Chaired by the inestimable Marvin Lender, one of the great United Jewish Appeal National Campaign Chairs (later in the process to be succeeded by Pittsburgh's Karen Shapira, z'l, another of the great leaders with whom I had the privilege to work) and "staffed" by Bob Aronson, then the Detroit Federation CEO. It was Bob's genius to propose a structure for the federations' Israel Office in a manner that would be cost-effective, influential in Israel's civil society and wholly responsive to federations' needs.
And, of course, the reforms necessary to create this new model were never adopted. And that inaction took place at a time, at the turn of the century, when we as a continental polity could have, should have embraced change. What was proposed: among other matters:
- Relocating the venue for JFNA Israel-Overseas to the New York HQ
- Engaging a strong professional with a federation-centric approach as the Director: Israel & Overseas
- Assuring that the organization's Israel-based Director General of the quality of Menachem Revivi and Nachman Shai -- leaders with great access within the Government of Israel who would report to the NY-based Director of Israel & Overseas
- Mobilizing the federation Israel representatives in aid of JFNA-Israel
- Expanding the work of United Israel Appeal's Israel professionals within JFNA-Israel
And...none of these steps were implemented...not then and not now. Instead, for at least the last decade, as one of you wrote last week, JFNA-Israel has been "...outrageously inflated, unneeded and wasteful." Its lay leaders have been an echo chamber for the vast overstatement of "achievement" (the Negev Now Coalition), the creation and maintenance of a bloated staff (continuing) and the accretion of powers (the UIA fiasco).
No one has articulated a single reason...not one...to continue to support JFNA-Israel as currently structured or led. There has been no return on the federations' investment, not in 2020, just as there was none in 2010. Under the Silverman "administration," there was an inexplicable willingness to ignore this constant failure year-after-year. Ignorance must have been bliss.
In a year in which available financial resources be drastically reduced, the federations can no longer support failure, if they ever could.
Rwexler
No one has articulated a single reason...not one...to continue to support JFNA-Israel as currently structured or led. There has been no return on the federations' investment, not in 2020, just as there was none in 2010. Under the Silverman "administration," there was an inexplicable willingness to ignore this constant failure year-after-year. Ignorance must have been bliss.
In a year in which available financial resources be drastically reduced, the federations can no longer support failure, if they ever could.
Rwexler
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15 comments:
JFNA-Israel has evidently already begun to cut some staff in order to comply with expected budget cuts.
JFNA should have started with the current boss who has been around forever and who is obscenely overpaid. Instead, they seem to be letting her be the architect and set the priorities for who and what gets cut and who and what stays. BIG MISTAKE if the goal is really objective zero based budgeting based upon organizational priorities.
If JFNA leadership has desaignated Becky Caspi to clean up the mess, clean out the bloat that she has created and perpetuated at JFNA-Israel, those leaders have made real reform there impossible and have made a most serious management error. Yesterday NBC-Universal didn't begin its reorganization of NBC by letting its CEO, Andy Card, lead it; they ended Card's "reign" as that first step. JFNA should follow suit and follow businee "best practices" as you have suggested, Richard. Maybe they should talk to you -- buyt that leadership won't.
One can only hope that JFNA's new CEO has been focused on more important tasks than JFNA Israel since his arrival.
However his continued failure to delegate JFNA Israel to others may well be his undoing when his contract is first up for renewal.
Fingerhut needs to quickly send Becky Caspi packing and produce an overhaul action plan to be immediately instituted. As Israel begins to move away from day to day focus on the COVID pandemic there is no time to loose.
To: Anon @ 9:38 -- 'm certain you meant NBC-Universal firing NBC CEO Andrew Lack. But you were otherwise spot-on.
I am sadly unaware of a single real achievement of JFNA-Israel over the past ten years. While Caspi takes credit for many illusory victories, real success has been earned with the sweat equity of JDC and JAFI staff and lay leadership. That leadership is largely silent in response to her claims as they are dependent on JFNA "largess."
Someone needs to email all these comments to Fingerhut.
Because both the lay leadership that has his ear and Gurvis sing Becky's importance!
If he is a true professional and leader there is no way that he won't see how much of a disaster his organization is perpetuating by allowing her and her policies to continue to rule. Our lay leadership should force the issue and see to it that this long protected "empire" be brought down ASAP.
To anon@8:32 - Some of lay leadership believes she is great and has had the CEOs ear since his previous gig.
to anon@1:39 - She is "great" at being "nice" to lay people and "sucking up" to CEO's and strategic JFNA allies.
Any honest 360 degree performance review would reveal the truth. Ask her peers. Ask the representatives of organizations she works with. Ask her staff.
If you can convince them that they are protected and can speak freely without their comments being revealed you will get the real picture.
There is this country called Israel. There are lots of Federation involved and committed major donors who actually care about what goes on in Israel and what the Federations role is there.
And, yet - other than an Israel and Overseas Chairperson, the esteemed professional has been unable to sustain an operating committee for over 10 years.
It is bizarre.
The Federations leaders live in the US, missions are planned in the US, Partnerships are staffed in the US. The US Israel relationship, for Federations is headquartered in the US.
A 7 to 10 hour time difference.
If JFNA ever wants to be relevant in Israel US relations in any way, headquarters must be in the US, with a representative office in Jerusalem.
Any news who absorbed most of the cuts in the JFNA layoffs?
Anon@8:46 is absolutely correct. Israel and Overseas should be located in the North America where the federations are and there should be only a SMALL representative office in Israel.
The job of Israel and Overseas should be advocacy and development of federation Israel programming, I&O-related FRD etc. It should not be "operations" (Global Operations?), empire building and competition with our overseas partners.
The head JFNA Israel doesn't need to be and shouldn't be paid anything close to the current salary which is probably enough to fund the whole SMALL representative office that is needed.
The current setup that has been in place for over a decade is both wasteful and damaging. It needs to be stopped YESTERDAY!
A way must be found to expand the readership of this blog or to find a way to spread it's content!
To anon @6:24: I agree with you. My opinion though has been overshadowed by those with larger bank. balances,
I think this slug fest of Becky Caspi fails to mention some of her positive attributes and is therefore unfair and one sided.
Becky was always thoughtful enough at meetings in Jerusalem Hotels, to leave the meeting, venturing out to the bar, just to bring a Diet Coke back to Jerry Silverman.
She would wait at the elevator in the lobby each morning to hand Jerry his updated three ring binder briefing book, as he came down for breakfast.
And of course, be on hand to greet him personally at the airport. (Does anybody greet Fingerhut at Kennedy or LaGuardia when he arrives?)
You just can’t find a qualified Executive Girl Friday like that any more, anywhere, just about...since...
And her wage?? It seems perfectly reasonable to some people that she is paid MORE than Alan Hoffman or Natan Sharansky was. Or for that matter MORE than both the current JAFI Chairman of the Executive and CEO.
Hello, is anybody home?
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