ANOTHER GA IS COMING -- THIS IS THE FIRST BULLSHIT WARNING

You will probably not remember, though I do, that in advance of last year's abysmal GA, The Forward's Uriel Hellman interviewed Jerry "Do-You-Know-What-I'm-Doing-I-Don't" as "JTA thought it would be a good time to check in and see how the priority areas that Silverman identified last year have fared." (Emphasis added) Needless to say, it was all bloviation and obfuscation -- Hellman just let Jerry hang himself in his own words.

Now another year has passed -- the record is what the scoreboard says it is -- and it's another year lost. So let's revisit the revisit and total it all up again in Jerry's own bullshit words.

• "Let's have a national Google map of every adult opportunity in the country." (J.S. at the 2013 GA) In the 2014 interview, Silverman said this plan is "still in the queue." Of course...it isn't...anywhere.
• "We must commit to offering a free Jewish pre-school to every Jewish family..." (J.S. in an October 2013 Forward Op-Ed) While the Chicago Federation continues to grow its JUF Right Start Program and has reached out to other federations to create their own path (Portland for one is doing so), JFNA has done nothing...as in "nothing."
• "We need to triple the number of campers over the next five years." (J.S. a 2013 GA) Perhaps Jerry, in enunciating this "goal," was waxing nostalgic about his days as the CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. There has been no growth and no greater federation investment in Jewish camping than two years ago.
• "We need a Wikipedia of Jewish communal knowledge. We're going to build it and make sure it works right...this will be a top priority this year." (J.S. at 2013 GA) Ahhh, the historic "commitment" to Federations -- nothing more than the rebranding of "Federation best practices." And JFNA couldn't even complete that task, that goal. To my knowledge, it's nowhere; like JFNA itself.
• "The Global Planning Table was making 'great progress' ...pursuing three priority areas...and would...launch a couple of 'really exciting signature initiatives' in the next six months." (J.S. in an almost constant refrain from 2012-2015) JFNA couldn't raise a sweat let alone the dollars necessary to fund three Signature Initiatives. There are now no funded Signature Initiatives; just Jerry's sad rhetoric about the difference the GPT would make (or, in the words of the now defunct GPT Partnership Committee Chair [no, the Chair is not defunct just the GPT] "the difference the GPT is already making." What virtual reality is she living in?) Silverman managed the millions of waste that is the only by-product of the Global Planning Table to date.

It was a great professional friend who once described a long since forgotten leader as "a fresh breath of hot air." And, then there's Jerry Silverman -- a constant wind hardly fresh.

I hope another reporter will interview the bloviator-in-chief in advance of this year's GA. We need a good laugh...or cry.

While we are at it, there have been excellent Comments on this Post, the best of them being:

"I dunno, I kind of like a conference dominated by outside professionals and business seeking consultants of all stripes, politicians, Chabad apparatchiks and competing philanthropic entrepreneurs. After all, if we are to have a fire sale of Federation human and organizational assets we might as well get to know the market. My suggestion to committed lay people is that they find a good bar and talk leader to leader with each other." 

I don't know who you are, but if you ever want to co-author a Blog...just asking'...and thanks to all of you.


Rwexler

P.S. Practicing for its annual announcement that 3,000 registered for the GA (even if it's only 700 or 1,000), JFNA proclaimed in its captive FedWorld that 10,000 "attended" the Webcast in which President Obama spoke and responded to questions on the "Iran Deal." The Religious News Service wrote that the number of viewers/participants was 5,000. Still a good number. Why the constant need to embellish?