"TURN OUT THE LIGHTS..." OR, BETTER, TURN THEM ON

Perhaps, some of you will remember. In the earliest years of Monday Night Football, as each gamecast on ABC would draw toward its end, color commentator Dandy Don Meredith would sing:"Turn out the lights, the party's over." Now, JFNA over the past decade has been no party, but it sure is time, past time, to "turn out the lights" and begin .again

Every reader understands my view that the hiring of Jerry Silverman and his subsequent extended tenure have been disastrous. Even now, when Silverman might be accomplishing something for the federations, I read that he was the new JAFI Chair of the Executive, Isaac Herzog's, travel guide to some federations in the East. Jerry is the lamest of ducks; he should, instead, just be gone; pay him off for the final year of his contract and bid Jerry farewell. It is already too late. 9+ years too late, but who's counting?

Yet, I have hope because, in its wisdom, the JFNA Nominating Committee, seeking a successor to Richard Sandler, nominated Mark Wilf as JFNA Board Chair. And, hope is in the air...hope that Mark will assert himself in the Search process (Richard Sandler appointed himself its Chair) and assure that the disastrous mistake of a decade ago, perpetuated by a Board Chair and a supine Committee then, will not be replicated now. 

Mark Wilf has succeeded not alone in business -- with his family in New Jersey development and in the ownership of the Minnesota Vikings -- but in every one of his leadership roles in organized Jewish life. He and family's commitment to the sacred work of caring for Survivors is known to one and all. Mark does not need me to vouch for  his leadership skills; he has proved himself time and again, most recently in leading JFNA's successful efforts on behalf of programs that will fund, in part, programs in support of Holocaust Survivors in our American communities.

Mark will need the strongest professional partner just as he has had in his prior Jewish organizational leadership roles. Mark is not a professional volunteer (Helloooo, Ms. Manning); he will be a great partner in the lay-professional partnership. The evidence is that  while, back in the halcyon days of yore, there was a depth of the best and brightest who would have delivered what is now JFNA to heights never achieved -- I'm talking about Steve Nasatir and Bob Aronson and Steve Hoffman, among others -- today the field is very thin. Recruitment of the best will need to start now; it will require all hands on deck.

I have no doubt that Mark Wilf understands the challenges; and, knowing them, it is great that he is willing to take on this leadership mantle. In order to allow him to hit the ground running, as the JFNA Board Chair role demands, Sandler should take one more critical step -- give Silveman a "soft landing" outside the organization, and  appoint an Interim CEO fpr whatever the length of the Search for a permanent CEO shall be. Preferably, that Interim CEO will be a professional or lay leader from the system but not one on the JFNA Staff -- a John Ruskay, or a Darrell Freedman or a Lee Wunsch.

We all want Mark Wilf to be the person to turn on the lights at 25 Broadway; to divert the organization toward the light and avoid the current projecion that the next lay and professional leaders will be turning off the lights and locking the doors behind them.

Rwexler

AN AMERICAN PATRIOT, Z'L

At the moment I heard of John McCain's, z'l, decision to reject further medical care to treat the glioblastoma with which he had been stricken, I was reminded of a time long ago when I met John McCain under the most unusual circumstances.

In my second year of service as the United Jewish Appeal National Campaign Chair, I had been in Washington, D.C. to solicit some of the leaders there. The night before my scheduled departure for a meeting with Leslie Wexner in Columbus, Ohio, the forecast of an imminent hurricane strike was accelerated. I was on a 6 a.m flight out of Reagan (I'm not even sure it was "Reagan International" then) and I remember the darkness and the howling winds as I boarded the plane at 5:15 a.m. to the voice of the Captain announcing "we are closing the doors now and taking off immediately or we won't be getting our of here at all."

As I sat down, I noticed that our flight, to Columbus and then on to Phoenix, was almost totally empty: me, two other passengers, the flight attendants and, then, the door opened and Senator John McCain entered -- relatively short, erect, he looked around, nodded hello to us and sat down a few rows in front of me. We took off literally just ahead of the storm.

As the Northwest Airlines plane reached attitude and the seatbelt sign flashed off. I walked up to McCain's seat -- "I just wanted to thank you for your service to our country," I said. "Sit down here," he replied. He asked me what I was about and I told him briefly of our work for the Jewish People and Israel. He, then regaled me for the next hour, with stories of his trips to "the Holy Land," his love for the People of Israel and, especially, the Israel Air Force, whose fliers he admired for their courage and love of country. We spoke of places that we had both visited in Israel and the hopes for peace -- that was, remember, 23 years ago. 

