TRANSITIONS AT JAFI PRESAGE JUST WHAT EXACTLY?

The knowledgeable free-lance journalist, Sam Sokol, recently raised the question of what will become of the Jewish Agency for Israel after our hero, Natan Sharansky's retirement as its Chair of the Executive. http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/jewish-agencys-future-in-question-with-sharanskys-departure/?utm_source=Tue+Sept+20n**&utm_campaign=Tue+Sept+20&utm_medium=email

Sokol has asked the right question about JAFI's future post-Sharansky but there are other factors at work at one and the same time:

1. Chuck Ratner, the passionate and constant supporter and leader as Board Chair of the Jewish Agency, the lay partner of both Sharansky and Alan Hoffmann, will be retiring from his position at the same time; and
2. Alan Hoffmann, the long-serving professional leader of the Jewish Agency, its Director General, has also reached retirement age.
3. Rany Training, the long-serving Deputy Chair of the Executive of the Jewish Agency, will leave at the end of his terms.

Thus, at one and the same time, JAFI's four top leaders will leave the organization at the same time. And, instead of introspection and examination of what would be in the organization's best interests going forward -- that is in the mutual best interest of JAFI and American Jewry, "stuff" like this is happening:

1. Some are suggesting that the immediate past Chair of JFNA and a Past International Chair of Israel Bonds, with close ties to Bibi but no apparent interest or engagement in JAFI, succeed Chuck Ratner;
2. The lay Chair of JFNA-Israel, engaged (if that's the word) in JAFI for less than one year, is said to be working the shadows and the hallways urging that a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, with no current (or, apparently, past) engagement with JAFI whatsoever, succeed Natan (probably in the new JFNA tradition of "the blind leading the blind").  Few remember apparently that the last time American federation and, then, lay leaders manipulated the Executive Chair selection process, the result was Avrum Burg. How did that turn out?
3. Maybe someone should introduce JFNA leaders to Aaron Abramovich, a leader of unquestioned integrity, and, clearly not a politician, who might be just the person to maintain ("restore"?) confidence in the Jewish Agency were he to succeed Alan Hoffmann.

But nowhere...not anywhere...are North America Jewish leaders of JAFI sitting together to reach consensus on what, if anything, JAFI should be at this time of greater internal change at the Agency. UIA, which might be best positioned to convene this discussion, seems stuck in place, unable to do anything beyond its vetting dwindling allocations and issuing inane "UIA Presents" reprints of others' works and words. JFNA's leaders are seemingly "too busy to be diverted by another distraction."

And, where might JFNA be? Well, maybe the ever-bloated JFNA-Israel staff has made its leaders aware of these transitions. In a managed environment, that same staff would have already prepared an environmental scan of the roles JAFI plays and how JFNA might influence the decisions to come as well as the personnel changes. 

Let's hold our collective breath...

Rwexler