BEATING DEAD HORSES

Over the past decade-plus few decisions (or lack thereof) have been more disappointing than JFNA leadership's refusal to recognize that the federations' investment in JFNA-Israel has produced no return, maybe even a negative one. 

Yes, I have written on the subject frequently, most recently in reflection on the reality that even with the continuing staff bloat after some small "right-sizing," JFNA-Israel was caught by total surprise with the decisions and "compromises" at the World Zionist Congress meetings and the recent "discovery" that JAFI was "partnering" with a Messianic Evangelical "charity" dedicated to the ultimate conversion of all to Christianity. And, these are just two of many.

The system's Israel Office CEO's were once professionals with strong resumes, great personal access to the highest offices in the Israel Government -- Menachem Revivi and MK Nachman Shai. They were totally dedicated to the mission, and not to personal self-aggrandizement. That was then and this is now.

Friends, you know that I've watched the Israel Office of our national system from the beginning. When I chaired my Federation in 1986-1987, we created our community's Israel presence and I received a call from the CEO of national UJA, a wonderful friend and mentor, Stanley Horowitz, z'l, who pleaded with me to rely on UJA's nascent Israel Office rather than staff up. We staffed up; it worked very well. And, what Horowitz and UJA created morphed from a small focused operation to the unfocused, unsuccessful bloat that is JFNA-Israel today and for the past decade.

And, that might be ok were JFNA's operation a success at any level. Focus on Israel's Civil Society? Sure. There is still (I think) Irep, the sole surviving remnant of the Global Planning Table, z'l, funded by a few foundations to advocate and educate for, e.g., pluralism initiatives. Almost nothing. Or the Negev. Here's what JFNA-Israel claims:

"Federation enhances the quality of life for its current and future residents. We're developing leaders so they can create a cohesive, resourceful community. Together with the Israeli government, we're helping maintain universities and hospitals..."

There's more but it's all an exercise in creative writing. Almost nothing...but bulls#*t like this stuff. (JNF-USA is actually raising large sums for Negev projects from mega to small. That's where the action is for those who know and love the Negev.)

Or take Israel advocacy. It appears that that advocacy is the last thing this JFNA-Israel office wanted to touch. (It had in the past when the brilliant professional, Doron Krakow, now the CEO of JCCA, with Jane Sherman as a strong lay presence, and many JAFI and JDC leaders tried advocacy for....what??... a year?) So JFNA did almost no advocacy and then used its pathetic "study" of UIA as an excuse to hand advocacy back to JAFI and JDC -- an "it's their problem" non-answer to the problem of the bottoming-out of overseas allocations.

In fact, JFNA's leaders don't need a forensic audit to understand that JFNA-Israel isn't producing, isn't working out and hasn't and needs to be reconstructed from top to bottom starting yesterday. The fact that JFNA leaders would hand the UIA Unit --which had been producing quality results for the federations for decades and which had a body of federation leaders as its dedicated leaders -- to this ineffective structure is still one of the sorriest decisions the JFNA Board has made since the merger. 

Worse, in the midst of the pandemic, at a time during which JFNA has reduced its workforce appropriate to anticipated resource reductions, JFNA has now engaged a Search Firm to pursue a new hire for a new position -- an "Associate Vice President, Israel and Oversea," to office in New York headquarters and to report to the self-same Senior V-P, JFNA-Israel who has been at the helm for over a decade. Instead of further populating this version of JFNA-Israel, it strikes this writer that it is exactly the right time to undertake a careful examination of how to make this silo within JFNA effective at last. (Further, that study must not be led by those who have had leadership responsibilities for that operation over the past decade.)

And, reverting to the days immediately post-merger, a Task Force on Israel, staffed by Bob Aronson and chaired by Marvin Lender, strongly recommended that the merged entity's Israel operation office in the New York HQ with a small focused staff in Jerusalem. Someone might want to pull that tome off the shelf and study it. Envision what an effective JFNA-Israel operation might look like and what it might accomplish. 

And, then do it!!