As the plane landed in Columbus, we exchanged business cards and he asked me to call him if there was ever an issue that I wanted to discuss. And, I did call Senator McCain from time-to-time over the decades since; trying not to test his patience. I will never forget one call -- during the 2008 Presidential Campaign. When I got through to the Senator, his first words: "I'll bet you're voting for Obama, arencha?!" I fudged my answer, something about Chicago, my Senator, yada, yada, yada. Senator McCain just laughed at my discomfort. Then I told him that I was calling because "at your rally yesterday, when a woman confronted you with the claim that 'Obama is an Arab,' you responded as the patriot you are, and I just wanted to thank you." Now, I could tell I had made the Senator uncomfortable even as he thanked me for calling.

Since that memorable election, where the choice was between two heroes, one military, the other as a voice of hope (that eventually fell short), I have watched as John McCain became the Lion of the Senate, as he was demeaned by Donald Trump and as the Senator stood tall as the conscience of a Senate so lacking in one other than he. We hadn't spoken in a while when I learned with all of us of John McCain being struck with the brain cancer that would eventually take his life after a brave battle. I sent the Senator a note of concern and support, telling him that I would never forget his grace and generosity, talking with a stranger on a plane about Israel. I finished: "Let me close with the same words I greeted you with when we first met: thank you for your service to our Country."  I received a very brief, hand-scrawled note of just "thanks" in return.

John McCain lived the mantra he so often repeated: "Serve a cause greater than yourself." He did.

And, now John McCain, patriot, warrior, statesman has died. In the toxic environment of today's politics, he will not be replaced.  Condolences to his family, may his memory be for a blessing. John McCain's heroism in life and in death -- remarkable -- "thank you for your service to our Country" to the end.

Rwexler

THE NATION-STATE BILL AND ALL OF US

If you choose to read the analysis of Netanyahu's Nation-State and have an opinion on it, you might be reassured by the typical "Israel Can Do No Wrong" screed of a Caroline Glick or Jonathan Tobin who suggest "nothing happening here, be on your way." Although Tobin at least understands that "[T]here are some good reasons why Israel’s Knesset should not have passed the controversial nation-state law," Glick posits that if you oppose this "nothingburger" you're either a member of a frustrated minority in Israel or an "anti-Zionist" and that you have certainly misread the Bill which does nothing more than codify Herzl's and Ben Gurion's dreams. Both pundits opinion if not their stridency are echoed by Sara Greenberg, the Prime Minister's Advisor on World Jewish Communities. https://m.jpost.com/Opinion/PMs-adviser-to-Post-Jewish-Nation-State-law-critics-are-misinformed-564267

To suggest that the law, pushed to passage by a Israel's governing coalition, merely recites that Israel is "a Jewish State for the Jewish People," ignores the Act's language that disparages the service of Druze warriors in the IDF and ignores that minority's loyalty to the State. Further, it ignores critical mandates of Israel's Declaration if Independence as if those are irrelevant in 2018 ans beyond. Those who dismiss the Bill's impact ignore JFNA's rare and principled statement on the effects of the legislation:

"Jewish Federations stand shoulder to shoulder with the Druze community and urge Israeli legislators to work with the community as soon as possible to address their very real concerns.

As strong supporters of Israel, we were disappointed that the government passed legislation which was effectively a step back for all minorities."

I agree with Jonathan Tobin --  the Nation-State Bill need not have been passed. I would go further: it should not have been passed. The impacts are self-evident. And, now, the Justice Minister has suggested that if the Druze claims to the Israeli Supreme Court prevail in striking down the legislation, there will be societal upheaval and, no doubt, a further attack on the role of the Judiciary. This from the Israeli Justice Minister whose legal position here (and elsewhere) appears clearly to be based on politics, not law.

As Rabbi Danny Gordis wrote:

"Can Israel really be a functioning democracy in a meaningful sense of the word even while placing the flourishing of the Jewish people at the top of its priorities? Many of us believe that it is possible, but we understand that it would require a deft hand, an ongoing commitment to nurturing a sense of belonging among Israel’s minorities.."

It was good to hear JFNA's voice on this issue. Let us hope that (1) that voice is heard and (2) it won't be the last time we hear it.

Rwexler

COULD IT POSSIBLY BE TRUE???

Could it possibly be true that...

