MC ,13
Shlomo Lahat
May Succeed Dinitz
NT
JEWELE•
EST. i4
6209 ORCHARD LAKE RA
WEST BLOOMFIELD
THE DETRO
(IN THE SUGAR TREE SHOPPING PLA
46
271 W. Maple • Downtown Birmingham •
Mon-Sat 10-6 • Thurs 10-9 • Sun 12-5
Jerusalem (JTA) — Shlomo
Lahat, the popular former
Likud mayor of Tel Aviv, is
apparently in the running to
succeed Simcha Dinitz as
chairman of the Jewish
Agency for Israel.
The Israeli daily news-
paper Ma'ariv reported that
Mr. Lahat is the preferred
candidate of Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin and Likud
party leader Benjamin
Netanyahu to succeed Mr.
Dinitz, who has been under
investigation for alleged fi-
nancial improprieties.
Israel's state attorney re-
portedly has recommended
that Mr. Dinitz be indicted
for fraud. But the final deci-
sion rests with the attorney
general, who is expected to
act on the case soon.
If indicted, Mr. Dinitz is
expected to take a leave of
absence, in accordance with
an agreement he made with
the Jewish Agency leader-
ship. But in any case, the
former ambassador and
Labor Party politician is ex-
pected to leave his post by
the end of 1994.
The reported reaching of a
political deal over Mr.
Dinitz's successor highlights
the uneasy alliance among
the Israeli politicians,
Diaspora philanthropists
and Zionist activists who
comprise the Jewish Agency,
which is the principal reci-
pient of charitable dollars
raised for Israel by the
United Jewish Appeal.
The Jewish Agency's half-
billion-dollar annual budget
is funded largely by Ameri-
can philanthropists, whose
donations make possible the
agency's efforts to rescue
and absorb immigrants to
Israel.
These philanthropists
have increasingly question-
ed the political aspects of the
agency's governance.
Senior appointments at
the agency, such as any
replacement for Mr. Dinitz,
need separate approval from
both its political and philan-
thropic components.
Complaints over the polit-
ical nature of the agency
escalated when the Dinitz
scandal erupted. The Ameri-
can philanthropists argued
that Dinitz should resign
immediately, saying they
would demand no less of a
director of an American
philanthropy who showed
the appearance of improprie-
ty.
Mr. Dinitz, for his part,
argued that he should be
judged by the standards of
Israeli politicians, who view
resignation in the face of
allegations as tantamount to
confession.
Under a compromise
reached by the different
Jewish Agency factions, Mr.
Dinitz has agreed to resign if
he is convicted, or if his legal
case is not concluded by Dec.
31, 1994. If he is exonerated
before then, Dinitz has re-
Shlomo Lahat:
Preferred by Mr. Rabin.
served the right to remain in
office, but he has said he
plans to retire.
The refusal of Mr. Dinitz to
resign directly has greatly
complicated the struggle for
succession, since it is
unclear whether an interim
appointment is possible.
Within agency circles, the
generally accepted inter-
pretation of the bylaws is
that the organization's
treasurer would assume the
powers of the chairman if
and when Mr. Dinitz goes on
leave.
While the current
treasurer, Hanan Ben-
Yehuda, is said to want the
job of acting chairman, he is
a member of the opposition
Likud party, while Mr.
Dinitz represents the ruling
Labor Party.
Mr. Lahat, too, is a Likud-
nik. But he has veered well
to the left of his party's polit-
ical line on issues such as
the peace process, and he is
said to be a close friend of
Mr. Rabin.
His appointment would
likely infuriate the can-
didates within the Labor
Party, who are said to in-
clude former Knesset