/7 on this thing.

David Butler, in a very generous farewell and thank you letter upon his retirement as karaoke singer to Kathy Manning's voice as GPT Chair, announced his successor, a lay leader from MetroWest with a wonderful reputation for independent thought, and a number of changes to Co-Chairs of the various Initiatives. Not surprisingly, with all of the changes, one thing is forever...Ms. Manning will continue to make or influence all matters related to the GPT as Chair of the GPT "Partnership" (what the hell does that mean in the GPT context??) Committee.

But, with all the changes, don't worry, the GPT (not JFNA, not its Israel and Overseas thing), will be "[e]ngaging and educating Federation leadership on an on-going basis, to ensure that Federations of all sizes are fully updated about GPT efforts." Sure, just as these same professionals -- and those are exactly the same folks -- have not done for three years. 

So I will ask Michael Siegal once again: "Why don't you act like a Board Chair and (1) replace the self-perpetuating oligarchy at the top of the GPT pyramid; and (2) merge the GPT into the Israel and Overseas Coordinating Council -- and take these steps now?"

Oh, I forgot, Michael Siegal doesn't do that. 

Yes, as it has been explained to me: JFNA is to the Global Planning Table as Poland was to Germany. 

Rwexler