1. ...some chacham at 25 Broadway has allowed Renee Rothstein to download all professional leadership of the Tel Aviv GA to Becky Caspi? One JFNA senior professional without a whit of federation experience handing off to an Israel-based senior professional
er, Director General, handing off what should be, but is no more, the major annual event on the Jewish organizational calendar -- handing off to another with not a whit of federation experience. So, is anyone surprised that the GA content is so unrelated to the issues federations are facing.

2. ...Federation CEOs are so focused on the issues they are facing locally, that they are disinterested in effecting change of the GA program to reflect federation concerns? I am reminded of the GA in Los Angeles a decade or more ago when those same CEOs, merely weeks before the GA convened, captured the GA program, rewrote it to focus on the Israel-Diaspora relationship and, in so doing, created a GA that was meaningful and memorable. Today, no one appears to give a damn.

3. ...that JFNA has no data on the number of Birthright alumni who serve on the Young Leadership Cabinets and on Federation Boards. And, the reason: JFNA has never asked. Maybe someone will ask on FedCentral. Birthright trips began in 1999; now sending 50,000 to Israel each year. What was and is the Jewish future must also be the Jewish present for 10s of 1000s. So what does JFNA know of these adults?

Just askin'.

Rwexler

COMPARE AND CONTRAST...AGAIN

In my earlier Post Compare and Contrast, on the responses of JNF-USA and JFNA to the crippling attacks on Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza, we reviewed the actions of the two organizations. As the attacks continued the week of August 3, we saw...well, let each organization's response:

JNF-UJA's power response was summarized by its CEO, Russell Robinson, in the Times of Israel, https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/weve-come-too-far-to-stay-silent-any-longer/, in pertinent part:

"They say that silence is golden. Yet, now is a time that we cannot stay silent. For over four months, communities facing the Gaza border in Southern Israel have lived through a daily barrage of incendiary kites, balloons, and rockets. For these families, one night of silence would be welcome. Instead, they are woken up each night by the sound of sirens blaring as they gather their children and rush to bomb shelters. Children are afraid to take a shower in case a siren goes off. Farmers watch their livelihood burn as hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of crops meant to support their family are gone in an instant. This is what normal life is like for close to 30,000 people living in these communities.

These are people who moved here to farm land before 1948 and others who were seeking refuge from Yemen and other Arab countries and brought in 1949 and 1950 to make a home in Southern Israel during Operation Magic Carpet. Among these communities are also families who moved during the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, who are not filled with anger, but instead they moved on to build new lives. They are filled with the passion to build the State of Israel, for the Jewish people everywhere. Modern day pioneers who see the Negev though the same eyes as David Ben-Gurion—the place that holds the future for Israel. We cannot sit silently by while thousands of men, women, and children have their physical and mental wellbeing put in jeopardy.

 Robinson continued:

"At Jewish National Fund we are standing up and calling attention to what has not made it into the headlines. We are gathering our voices together to share the story of these families. From August 19 through August 30, Jewish National Fund is bringing a farmer, a mother, and a student to share firsthand accounts of what life is like. The true story. This caravan will travel to communities across the United States and together we can make a sound that is louder than the sirens. Join us, invite your friends and family, share these stories on social media, and reach out to your local representatives. Together we can make sure that what is happening is no longer silent.

Jewish National Fund-USA has also launched an emergency campaign to further relief efforts and support the communities affected by this terrorism. In addition to funding trauma resilience centers and the JNF Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, we are also planning to add bomb shelters, paint 20 bomb shelters already in place to make them child-friendly, provide new fire trucks and firefighting wagons, purchase life-saving equipment, and fund special activities for children of the region."

"Standing up," "joining our voices together," "launched an emergency campaign." Just think of those responses and we can understand the pride that JNF-USA's constituency and its lay and professional leadership feel -- we can understand that sense of pride because it's the sense we once had in our continental entity.

Were I to contrast the powerful response of JNF-USA with the lack of any response to JFNA, it would be damn embarrassing to show JFNA's actions as a sorry blank page.

ADDENDUM:

It has been pointed out to me that I have understated the contributions of JFNA for the federations. So, I will add the following Release from JFNA in haec verba:

"The Jewish Federations of North America allocated nearly half a million dollars to help relieve suffering in southern Israel caused by 'kite arson' and provide trauma counseling and support for a growing number of Israelis who have been impacted by increased strife along the Gazan border.

