DO YOU OWN LAND IN ISRAEL?
An Israeli Attorney
Representing Israeli Investors
Will Be In Detroit
August 1 through August 28
If you presently own land in
Israel and are interested in
selling, an appointment can
be made by contacting:
MICHAEL A. POSS, ATTORNEY
559-7588 (Business)
967-4143 (Home)
The efforts of Diaspora leaders over the
past several years -to set up an effective
committee system on the Board of Gover-
nors to provide policy input - and close
supervision to the other departments has
not been that successful. Part of this is due
to the reluctance of the departments to
cooperate with this unfamiliar procedure;
but it is also due to the intrinsic difficulties
of trying to manage a complex organiza-
tion by remote control from abroad, with
committee meetings held only about four
times a year.
The CJF committee resolution also calls
on the Agency to involve "Israeli civic,
academic and other leaders in governance."
This indicates the dissatisfaction of the
federation leaders with the current situa-
tion, where the only other input on the
Board besides their own is from the WZO
or the department professionals, both with
their own interests to protect and axes to
grind in this policy-making body. The fed-
eration leaders believe that not enough
consideration has been given to alter-
natives to existing policies and practices
in Board deliberations because of the
limited Israeli viewpoints represented
there.
This proposal naturally does not sit well
with the WZO members of the Board, who
feel that they would be pushed out of the
limelight if the federation leaders were able
to deal directly with prominent Israelis
from other sectors. As the federation lead-
ers have become more knowledgeable
about Israeli society and politics, they
have come to realize that the leadership
ranks of the WZO are regarded by most
Israelis as a dumping ground for politi-
cians and has-beens who couldn't make the
grade in more demanding areas of endeavor.
This call for involving wider circles of
Israelis in the operation of the Agency may
have been partially inspired by the success
of younger Diaspora leaders in setting up
direct ties with their counterparts in Israel,
through the recently-established Israeli
Forum. This body links young Jewish lead-
ers in Israel and the Diaspora without the
stultifying influence of the WZO Young
Leadership Department, which had sought
to dominate these contacts and thrust
junior WZO apparatchicks into prominent
positions. The Forum has recently em-
barked on an Agency-supported program
for Jewish college youth called the Jewish
Service Corps.
All Custom Made!
Over 200 Sty!es!
FREE! In-Home ESTIMATES!
Custom Made
here will all these resolu-
tions, committees, evalua-
tions and so forth ulti-
mately lead? Can this
laborious process that un-
folds for the most part
behind closed doors eventually have a
significant effect on the Agency's opera-
tions and priorities, and on the role that
WZO politics plays in these spheres? Fed-
eration leaders are great believers in "the
process," which is shorthand for the
gradual, consensual forms of decision-
making and opinion-moulding that mark
most organizations on the American Jew-
ish scene. But can such a process, which
is by nature undramatic, have what
amounts to a dramatic impact on the way
American Jewish funds are spent by the
Agency?
And what are the • alternatives? If the
current dissatisfaction with the way things
are run spreads and deepens, without any
significant changes in the status quo, then
a likely result could be the gradual weaken-
ing of the unified campaign.
This is part of the price being paid now
for a lot of people having a little knowledge
about the Agency — enough to make them
upset, but not enough to equip them with
the tools or the channels to do something
about it. In the long run, the success of the
unified campaign may turn out to have
been based among other things on keep-
ing people in the dark about what really
happens to their money.
But even if the Agency were performing
Conclusion
WOOD SHUTTERS
HOME
APPOINTMENTS CALL 357-4710
SOUTHFIELD: 29215 Southfield Rd. (In Farrell Center) 357.4710
FARMINGTON HILLS: 31205 Orchard Lk. (Hunters Sq.) 855-6972
STERLING NGTS.: 42354 Van Dyke (Just N. of 181/2 Mile)739-2130
ANN ARBOR: Call For In-Home Appointment
971.5244
FREE INSTALLATION!
(on orders over $200)
Interior Design
Commercial
Interior Design
& Space
Planning
with flair
DESIGNERS OF
• Ladbroke DRC
• Tally Hall
• The Stage &
Company Deli
• Countless other
Local and National
Retail Stores.
GLUCKMAN DESIGNS
(313) 353-3880
245(X) Northwestern Highway • Southfield, Michigan 48075
MasterCard