Rwexler

 

ALLOW ME A RANT

Chicago and its suburbs, my metropolitan area, has been the home of only a few Jewish delis worthy of the name and steeped in the tradition -- among them, Manny's. Eleven City Diner, The Bagel, and in the suburbs: Max's and Max & Benny's. To that list, recent additions Half Sour, JB's Deli and Steingold's have continued the traditional with the latter stretching the definition honorably. All of these believe in over-stuffed sandwiches teeming with lox (sadly only a few offer anything even approaching the hand sliced smoked salmon available in NYC and LA) and bagels, corned beef and pastrami, Reuben sandwiches my mother would never have permitted to enter my mouth, latkes, white fish salad, blintzes, stuffed cabbage,creamed herring and one version or another of matzo ball soup among so many other dishes. 

OK, so the tradition continues, reduced in number but offering a connection to the Jewish delis of old, though none of these are Kosher. (I recently enjoyed a spectacular pastrami sandwich at a New York deli that proudly shown a lighted "Kosher" sign in its window. When I asked how that could be as they offered a full menu on Shabbat, I was answered with a "Shhhh.") 

I love traditional deli food even as age and infirmity have limited my consumption.

To my horror, however, new restaurants are arriving on the Chicago scene that play off the deli theme in ways that confuse even horrify me. First, Sam & Gertie's, advertised as "the world's first vegan Jewish deli." This is oxymoronic, an insult to the traditions -- were there a "Deli Certifying Agency," Sam & Gertie's would be forever barred from claiming the title of "deli." (I don't know what "Laks" is; I just know that it ain't lox.) 

And, just today I read in Chicago Eater that "A Contemporary Jewish Deli With Blue Corn Matzo Ball Soup Will Soon Debut in the West Loop." Friends, when God first made chicken matzo ball soup did she ever dream that we would need an "improvement" over the original. I don't think so and -- we don't. At this Rye Deli and Drink:

"The bagel selection features flavors including za’atar, Maldon sea salt and thyme, oat sunflower seed and pepita, and more." 

I'm telling you, friends, I wish all of these places well but, more so, those Jewish delis that show their respect for deli traditions by adhering to them.

I guess you do not have to be reminded: I am a dinosaur.

_________________________

I have loved all of your Comments -- on- and off-line. Especially the Last Comment but all of them.

Those of you who offered me your observations on the "appetizing" dairy restaurants brought back a memory that I wanted to share.

In 1997 I was ending my terms as UJA National Campaign Chair. As was our UJA tradition, we organized a celebratory "thank you" dinner for our leadership. My wife, Bobbi, shopped for an appropriate venue -- one that would be kosher or dairy and historically Jewish. She chose Ratner's, z'l, on the Lower East Side; run-down, full of the flavor, the tam, of a different time. 

We had a private room packed with the UJA lay and professional leaders and spouses, a wonderful evening, and pretty good food -- so many traditional dishes, the tables practically groaned. The dinner was topped off with a large layer cake with aome appropriate inscription coupled with "Richard" emblazoned on the frosting. It took a long time to say good-bye that night and as Bobbi and I left the restaurant, there in the display cake was what was left of my cake...for sale!!

Ratner's was already struggling to remain open -- which it did in 2004. I assume my lefrtover cake was still there, begging to be sold.

New York!!

Rwexler

THE NEED FOR A TOTAL RESTRUCTURE

Recently I was bemiused (in the worst way) reading page after wasted page of meaningless gibberish from the Jeweish Agency with regard to what its leadership described as a governance restructure. In reality, this was much ado about...nothing. And that is the shame because no organization is in m ore need of a total reexamination -- and, if it cannot or will not do so, JFNA, for the federations it is to represent, ought to take this on. JAFI is clearly anorganization that subscribes to the mantra: if you don't know where you are going, any path will get you there...or...won't.

The component parts of JAFI ownership just no longer work together -- and, as old as I am, I don't know if they ever did:

• The WZO -- a purely political organization, whose leadership control the purse strings as never before, have a 50% direct ownership of JAFI and for the past decade, thanks to a sorry "deal" a decade ago, now competes with the Agency. WZO also "owns" Keren Ha'Yesod, the Jewish fund-raising arm for the Jewish world beyond the USA, at least controls its membership and elects its leadership, giving WZO another 20% slice of Jewish Agency governance -- for those of you still with me, that totals 70%.
• Keren Ha'Yesod -- supposedly dedicated to raising money to fund programs of the Jewish Agency, in truth (a) it raises almost none and (b) much of what it does raise funds its staff and leadership. (While recent articles have stated that KH raises about $200,000,000 annually, it would have been a literal triumph if KH raised that over. a decade.) Most of KH funds raised flow from Canadian Jewry, who should find its representation within JFNA/UIA in a restructuring but whose leaders prefer being a "big fish" in the "small pond" that is Keren Ha'Yesod rather than being a "minnow" in the large pond that is JFNA/UIA (true one, but with a meagre $70,000,000 (and probably less) allocated by JFNA, that "pond" has become no more than a "large pond." KH has produced great leadership, appears to have no term limits for its leaders on JAFI Board and Executive.
• JFNA/UIA -- Setting aside the reality that federation Jewish Agency allocations have shrunk by over $100 million since the merger, and for many named to the Jewish Agency Board, these leaders are just passing through as opposed to the often lifelong service and dedication of their predecessors. I applaud those who provide JAFI with real leadership from North America -- among them, Michael Siegal, Beth Kieffer Leonard, Betsy Gidwitz, Sharon Janks, Bruce Sholk, Larry Silvers, Dede Feinberg, and the past Board Chairs -- and hope that their legacy will be a comprehensive examination of JAFI's roles and functions in the "new normal" and...real, substantive change.

So, what would make things better and, perhaps, provide the Jewish Agency with the resources -- financial and human -- that promises a future? In this observer's vision:

• KH should fully remove itself from WZO's ownership and restructure, aligning itself within a restructured JFNA/UIA/KH entity. Anyone who looks at KH leadership would readily conclude that David Koschitzky, Mark Leibler, Johanna Arbib Perugia, Steven Lowy and others, as examples, would readily arise as leaders of a new entity -- no more "little pond/big pond."
• The religious streams and Diaspora Zionist non-profits which have found their representation within the WZO framework would find full expression within the JFNA/UIA/KH entity.
• The JAFI's current enormous pension obligations should first be frozen and then shifted to the Government of Israel, and future employee pensions determineed by best business practices.
• The WZO would continue down its own path. If it desires to continue to compete with the Jewish Agency (rather than funding its work), it should be required to tender its Jewish Agency ownership ownership and go on its own way. If WZO is to continue to "own" any part of JAFI, its ownership/voting interests should be determined by its financial contributions to the Agency's core budget proportional to that of JFNA/UIA/KH.
• The reformed entity will elect the Board Chair and Chair of the Executive and all other elected position and its lay leadership will determine plans, focus and purposes going forward.

What are your ideas? Because "business as usual" is soon going to be no business at all.

Rwexler

MORE

Yes, back with more:

• Earlier this week we learned that the brilliant dynamic founder of JACPAC, Linda Sher, has died at 74 from the ravages of ovarian cancer. Anyone who knew Linda (as I came to know her through my common service with her late husband, David, on the UJA Young Leadership Cabinet), knew her for her love of the Jewish People, her self-effacing promotion of the work of Jewish women in support of candidates across the political spectrum both within JACPAC, her creation as the first national Jewish Women's PAC, and without. Linda was constantly in motion, described by those who knew her best and loved her the most as combining  incredible "...enthusiasm with tornado-like energy." Linda's legacy is found in her beautiful family and in the  1000s of Jewish women engaged in politics at her urging and with her constant support. She will be so missed. May her memory be for a blessing.

• The success of the GA, at least as measured by participation, remains front of mind for JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut. He noted for the 2nd time since the GA ended the incredible participation of "10,000 people." "10,000" has become the new "3,000" of yesteryear -- a dramatic number to be sure. Yet, the Opening Plenary counted 2,800 participants -- isn't 2,800 good enough? Just asking for a friend.

• The JFNA Board Chair and CEO wrote the Board announcing in the most fulsome way that after 7 years Mark Gurvis has decided to leave his role as Executive Vice-President at year-end, continuing as a "Senior Consultant" for a year. Mark recently stated that he came to the role of EVP out of a planning process -- the emet was that JFNA lay leadership had quickly determined after Jerry Silverman's engagement as CEO that Jerry needed to be best supported by a professional who could take on the management responsibilities and who had federation experience. Certainly, Mark took on these difficult roles with professionalism. It appeared from the Chair/CEO letter that there is no current intent to hire a successor. This probably means that Eric, who has succeeded to the role of FRD Director as well, will now operate without an EVP!!