Federations provided funding so that 100 children from border communities could participate in The Jewish Agency for Israel's Summer Respite Camp which offers children a reprieve from their homes daily hardships.  Grants were also made to local organizations for to purchase critical equipment such as radio transmitters and fire carts, bring experienced volunteer American firefighters to Israel, and support trauma counseling for the most vulnerable.

"It's not just the 'kite arson' that is taking a toll," said JFNA President and CEO Jerry Silverman. "Israel's southernmost communities have been hit with hundreds of rockets from Gaza-the most intense exchange of fire since the 2014 conflict, Operation Defensive Edge." 

"Ensuring the residents are safe and that life is able to flourish is of strategic importance to Israel and to Jewish Federations," he added.

Among the most recent grants, JFNA will support a second group of ten firefighters from across the U.S. who will arrive in Israel next week and work shoulder to shoulder with Israeli first responders who are deployed round the clock to try and halt further destruction. "Kite arson," a new tactic employed by Palestinian terrorists, has traumatized Israelis and caused millions of dollars in damage.

"Though we are fortunate that to date no one has been killed or physically injured by the kite terror," said Richard Sandler, Chair of JFNA's Board of Trustees, "the wave of arson has caused devastating damage and emotional trauma. The harsh sights of blackened fields, damage to crops, agriculture, wildlife, people's livelihoods, and their connection with the land is having a devastating effect on all residents, young and old."

"'Throughout Israel there is considerable tension and the security establishment is on high alert,'" said Silverman. "'With our local partners we will continue to identify pressing needs in communities on the southern border. Fortunately, Federation-funded programs, established with emergency dollars in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge, are in place which supports the resiliency of civilians living in towns near Gaza, providing real-time comfort and assistance during this tense period.'" 

Two observations that speak for themselves: (1) the Release above was titled "JFNA Allocates Funds to help besieged Israelis" but does not recall that the "Funds" were from the unspent "Victims of Terror Fund" created by donors like you at the time of Operation Protective Edge in 2014 (fill in your question here: _______________________); and (2) nothing much to really see here and no new FRD to have a more significant impact.

So, chevre, I will just applaud JNF-USA for stepping up boldly where others stand aside at a time that cries out for boldness.

Rwexler

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

1. This one is so JFNA -- no management, no accountability, no oversight....this:

"The Director of Global Operations is a key member of JFNA’s Israel & Overseas team.  He/she will have a primary reporting relationship to the Managing Director, JFNA Israel Office.  The Director of Global Operations promotes our vision of a fully integrated and networked team working in partnership with Federation professional and lay leadership committed to the collective support for Jewish communities around the world. Additionally, he/she will play an active role in cross-organizational activities, liaising with colleagues in Israel and the US to promote the Israel and overseas agenda of the Federation..."

Yep, while JFNA is in transition, on the cusp of a new CEO, with a $950,000 consultant reviewing....whatever...with a new Board Chair on the near-term horizon, with two (count 'em...two) Task Forces "studying" among other things the Israel relationship, the inept JFNA-Israel is advertising for a "Director of Global Operations...(with) a primary reporting relationship to the Managing Director , JFNA Israel..." Huh? Seeing as there is no professional management and clearly no lay oversight, this kind of crap goes on and on and on.

(BTW, in a unique twist, this Director will qualify only if she/he can get over this hurdle: "[O]nly conversational Hebrew required." I guess you have to be able to speak it, not read it.)

2. GA Registration for the GA Lite Tel-Aviv Experience must be at an all-time low. Related organization staff are being offered deep deep registration discounts -- is the same discount being offered to Jewish federation staffers in North American federations? Is anything thought through at any point?

3. Three recent headlines from the FedWorld rag tells us a lot: JFNA Speak Out on Israel-Diaspora, JFNA is Disappointed That Israel Passes Nation-State Bill and Like Israel, Countries Grapple with Identity and Democracy and GA Will Address Integrating Israeli Minorities and More.

Rwexler

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AT THE ZOA?

The Zionist Organization of America finds itself mired in one controversy after another -- we've reviewed some of the current and past controversies on these pages. And all of them relate to the "leadership" of ZOA's "President for Life" Morton Klein, one of Israel's most passionate and outspoken defenders from the right.

