I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE

The headline in Haaretz blared: Jewish Agency Announces Biggest Cutbacks in its 90-year History. Judy Maltz reported:

"An ongoing decline in donations from major Jewish philanthropies overseas made the cutbacks necessary, according to senior sources at the Agency. The Jewish Federations of North America, its single largest donor, has reduced its annual allocations to the Agency dramatically in recent years." (Italics added)

Of course, we have been reporting on the Draconian cuts in Federation allocations through JFNA for years while decrying JFNA's lack of effort to stabilize, if not increase, the allocations to JAFI, JDC and WorldORT. Today, JAFI has a leader who is willing to call it for  what it is -- our failure.

One must applaud the JAFI Chair of the Executive, Bougie Herzog, for facing the realities created by JFNA's and the  Federations' essential abandonment of their historic overseas responsibilities. Now, what will he and Jewish Agency leadership do about this? Isn't it time to substitute the phony and constant public mantra of "thank you" to JFNA and Keren Ha'Yesod with a frank discussion of the continuing failures of federation responsibilities to its overseas partners. 

Readers may recall that but a few years ago, the United Israel Appeal initiated a new and vigorous advocacy effort which met with some unexpected initial success.  So it came to pass that JFNA demanded that UIA cease and desist -- and without a peep, without pushback, UIA's Board Chair, apparently wishing not to resist, acquiesced. JFNA-Israel then began its own advocacy "effort" which, the results being the best evidence of JFNA's lack of any commitment to overseas advocacy, died of disinterest -- the only forays into advocacy being then JFNA-Israel's lay chair's visit to a few, very few, federations. There was to be no commitment and no results. David Brown's successor (David has moved on to the position of JFNA National Campaign Chair) appears to have no interest in even carryiong on this minimal effort.

At one and the same time as failure built upon failure, the JDC was engaged in its own efforts, advocating for itself to increase its share of the overseas allocation (the infamous "split") rather than advocating with JAFI for an overall larger share of federation campaign funds raised. (In the early 2000's I met with JAFI and JDC leadership to urge a joint allocations advocacy effort for just such a hoped-for increase in the overseas allocation. JAFI leadership quickly agreed; the Joint leaders expressed the sense, not unwarranted, that allocations advocacy remained JFNA's responsibility and that that futile organization should be accountable.)

And, here we are: JAFI cutting program and reducing its workforce by close to 10% is but the tip of the iceberg. JFNA and the federations continue to believe that they are entitled to absolute influence in JAFI's work, in its programs and in its budget for no other reason than the sense of entitlement that they always have. 

There is no acknowledgement that allocations to the core budget of the Jewish Agency have been cut by $100,000,000 -- that's $100 MILLION -- since the formation of JFNA. It is true that over these two decades Federation annual campaigns have been in stasis (while at the same time Federation endowments have increased by billions) -- and that stasis has not seen a renewed effort to boost the annual campaigns; rather that stasis has been the catalyst for communities to treat the overseas allocations like a large ATM.

Now, JFNA, having abandoned even the pretext of commitment to overseas needs has recommended that JAFI and the Joint lead any advocacy effort. (DUH?!)  Thereby, JFNA has walked away from any and all efforts to exercise any moral responsibility.

As we have noted before: if they were capable of shame, they would be ashamed.

Rwexler