• Kal ha'kavod and mazel tov to Kathy Manning on her election as the Democratic Congressperson from North Carolina's 6th Congressional District. As she has in all things, Kathy will be a great political leader inspired by he family and her multiple Jewish leadership roles.

Rwexler

JUST CANNOT HANDLE THE TRUTH

The great Maureen Dowd has a unique ability to reduce the insanity of our times to a line, a metaphor, a quote; as she did in last Sunday's coliumn in The New York Times -- We Hereby Dump Trump. In her inimical style she reduced Donald Trump's (and so many of his "friends'") argument to overturn the election results to its essence:

"The election has been stolen! 

          What's your proof?

          Because I'm losing."

And so many Jews have bought into the lies being promoted by Giuliani, Barr, Grenell and some lawyers from Jones Day and other firms unsupported by an iota of evidence because they, apparently, are paid or have drunk the Trump Kool-Aid. And, in so doing, they have decided to set facts and reason to the side just as Trump does, and, like Trump, they subscribe to whatever conspiracy theories that "keeps hope alive" while devastating our democracy.

Examples abound: one of the most popular (and egregious) is that in a small Republican-run township in Michigan, where a software issue may have "converted" 6,000 Trump votes to votes for Biden. These true believers never report (as a simple Google search would have disclosed) that the error was discovered and the votes were cast for Trump. Others of you have circulated the works of pro-Trump Jewish activists repeating, almost in haec verba, the fact-free unsupported conclusions of Giuliani, Barr, Grenell and that pack.

And, then, there is the screed from the pen of the perennial critic of mainstream American Jewry, Caroline Glick -- about which she seems to know so little but about whom she has an insatiable appetite for uninformed criticism. The best-informed estimate of the Jewish vote last week (APVotecast) put the margin between Biden/Harris and Trump at 38 percentage points. This sent Ms. Glick into a foaming lather of rabidity in her post-election column: The Isolated American Jews. While Glick begins with her own reductio ad absurdum -- that the rest of the Jewish world (British Jewry rejecting the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn and voting Conservative [completely ignoring the reality of Jeremy Corbyn]), why aren't we given that Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are reason enough given that, in Glick's opinion, those two are the Democratic Party. Glick's extrapolation is as irrational as would be accusing the Republican Party of being fascist because they elected, with Trump's support, some idiot to Congress who proudly wears her membership in and support of Qanon. 

And, Glick goes on: "Donald Trump is the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish president in US history." I will leave the "most pro-Israel" to the historians, but "most pro-Jewish?" Really?

My strong sense, listening to my friends, my colleagues, my children and grandchildren, is that American Jews didn't/don't see Donald Trump -- he of Charlottesville equivalency, separating refugee children from their parents while losing over 600 of them, his refusal to condemn the anti-semitic hate groups like the Proud Boys, Qanon and others, rejecting the battle against climate change and the abandonment of leadership and responsibility in waving the white flag in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic -- and, always, the corruption,  the lies, the self-dealing, the impeachment -- "most pro-Jewish?" Not close. In the most conservative and pro-Trump polling of Jewish voters it is clear that Trumpism was rejected as was any claim of Trump being the "most pro-Jewish."

As American Jews, we have great challenges and responsibilities -- to hold our leaders to reflect our values and to hold them to the promise of our democracy. Those of us who continue to sow confusion post-election with unsupported claims might want to listen to the observation of Rupert Murdoch's New York Post (!!):

"Downcast Trump makes baseless election fraud claims in White House address"

That's "baseless election fraud claims" as in baseless. 

As Prime Minister Netanyahu said:

"Congratulations @Joe Biden and @Kamala Harris. Joe, we've had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as great friend of Israel."

Repeat after me: Joe Biden is the duly elected President-elect of the United States. Come on, you can do it. 

Rwexler

 

 

BUSINESS AS USUAL

When I first read of the coup taking place in the midst of the World Zionist Congress just weeks ago, and being an observer of its World Zionist Organization up close and personal for decades, I sighed, realized that this was just "business as usual" for the professional Zionists who make up both the WZC and WZO "leadership." And, then, I wrote about this latest fiasco that leaves many of us with a really bad taste in our mouths.