From the years for which ZOA lost its non-profit status (which jeopardized the tax deductibility of contributions to the organization), to the claims by other organizational leaders that ZOA leaders (viz, Mort Klein) had violated the terms of membership in the Conference of Presidents in its disparagement of three other organizations and those organizations' leaders, leading to a Conference-mandated arbitration, to the allegation that Klein/ZOA (the two are interchangeable in the sense of l'etat c'est moi). accepted $50,000 contributions from alleged representatives of the Qataris to tone down ZOA public criticism.

And, now, the worst of it. In https://forward.com/news/406850/bombshell-lawsuit-charges-mort-klein-took-secret-payments-from-board/, the Forward, over Josh Nathan-Kazis by-line, built an article on allegations made by the ZOA's former Executive Director's lawsuit which "accused...Mort Klein of taking secret off-the-books payments from donors, sabotaging the group's tax exemption to hide his inflated salary, and retaliating after the former executive director blew the whistle on his alleged misconduct."

A friend who sent the Forward article on to me said, facetiously (I think): "This wouldn't be happening if the ZOA had a Board of Directors." Of course, the Zionist Organization has a Board, the real question is: what the hell does that Board do? Visit the ZOA website and you will find one "Statement" from Morton Klein after another -- the entire Home Page reads like nothing more than a Mort Klein scrapbook.

The ZOA's attorneys are following the tried and true tactic of attributing the charges in the lawsuit to a disgruntled former employee. Who is independently examining the allegations:they are serious, they are numerous and they cannot be ignored. The allegations suggest a lack of transparency and a lack of accountability; and a Board seemingly disinterested in exercising their fiduciary responsibilities.

The ZOA's Board Chair is a prominent attorney -- where is he here?

Rwexler

A REAL-TIME WARNING

I was recently reminded of that moment in American history when President Eisenhower, on the cusp of his retirement, warned America about the dangers of the "military-industrial complex" by a warning to his community from a retiring Federation CEO appearing in the San Diego Jewish World. It was an enlightened warning -- one applicable to almost every community across the continent.

Michael Sonduck, retiring after 6 years as the CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County (and in other roles, including COO, for years prior thereto) spoke to the need for leaders "of some 120 local Jewish organizations...to look beyond their individual organizations and put the welfare of the overall Jewish community first."

Sonduck observed:

"Many years ago, the Jewish Federation was the umbrella Jewish agency in San Diego County, with the funds it raised being allocated by its board for local needs, help for overseas Jewish communities, and aid for Israel.  There was a “primacy” period when other Jewish organizations refrained from fundraising to permit Federation to conduct its campaigns.  That no longer is the case.  Once there was a time when the main agencies of the Jewish community (Jewish Family Service, Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, Lawrence Family JCC, Hillel, and the Agency for Jewish Education) and the Jewish day schools (Soille, Chabad, San Diego Jewish Academy) could anticipate automatic grants from the Federation.  That is also no longer the case.  Today, agencies, day schools, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations raise funds for their own projects year round, while ever more Jewish organizations spring up, with competition for the Jewish dollar becoming that much keener..."

And, more:

“"'When the prosperity of any one organization within our community becomes more important than the overall community, the seeds of failure will have been set in motion,' he said.  'It may well be irreversible.'”

 and, yet, there it is. The Federation in San Diego has been reduced, on the CEO and his predecessor's watch, to "second class status" behind (rather than next to) the community foundation which, though led by past federation leadership, views itself as in heated competition with the federation itself.

Worse, Sonduck observed:

“'As a result of the competitive landscape in which we live,'” he added, “'there is public divisiveness, name calling, and an utter disregard for civil discourse in our community.  Are we really served by our western-gunslinger, every-man-for-himself-or-herself culture?  As you know already, I don’t think so.'"

And, while he concluded with an expression of hope, the retiring CEO offered no remedies: 

“'Without raising our eyes to see the whole community, we will not see the path to their solution,'” he said. “'We must dedicate our zeal to the whole community regardless of the board on which we are members, or who pays our salary, or which synagogue we belong to, or whether we believe that one should never criticize Israel in public, or whether we believe that as in a loving family, we should call out our brethren when they don’t live up to our shared vision.'”

 As one who has watched the San Diego Federation go through the agonies of major changes over the decades to its reduced communal status today where it has chosen (or acquiesced) to be but a conduit for its dwindling number of donors' funding choices rather than as the central address of the Jewish community, one can only hope that its leaders were listening to its CEO's farewell address not the actions taken over the decades.

Rwexler

OY!!

Friends, like you I have noticed that there had been a drastic falloff in the number of Comments to Posts over the past month-plus. I should have looked into this earlier.

