Monday, June 10, 2019

THE LAW OF INTENDED CONSEQUENCES

What follows was not jiust predictable, it was absolute certainty. The vindictive acts that follow are the most immediate outcomes of the deconstruction of the United Israel Appeal and the direct result of delegating more power to those who have proved to be least capable of exercising it.

As you read this Post, know that Israeli employment law is far too Byzantine for this defrocked real estate lawyer's feeble brain -- but that that law played right into the hands of those least responsible to execute it; those who demanded the accretion of greater power after over a decade of failure compounded by failure. 

As we examined JFNA leadership's demands that the United Israel Appeal Board be purged, the lay leadership reduced by 60% and the UIA professional leadership in Israel (actually, wherever) be subsumed under the direction of Becky Caspi, probably, if history be prologue, the professional "leader" least equipped to exercise it. This was literally the "perfect storm" for what we predicted on these pages would happen: inasmuch as UIA was performing at the highest levels of professionalism, JFNA would take it over and break it. "If it ain't broke, we'll break it."

And, the breaking didn't take long...not long at all.

Within weeks of that JFNA Board meeting, JFNA-Israel, with what must have been the blessing of 25 Broadway, went forward to deconstruct UIA's professional leadership -- after all, the excellent performance by UIA professionals was making Caspi's JFNA-Israel operation look bad in both relative and absolute terms. Further, Mike Rosenberg, who, after significant leadership roles at JAFI had led UIA-Israel for the past 5 years, through an organizational quirk was, at the least, Caspi's peer, and, at best, her superior. Mike clearly had to go; he could no longer serve as Director, UIA-Israel Office: he was making Caspi and her self-perpetuating Israel staff look really bad in comparison with the excellence of UIA's. Knowing that Silverman had been removed from management responsibilities years earlier, one can assume that this purge was directed by Caspi with Mark Gurvis, JFNA COO's, consent if not enthusiastic approval. (I'm betting on enthusiastic approbation.) 

The message was clear -- if you want to keep your job, you had best keep your mouth shut unless pledging eternal fealty to Caspi. And Caspi's lay leadership -- at every opportunity, they just looked the other way while things like this happened: JFNA-Israel has employed a full-time over-compensated CFO whose job appeared/appears to be supervising payroll for 12-15 persons -- and that's it. No questions asked about that professional or any other in the Jerusalem office. 

This purge was not about making UIA better; it was a power play, pure and simple. Mike Rosenberg was in Becky Caspi's way; he would have to go. And Israel's employment laws played directly into JFNA's hands. Rosenberg received an "Invitation to Termination Hearing" that asserted that this Termination was intended to implement the JFNA resolution that would "integrate" (!) UIA:
"...into the JFNA finance operation with day-to-day oversight provided by the SVP, Israel and Overseas."
Of course, that SVP, Israel and Overseas has demonstrated no oversight ability -- so that function will be delegated to another. And, it is so stated in the "Invitation to Termination" --
"A Managing Director, Finance with appropriate professional credentials and experience will be hired to work under the direction of the SVP, Israel and Overseas and JFNA's CFO."
That "hearing" would be conducted by those who had already determined that Mike must go. If any of this makes any sense to you, dear Reader, please explain it to me -- this is the JFNA implementation of "zero-based budgeting." Of course.

(Terminating Rosenberg was not the only purge. Simultaneously, Ronit Dotan, who had served first the United Jewish Appeal and then JFNA as the head of its Israel VIP Missions and Services, was similarly terminated. Ronit, a terrific professional, who brought incredible enthusiasm and joy to her work with the system's major donors, appears to have received her "Invitation to Termination" because JFNA has gone out of the FRD business. "Zero based budgeting" you know.)

None of this should have happened. Fingers can be pointed in multiple directions: to feeble lay leadership at JFNA and UIA who rationalized the serious damage done to UIA without examining the facts while focused on their own "career advancement"; to a lack of any meaningful evaluation or professional oversight of JFNA-Israel; a new set of leaders at JAFI who were overwhelmed by what must have been a tsunami of misrepresentations by JFNA leadership; and a UIA lay leadership willing ultimately to just roll over. 

This purge is only the beginning. With so many lay and professional leaders in the mix looking out for themselves, the institution that was the United Israel Appeal, and the lay leaders who self-immolated, are now nothing more than road kill. Once again, what was a mighty system has been weakened beyond recognition.

And here is the only possible conclusion: in your pursuit of power you have done incredible damage. Sadly, that seems to be JFNA's message in all things.

Rwexler

6 comments:

  1. JFNA is not going out of the FRD business. It is very effective at FRD. You might be confused about the purpose of FRD. The purpose of FRD is to develop resources for JFNA operations only.

    You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

    Just a brief reminder.

    - The educational initiative - just a grab for money right into JFNA budget
    - Small cities campaign - 40% overhead to JFNA morphed into 100% in some cases
    - Write offs - large cities who paid their dues but “could not” pay their overseas allocations
    - The Alliance - another money grab

    And now UIA. A land grab to pay the overhead of a veritably useless JFNA Israel. A budget grab at best. Useless decimation of one of the few things that was actually working at JFNA.

    Congratulations are due to JFNA on its successful fund raising campaign leading to further self destruction.


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  2. Caspi the Friendly Ghost . . .

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  3. It is now beginning to surface that the Jewish Agency is facing a serious income shortfall in its budget, mainly due to unmet JFNA allocation targets. The 2019 budget will probably end up balanced after some manuvering but 2020 is going to require serious cuts. JDC is also hurting.
    Of course, now that 20 years down the the road the great merger has finally been completed and all of the power relating to Israel and Overseas has been consolidated and integrated into the Caspi Empire, maybe the trendline can finally be reversed and our overseas partners will finally be able to concentrate once again on doing what needs to be done on our behalf.
    Yeah, sure. Please don't anybody hold your breath.

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  4. I saw the recent minutes of the Board Meeting and the announcement of the Jerry Silverman Professional Development Fund.

    Proving once and for all that timing is everything.

    It’s too late.

    Nothing can train him.

    You can reach it here
    https://form.jotform.com/91614876954976

    I tried putting in a negative number to get some of my money back, it didn’t work.

    The village called, they want their idiot back...

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  5. The “jerry Silverman professional development fund”? How ironic since he led the charge to decimate the Mandel Center a few years ago leaving the feds unsupported in professional development, career coaching and staffing.

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  6. So Silverman gets awards and goes home very wealthy.
    Caspi gets to keep her job with new consolidated power but never a clue about doing it. But that doesn't matter because nobody is watching or supervising her.
    Gernsbacher went along with this sham of a report and got rewarded with a new place on the letterhead.
    Shapira also got a new national title but doesn't identify with or understand the mission of her new toy.
    Mallach kept the UIA leadership in line and got rewarded by being allowed to stay, now reporting to Caspi.
    Rewards for all!

    Lay leadership rolled over and played "nice guy" on the way to their own self destruction.
    Gurvis stood by and "manged"/watched it all go down - true professional managerial excellence.
    Wilf did nothing to stop the trainwreck - apathetic leadership at its finest.
    Aren't we a piece of work!

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