Yes, we here in the States are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which, after some early success, has laid our extended family in Israel lower than low. None of this, however, distracted these professional Zionists, who have slurped at the public trough from, seemingly, time immemorial, from pursuing their latest political putsch with an avarice heretofore unknown. After all, this WZC/WZO thing is all about jobs and money...and no accountability -- other than to each other and the Israeli political parties.

First, some history.

Back a quarter-century, American Jewish leaders had determined that the accusations of "politicization" at the Jewish Agency needed to be confronted. The great JAFI Board Chair (and past Chair of the Council of Jewish Federations), Corky Goodman, called a meeting in New York among those American leaders and the leaders of the World Zionist Organization, led at the time by our great friend and leader, Sallai Meridor, JAFI's Chair of the Executive, later to serve as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. All of those holding Zionist portfolios within JAFI were there -- many still are. The meeting was without rancor but the discussions grew passionate at times. The Americans demanded reform, proposing/demanding that the WZO give up its ownership within the Jewish Agency for significant transition funding.

We met together and then in separate rooms -- we were making what appeared to be significant progress. Sallai asked if he, alone, could meet with us. He was our friend and partner in the truest senses. He made a plea: the World Zionist Congress would meet in a matter of months. If this deal went through, Sallai believed (and convinced us) that he would be ousted and the deal would never be implemented. He pled with us to retain the status quo through the WZC and, thereafter, we would dot the "i's" and cross the "t's" of the deal. It never happened.

A few years later, a few of us, led by Richie Pearlstone, then the Jewish Agency Board Chair, and mapped out a plan that would assure the Agency's independence from the WZO while recognizing the need to incorporate the roles of, e.g., the religious streams within JAFI -- roles then and now offered these Rabbis through the WZO. We worked our constituencies and had the support of JFNA's lay and professional leaders. And, then, it all fell apart. Richie called a meeting with JAFI's rabbionic leadership. Our presentation had hardly begun when these Rabbis and lay leaders, almost to a person, objected -- who will guarantee our jobs, positions as did the WZO? As we attempted to respond, from the corner of my eye I saw the JFNA leaders leave the room. We were on our own and we went nowhere...again.

Many continued to push for separation. Shortly after the last failure. Richie reached out to two JAFI leaders and a Large City Executive to negotiate a separation from the WZO. Shortly thereafter, the JAFI Executive was presented with an agreement that effectively and innocently did nothing more than recite a separation that required millions in short term payments to the WZO which retained its ownership of Keren Ha'Yesod and its 50% ownership of JAFI itself. We were told that this was the deal, "not a comma could be changed;" there could be  no discussion. 

Effectively, this horrible "deal" set up the WZO as a competitor with the Jewish Agency while continuing to own most of JAFI itself. One can only assume that "conflict of interest" doesn't translate into Hebrew.

And, here we are. After internal negotiations among the Zionist "lifers" within the World Zionist Congress, jobs were distributed and redistributed (as at JFNA most of the names and faces stay the same, only their titles differ). The handing out of these jobs and positions became so fierce that litigation is now on-going. For a blow-by-blow read Haaretz Judy Maltz's excellent detailed reporting  in Battle over control of key Zionist fundraising organization pits Jewish donors against Netanyahu. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-battle-over-control-of-zionist-fundraising-group-pits-jewish-donors-against-israel-1.9285069 (Hysterical, at least to me, is that the article states that KH "...raises an average of $200 million a year for causes in Israel." I can assure all of you that that "average" may be over a decade, if that.and almost none of the amount "raised" is available for JAFI's core.) Yet, the litigation was filed by three great leaders and philanthropists, Steven Lowy, David Koschitzky and Mark Leibler -- I wish them well.

And, so it goes. I have been told by so many that the incoming Chair of the WZO, Yaakov Hagoel, is a terrific guy, a wonderful leader. He will be tested in his new leadership position while being under constant scrutiny from his predecessor and others in this terrible internal competition for status and jobs. The Lawsuit above is but one example.

Friends, as a system (if in North America we are still a "system"), as we've pointed out on these pages, we now allocate about $70 million to the core budget of the Jewish Agency. Our influence over JAFI is far greater than our allocations would suggest. That influence ought to be used now; for this is not a time for business as usual.

Rwexler