THE CIRCUS TRAVELS ON

Leave it to JFNA, the organization with the reverse Midas Touch, the gang that couldn't shoot straight, to screw up anything it touches. And, most recently, it's the recommendation of the potential successor to Natan Sharansky as Chair of the Executive of the Jewish Agency.

As first reported in the Jerusalem Post --http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/US-Jewish-leaders-give-Netanyahu-short-list-for-Jewish-Agency-head-515287 -- the 'short list" of "nominees" consisted of 6 men in various Israeli government positions or those who used to hold them. Commenting on the "candidates" in ejewishphilanthropy, Founder Dan Brown condemned the nominees for their age and their consequent irrelevance to the very communities worldwide that the Chair of the Executive would be called upon to rally in support of JAFI, Jewish Unity and Peoplehood. Dan's excellent piece --http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/old-men-want-an-old-man-to-succeed-sharansky/ -- is a must read as it also emphasized the reality that not a single woman leader appeared on the "list."

No women? The Jerusalem Post posed the question in http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Comment-why-are-no-women-being-tapped-to-lead-the-Jewish-Agency-515329  Therein: "It’s not that they should pick a chairwoman just for the sake of picking a woman. But not to have even one woman under consideration is simply insulting to half of world Jewry."

The Post reported:

"(Jewish) Agency board of governors chairman Michael Siegal, JFNA president Jerry Silverman and JFNA Israel and overseas vice-president Rebecca Caspi approved the names and asked Netanyahu for his nominee for the job."

Who appointed this threesome to act as an unauthorized Nominating Committee? Where was JFNA's, let alone the federations', lay representatives, where were UIA's leaders, in this non-process? Were were federation CEOs? I can think of few other examples of dysfunction that would further distance JAFI from the American Jewish communities than having Siegal, Silverman and Caspi serving as their representatives. 

Add to the list of questions: where did this short list come from? Who prepared it? Who submitted it?

Well, this "really short list" explains so much about how we've ended up with these non-representatives proffered to the Prime Minister. Back in the day I participated in the nomination process that led to the election of three Chairs of the Executive: Avrum Burg, Sallai Meridor and Natan Sharansky. In each of those nomination processes, most directly involved were Federation Executives, UJA and UIA (and, JFNA) lay and professional leaders, and leaders of UIA Canada and Keren Ha'Yesod -- compare and contrast with the three "leaders" who appear to have captured the non-process this time. 

And how serious was this "list" -- if it was vetted at all, wouldn't the serious allegations of corruption with regard to one prominent "candidate" have emerged and disqualified him; wouldn't the fact that another is in the midst of an investigation of those high up in his Ministry? But, no, these names were "sent on" as if fully vetted.

Again, where were the lay leaders of federation, UIA, KH, UIA Canada? Where were the professionals? Who agreed that our representatives would be JAFI's Siegal and the ever-weak Silverman and Caspi? Where was David Butler, the new Chair of JFNA-Israel? Where were Andy Groveman and David Koschitzky, the Chairs, respectively, of UIA and Keren Ha'Yesod? Where was the JFNA/UIA delegation to JAFI? The answer appears to be: nowhere.

In an insightful article last February, once again in ejewishphilanthropy, the difficulty of finding a transformational leader to succeed Natan was underscored. http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/who-will-be-the-next-chairman-of-the-jewish-agency-and-when/
There are some excellent names on this list -- MK Nachman Shai and Amb. Ron Prosor are compelling leaders who certainly know the Diaspora -- but, let's be candid here, the list appears to have come straight out of the PM's Office; and Siegal, Silverman and Caspi have proved to be ever so compliant with the Prime Minister's wishes. The process appeared on the surface to be:

   PM list > Silverman/Siegal/Caspi list > Prime Minister selects from his/their list

Through this circular process, Prime Minister Netanyahu will certainly get his "man." Following up ejewishphilanthropy's excellent work on the subject, Dan Brown authored Israel's UN Envoy, Corruption and Our Global Jewish Organizations -- http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israels-un-envoy-corruption-and-our-global-jewish-organizations/?utm_source=Nov+29,+2017&utm_campaign=Wed+Nov+29&utm_medium=email -- an indictement and a demand for change. Dan challenged our leaders to produce a non-politician -- all evidence suggests that these same leaders are unable to lead us through any change whatsoever.



Rwexler