Apple has been feeding Comments into a folder separate from the Post to which they have been addressed. I discovered 150 Comments resting there -- many of them excellent. 

Having learned where your Comments now reside, I will be able to quickly publish them as before.

Thanks for your patience.

Rwexler

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

I can't specifically track back to the date when JFNA abandoned its responsibilities to those who need our assistance but my short-term (in fact, the shortest) memory can identify the event that should cause all those who support the continuing payment of JFNA Dues to say: "no more."

Even without news reports from Messrs. Silverman and Sandler, all of us know that the Israeli towns in Shaar Ha'Negev, in the Gaza Envelope, beginning in June and almost constantly thereafter, were subjected to Hamas-initiated rocket attacks and the new tactics of "fire kites" and incendiary balloons destroying crops and property and endangering the lives of Israelis. Other than those soporific news updates, JFNA. DID. NOTHING.

Contrast that institutional inaction with the proactivity of JNF-USA which sdemonstrated what a nimble and focused organization could and would do. For a number of years, JNF has had in place a Gaza Envelope Task Force -- a lay-professional leadership group that both related to the needs in the Gaza-adjacent communities and in the construction of shelters and facilities to protect our extended Israeli mishpacha there. And, then, the terrorists attacked again -- and JNF-USA acted.

On August 1, two weeks after JNF began to organize this effort, that organization announced on social media:

"Emergency Town Halls: the Gaza Border Crisis
Aug 19- Aug 30, you're invited to learn about the Gaza Border Crisis. In a series of town hall meetings throughout the country, residents of the Gaza border will be sharing stories of living under attack. http://jnf.org/gazatownhall https://t.co/bjfwTZJydX"

The description for the JNF-sponsored Chicago Town Hall included:

"Join us to meet a mother, a young pioneer, and a farmer—residents of Gaza border communities—who will share their personal stories of living under attack, with hundreds of incendiary kites, balloons, and rockets steadily raining down on them. Hear about the needs in their communities and the issues they face on the ground: their experiences running to bomb shelters and sleeping in saferooms, their fears of a ruined economy, the ecological disaster, and their challenges dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—both their children’s as well as their own." 

 I remember as a young leader in the 70's being invited to a UJA Regional Caravan, where one of Milwaukee's historic communal/UJA leaders inspired us to step forward in support of Israel in the face of a major Israeli crisis. That's what the United Jewish Appeal did; it's what JNF-USA is doing today.

And what is JFNA doing? In its torpor, in its lethargy, JFNA. IS. DOING. NOTHING. The organization can't even rouse itself to open a "Mailbox." NOTHING. What is its Israel Office doing? NOTHING.

So ya'shir koach to the leaders of JNF-USA and its Gaza Envelope Task Force.

Rwexler

IF THERE WERE A GA AND NO ONE CAME

The push is on for the October 2018 GA in Tel Aviv -- ostensibly honoring Israel's 70th but, in reality, memorializing the death of the GA as we once knew it to be. You remember, the General Assemblies of old -- exciting, topical, Plenaries not merely dynamic but with audiences far outstripping the capacities of the Halls where they were held. Maybe one has to be as old as I to remember those because the GAs of the last decade have been desultory affairs, reflected in the attendance of ever fewer lay leaders.

For October, professionals in the field have pointed out to me that the General Assembly has reached a tipping point -- nothing more than a professional gathering with a scattering of laypersons -- the JFNA leadership gaggle. And, looking at the recently distributed "Program Highlights" one can only wonder what would even attract communal professionals to this incredibly expensive and travel-time consuming 4 days in Tel Aviv.

I don't know if "attendance desperation" has already set in, but missives from JFNA-Israel to national and international agencies offering deeply discounted Registration for their Israel-based professionals clearly suggest that, once again and always, the emphasis is on numbers, on futile attempts to fill the rooms while the Program suggests "more of the same." 

Here's what's advertised as Featured Programming:

• Dialogue Den

• Rooftop Raps

• Cocktails at the Knesset

• Tel Aviv at Night

Might as well call these what they are: bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

The whole thing makes one wonder what might have been almost nine years ago when Joanne Moore was hired (and promptly quit) to organize and recreate the GA among other professional responsibilities; instead of what is under the Renee Rothstein umbrella -- one with neither federation background nor experience.

Next year there will be no GA, ending a continuum of Assemblies that dates back long before my first (1974).

Will anyone notice?

Rwexler