SPECIAL COMMENTARY

Bruising End For UJA

New York
largest Jewish charity in the world,
ne could just about fill a
still taking in more than $750 million
a year in fundraising.
phone book with the names
of distinguished Americans
That's matched with an equal
who turned down the Jewish
amount in donations to various
Federation world's top job in the past
endowment and capital funds, as
year. Cabinet secretaries, past and pre-
well as a vast network of education
sent congressional representa-
and welfare programs
tives, university presidents,
around the nation and
mayors, even a few profession-
world.
al heads of Jewish charities
So the merger, which
would be listed.
mainly involved bookkeep-
But last week, after a gruel-
ing and management
ing, year-long search, the man
issues, meant nothing to
already in the role was given
the average Jew.
the nod. Stephen Solender,
But here the problems
longtime head of New York's
begin. Thanks to a simple
UJA-Federation and former
name change, the vast
J.J. GOLDBERG
head of The Associated in
effort is now something
Sp ecial to
Baltimore, had been loaned to
nobody ever heard of.
the Jewish News
the national agency on an
More important,
interim basis in April. Back
Solender has to contend
then, the UJA formally merged with
with the committee that hired him
its sister-agency, the Council of Jewish
also having hired his senior manage-
Federations and the smaller United
ment team. Solender's chief deputy
Israel Appeal.
Louise Stoll, a former assistant secre-
After a vigorous effort to replace
tary of transportation and a highly
him, Solender has gained the top job
regarded change-management expert,
of what's now called the United Jew-
has as a reputation for brilliance as
ish Communities of North America,
well as being confrontational and divi-
sive.
UJC in Jewish organizational short-
hand.
The third team member, David
Basically, it's still the UJA, still the
Altshuler, longtime director of the
New York Holocaust Museum, won't
J.J. Goldberg is a national columnist
even have to answer to Solender,
and author on Jewish issues. His column
thus minimizing his influence. Alt-
appears monthly. He can be reached via
shuler's been named president of a
e-mail at:
new UJC-linked foundation with its
jj e co mp userve.co m
own board, mission and bylaws,

none of which have been drawn up
yet.
During the dragged-out, five-year
merger progress, rife with petty squab-
bles and periodic crises, nearly all
senior UJA staffers departed. Most
couldn't be replaced, given the uncer-
tainty hanging over the place.
Worse, some observers say, is that
local federations have been function-
ing for years now with virtually no
national leadership. "What's really
scary is that they're doing fine," says a
Jewish organizational head who works
closely with federations. "They're
learning they can get along without
the national."
During the merger's early phases,
the main factional disputes were
between the UJA and local federa-
tions. The UJA wanted a strong cen-
tral body that would dictate levels of
giving to Israel. Federations wanted
the freedom to set their own priorities.
Federations won the day.
Over the last year, though, the
executive recruitment search exposed a
new rift.
On one side were senior lay leaders
who demanded a fresh face and a pub-
lic figure to increase the organization's
visibility.
On the other side were the execu-
tive directors of the 19 biggest feder-
ations. They insisted the new chief
have experience running a big feder-
ation. Otherwise, they warned, the
Byzantine complexities of Jewish
organizational life would defeat the

best intentions.
During the yearlong search for
UJC's top job, a "no thank you"
came from: U.S. Deputy Secretary
of State Stuart Eizenstat and Agri-
culture Secretary Dan Glickman;
Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Gold-
smith; Brandeis University President
Jehuda Reinharz and many more,
including the widely admired direc-
tors of the Chicago and Detroit fed-
erations (the Detroit candidate was
Robert Aronson, chief executive offi-
cer of the Jewish Federation of Met-
ropolitan Detroit).
By this fall, the search was nar-
rowed to a handful of names: Alt-
shuler and Stoll, plus the president of
Williams College and a lawyer who
recently served as lay chairman of
national UJA.
In September, the big-city federa-
tion executives put their foot down
and insisted that one of their number
be hired. That meant, in effect, turn-
ing to Solender. But the lay leaders
refused to give in. The result was the
three-member team of Solender, Stoll
and Altshuler.
There are nationwide sighs of
relief that a decision, any decision,
was finally made. Beyond that,
there's a widespread sense — even
among critics — that the new team
could be what's needed to give some
lift to the agency formerly known as
UJA. fl

Returning Golan
Is National Suicide

Jerusalem Is
Israel's Capital

founded that no one seriously object-
ed to such nonsense. The world has
always recognized Jerusalem as the
capital of the Jews. Can it be that next
we will be presented with the demand
from the Arab-American organizations
that all references to Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel be stricken from the
Bible?
This perverse attempt to negate
the Jewish status of our Holy City
should be met with worldwide
protests. The State of Israel should
make it clear, and the Jewish com-
munity should endorse the fact, that
Jerusalem will remain the capital of
Israel forever.

0

There are now 17,000 Jews living in
33 communities on the Golan
("Golan, Golan, Gone," Oct. 8). The
Jewish Golan farmers cultivate a sub-
stantial amount of the quality fruit
consumed in Israel (plums, apricots,
dates, nectarines, mangoes, grape-
fruit, bananas). The principal field
crops are cotton, corn, tomatoes and
onions. Dairy herds supply milk to
the Golan dairies; the vineyards
result in Golan wines, among the
finest. Israeli industry manufactures
plastics, machinery, electronics, elec-
tric motors and cables on the Golan.
A "farm" on the elevated plateau of
10 \vind turbines converts wind into
electricity.

The proposed "land for peace" deal
will have the Jews give away all their
homes, buildings, factories and farms
to the Arabs of Syria; all Jews will have
to move out. In exchange, Syria's ruler
will promise on paper not to order any
more attacks on Jews.
Giving up the Golan, which com-
mands Israel's Galilee and controls
Israel's water supply, is national suicide
for Israel. Now both Arabs and Jews
live there — "No Jews allowed" is
racism. And forcing Jews to give away
all their property is thievery.
Israel must keep the Golan. That
is Jewish land so Jews can live in
peace.

Hymie Cutler
director,
Michigan Committee for a Safe Israel
Detroit

The media have been giving a great
deal of space to a - controversy between
the Arab-American community and
Disney World ("Arabs Accept Disney's
Word," Oct. 1). It seems that the
Israeli exhibit at Epcot that celebrates
the 2,000-year history of Jerusalem
refers to Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel. The group demanded under
threat of worldwide Arab boycott of
Disney World that this exhibit be
closed or changed.
A couple of years ago, a new phrase
was added to the vocabulary of the
Middle East conflict, "Judaization."
Israel was accused of "Judaizing"
Jerusalem. I was shocked at this
ridiculous affront and then dumb-

Benno Levi
Oak Park

10/15
1999

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