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7/1 0
1998

36

Pearlstone, using the Hebrew expres-
sion for making the world a better
place.
Along with Giles, Pearlstone will
co-chair a committee charged with
finding a new chief executive for the
new entity.
It is clear that raising more money
is a central goal of the partnership.
"We never have enough money to do
what is needed," said Kraar, who is
sharing the title of co-executive vice
president of the partnership along
with Bernard Moscovitz, executive
vice president of UJA.
The central system raises an annual
$1.4 billion each year, including $750
million in the annual campaign con-
ducted by UJA and local federations.
The rest comes from endowments
and capital campaigns.
But there are an esti-
mated $1.8 billion
worth of needs, accord-
ing to Kraar, from rais-
ing educated and corn-
mitted American Jews
to feeding hungry Jews
in the former Soviet
Union.
Over the past year,
the partnership has
begun to take shape in
several ways:
* The creation of a
29-member partnership
operating committee to Martin Kraar
oversee the process;
*The establishment of six strategic
subcommittees — from needs assess-
ment to budget and finance — to
work out operational details;
* The consolidation of regional
UJA and CJF offices to create five
joint regional offices aimed at provid-
ing more effective and comprehensive
services to local federations.
The five regions are:
* Northeast, based in Bergen Coun-
ty, a region of 3 million Jews;
* Southeast, based in Atlanta, a
region of 250,000 Jews;
* Southeast Florida, based - in Deer-
field Beach, Fla., a region of 650,000
Jews;
* Midwest, based in Chicago, with
a satellite office in Cleveland, an area
of 800,000 Jews; and
* West, based in Los Angeles, a
region of 1.3 million Jews.
As the partnership moves toward
the merger, a host of thorny issues has
yet to be resolved.
One of the key andsmost con-
tentious issues, many insiders agree,
will revolve around what is known in

the federation world as "collective
responsibility," the obligation of local
federations to contribute to national
and international needs.
"Everybody agates on the need for
collective responsibility," said Pearl-
stone, but there is disagreement
among federations over "what that
means and how' much money that
includes."
Much of that discussion has
focused on support for the Jewish
Agency for Israel, the primary recipi-
ent in Israel of funds raised by U.S.
Jews. The American Jewish Joint Dis-
tribution Committee also receives
funds raised for overseas needs fo'r its
work in Israel and countries around
the world.
The Jewish Agency, whose main
task is the rescue and resettlement of
Jews, has undergone a
major restructuring of
its own during the past
year, drastically cutting
its budget and stream-
lining services.
The federation sys-
tem provides about
$200 million annually
to the Jewish Agency.
Responding to a cash
emergency, federations
committed close to an
additional $60 million
in emergency funds this
year.
But there is debate in
the community over whether the Jew-
ish Agency should be the sole recipi-
ent of American Jewish funds raised
through local campaigns and whether
it should be guaranteed a certain min-
imal amount.
Several local federations have opted
to direct a portion of their funds for
Israel to specific programs there. Fed-
erations that take this approach argue
that it gives them greater control over
allocation of funds and makes individ-
ual donors feel more connected.
The United Israel Appeal, which
serves as the link between U.S. Jewry
and the Jewish Agency funds, believes
that federations should support JAFI
as the central "global agency designed
to respond to the needs of Jews every-
where," said Bennett Aaron, the new
chairman of UIA.
UIA recently joined the CJF-UJA
partnership, even moving into the new
central offices, but insiders say they
are not certain whether the organiza-
tion will ultimately be part of the new,
merged entity, in part for legal rea-
sons.

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