011111111ENT
ith Strings Attached
ONATAN GORDIS
AND ROBERT FENTON
Special To The Jewish News
O
n a recent visit to Israel, a
prominent American philan-
thropist commented that he
watches the headlines nowa-
days just as much to see what Israel has
ne to him as what Israel's enemies
ave done to Israel. "I am nervous," he
stated. "And I am simply no longer cer-
tain that the Israel I was giving my
ney to is really the one that is out
there."
This view is familiar to those
involved in any aspect of the transfer of
charitable donations from North
erica to Israel. The Israeli govern-
ent has taken steps on the interna-
tional front that have distanced the
once guaranteed support of the
erican government. And internal
evelopments have Jewish donors ques-
tioning their once solid relationship
with Israel.
Revolving primarily around issues of
wish identity, internal legislation in
srael has raised public and private out-
cry among American Jews who object
to being told by Israel that they are "not
Jewish enough."
For a number of years, American
Yonatan Gordis and Robert Fenton,
Baltimore natives, run Yesod Resource
Management, which consults with indi-
duals, foundations and federations
nvolved in philanthropic giving in
Israel.
IIBLISHER'S
NOTEBOOK
of A Gangster
Program,
'20s and '30s
Exhibit
ARTHUR M. HORWITZ
Publisher
... Spider Murphy
played the tenor saxo-
phone, Little Joe was
blowin' on the slide
trombone.
The drummer boy
from Illinois went
fenders have faced growing concerns
about what is being done with their
charitable gifts in Israel. The efficiency
of the monolithic Jewish Agency, which
manages most of the funds channeled
by the Jewish federations, has been
called into question. A number of
Jewish federations, including San
Francisco, Detroit and New York, have
hired their own representatives in Israel
to provide them with on-site monitor-
ing of the orgailizations they fund, and
to help them make better funding deci-
sions. Similar steps have been taken by
an increasing number of individuals and
private foundations, who contribute
millions of dollars every year to Israeli
not-for-profit organizations.
One of the roles of the on-site repre-
sentative is to find hidden needs within
Israel that are not being addressed.
Private philanthropic dollars can and
have encouraged excellence in educa-
tion, experimental social programs
(many of which have received interna-
tional recognition), programs in plural-
ism and democracy and even the move-
ment to change Israel's electoral system.
These actions by American donors
have led to significant shifts in Israel.
Where Israeli not-for-profit organiza-
tions could once rely on the goodwill of
their American "rich uncles," the
increasing demand for efficiency and
accountability by donors has led to a
dramatic change in the management of
Israeli organizations.
The Israeli government's "Not-for-
Profit Registry," a branch of the
Ministry of Interior responsible for
overseeing Israeli non-profits, has yet to
be computerized. For many years, this
primitive situation was mirrored by the
not-for-profit .organizations themselves,
as the only government requirement
they had to fulfill
was submission
of an annual
financial state-
ment.
With the
increased pres-
ence of on-site
representatives of
donors, Israelis
have had to give
solid evidence of
proven accom-
plishments in
return for the
money they are
receiving from
North American
donors. For example, American donors
provided much of the financial support
for the absorption of the Ethiopian
immigrants. When it was revealed that
a vast majority of the Ethiopian immi-
grant youth were being tracked into
vocational education programs in
boarding schools, the donors pressured
the Jewish Agency and this trend was
reversed. When unable to perform suc-
cessfully according to American stan-
dards, and translate that success-into
terms the Americans understand, the
Israelis risk losing their funding.
There is more good news. While
Americans have complained for years
that Israelis do little charitable giving,
the situation is changing. Israel is evolv-
ing into a wealthy society, both on the
corporate and private level. In response
to this, philanthropic mechanisms have
begun to develop in Israel. Corporate
and private giv-
ing in Israel is at
a record hi
and Israeli phil-
anthropists are
in the early
stages of learning
to create viable
financial frame-
works to facili-
tate giving.
Evidence
clearly indicates
that the greater
the donor's pres-
ence in Israel,
the better the
influence and
control. Americans are beginning to
understand that they must play an
active role if they want to see Israel
develop in the ways they view as impor-
tant.
Charity has always been a pivotal
aspect of Jewish society, and the shifting
relationship between North American
Jewry and Israel is reflected in this
realm as well. Greater personal involve-
ment and concern on the part of phil-
anthropists is leading to greater
accountability and efficiency in Israel's
not-for-profit sector. This change will
only improve Israeli society and
strengthen the relationship between
Israel and the Diaspora. ❑
crash, boom, bang, the whole rhythm
section was the Purple Gang.
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block was
a dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock ...
tographs from that period — includ-
ing about 100 relating to the Purple
Gang.
The JCC was to be the co-sponsor
of the exhibit, with several synagogues
contributing materials from their own
archives. But as word spread that the
exhibit committee was planning on
using photographs of the Purples,
including many with names, coopera-
tion dried up in a hurry.
and the Swedes for not facing their
history of Nazi collaboration yet cry
anti-Semitism when asked to acknowl-
edge and provide context for a not-so-
pretty part of our own Jewish commu-
nal history?
The Purples' existence was an indi-
cation of how well integrated some
Jews had become with the American
culture of the time, according to
Sidney Bolkosky, who authored
Harmony & Dissonance, a history of
Detroit's Jewish community from 1914-
1967.
"If there wasn't a Purple Gang,
there would have been another one ...
someone else to fill the gap and make
money," he said. "But no one idolized
or idealized them and turned them
into heroes. They didn't have a long-
range impact on the Detroit Jewish
community, though in individual
cases there are families today who are
GANGSTER on page 36
IV
ritten by-MikeStoller
and originally recorded
by Elvis Presley in 1958,
"Jailhouse Rock's" prison
band consisted of swinging jailbirds,
including Detroit's Purple Gang. -
While the Purples were "the whole
rhythm section" in the song, their
mere mention in 1997 continues to
generate controversy within our Jewish
community.
The current flash point is an exhib-
it opening tomorrow night and run-
ning through October at the Maple-
Drake Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield. It focuses on life in
Jewish Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s
and contains more than 700 pho-
Hiding our
history.
What is it about the Purples that
some 60-70 years after their Jewish
reign as bootleggers, shakedown artists
and killers, Jewish communal leaders
try to expunge their existence? What is
it that makes rabbis criticize the Swiss
10/3
1997
35