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