THERE SHOULD BE MANDATORY READING, SHOULDN'T THERE?

JFNA should be in the middle -- not the beginning and, maybe, even near the end -- of its search for a new CEO. Richard Sandler appointed himself Chair of this Search, a choice that might be debated if debate were permitted, and we should presume if not insist upon a serious Search for a talented, knowledgeable and creative CEO.

I have a suggestion. Each candidate (and, the Search Committee members themselves -- why not) should be required to have read the following:

~ The Roots of the Future -- Rabbi Herb Friedman, UJA's first CEO and my personal hero, who inspired generations of American Jews, the visionary who created the Young Leadership Cabinet and, decades later, the Wexner Program, and so much more.  

~ Sacred Survival -- The Civil Religion of American Jews -- Jonathan Woocher's, z'l, incredible work on the greatness of the Jewish communal system and those dedicated to it

~ To Dwell in Unity --The Jewish Federation Movement in America since 1960 -- Philip Bernstein, z'l, one of the greatest professional leaders in American communal history wrote this incredible history in 1983

~ Living UJA History -- The visionary UJA CEO, Irving Bernstein's, z'l, autobiographical appraisal of his years at the United Jewish Appeal

~ Operation Exodus -- Our friend Gerry Nagel's, z'l, first hand history of one of American Jewry's greatest chapters in philanthropy

~  From Predictability to Chaos-- How Jewish Leaders Reinvented Their National Communal System -- An after the fact analysis of the merger that created JFNA from the great scholars, Gerald Bubis, z'l, and Dr. Steven Windmueller, whose conclusions proved prescient.

And, add to the reading requirements the daily insights found in ejewishphilanthropy,  The New York Jewish Week and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal as well as the excellent reporting in The Forward and on the pages of JTA.

I wish you good reading and to Sandler and the Search Committee, good judgment.

Rwexler