"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Gold / Goldstone Debate & Disproportionate Response

Here's a link to a very informative debate that took place last week at Brandeis University between Goldstone, author of the UN report that bears his name, and former Israeli Ambassador Gold. It's very important that you get the full perspective of the debate on this report.

And while you're at it - check out this report on Saudi Arabia's recent, indiscriminate bombing in Yemen. One Saudi soldier is killed and Saudi Arabia responds DISPROPORTIONATELY by bombing crowded areas.

Perhaps Mr. Goldstone would like to turn his attention here next. Wars in Yemen have been going on for decades. The brutality well exceeds anything Israel can be accused of doing. We wonder how many flyers were dropped and how many Cell Phone calls were made to the citizens of North Yemen warning them of impending attacks?

In all the media coverage of Israel - so much is distorted - and so much is willfully ignored. If the world could bother to pay attention, we might learn something and there might be real peace. Check this out.

To the subject of our leadership on these issues. We know there are some events and, recently, some emails directed at the community to inform them of such issues as we mention above. We find these to lack depth and effectiveness. We need a sustained, deep and pervasive set of initiatives to help our community fully understand, with substance, the issues Israel faces so that we may act formally in political circles and, very importantly, informally with our friends and colleagues. As always, we offer ourselves to this initiative - we'll wait, as usual, for the UJA to call and take us up on this offer.

Anyone else care to join us?

Best wishes

Yossi and Wayne

Yossi's Letter in the CJN

In case you missed it ...

Yossi Adler's letter, published in the CJN:

See original here.
Shira Dicker’s analysis of the crises in Jewish education today in her guest voice, “An inconvenient truth about day schools” (Sept. 10), is an interesting and poignant contrast to the rosier picture depicted in “Economy down, tuition subsidy requests up” (Sept. 3). Middle-class parents are, in fact, leaving the private day school system in greater numbers than ever before, leaving behind countless families who continue to suffer in silence and in shame from back breaking, escalating tuition fees. This truth is an “inconvenient” and uncomfortable one for UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and its benefactors, who prefer the “culture of affluence,” showcasing, as they are wont to do, the excessive, concrete monuments of massive building complexes rather than focusing on the steadily mounting and unaffordable tuition fees that burden the rest of us. The growing trend of Jewish families defecting from the day school system should indeed be a wake-up call for us all.

Joseph Y. Adler Toronto

“An Inconvenient Truth About Day Schools”:  A Culture of Affluence and the Prohibitive Cost of a Jewish Education.

This article from the New York Jewish Week (August 18, 2009)  is a must read as much of the troubling issues raised by this article are equally applicable here in Canada.   While the UJA continues to insist that they have done all they can to assist struggling middle class parents in subsidizing their children’s education, we understand that Jewish parents are in greater numbers defecting from the day school system or are silently suffering from the back-breaking tuition fees.  Day school fees are prohibitive and unaffordable and have been for years now, yet the UJA conducts its business as usual. We are losing the fight to educate our Jewish children yet there is no sincere community-wide appreciation of this crisis in education nor are there any solutions in sight.  Shame on the UJA and its “leadership”.

Some pertinent quotes:  

“And — as has been documented in the pages of this newspaper as well as other venues — the biggest cause of this distress has been the steadily mounting price of Jewish day school, which my husband and I provided for our three children, a commitment that absolved us not of luxury items but of basic necessities.

After more than two decades of living under the cloud of financial anxiety, it comes as a huge relief to hear someone else suddenly proclaiming day school tuition unaffordable; indeed, the non-sustainability of the high-tuition Jewish day school model has become the new mantra of the Jewish community.”

See as well, comments here.

On the other side of the equation, Ron Csillag, who lives in the Greater Toronto Area, wrote an article about the success of the Toronto Day Schools which was published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). Wayne is cited in this article and would like to correct one little, but important thing. Wayne is better described as a long time critic of the governance of Jewish Community institutions. Their inability to manage cost is but one symptom of this poor governance. You can view the article here.

We hope that collectively (that means you too) we'll transform the governance of these institutions and achieve unprecedented strength wherever Jews are found.

Wayne Levin  & Yossi Adler

The UJA snaps their fingers

Hello Fellow Community Members:

We're in the middle of summer - the completion of a school year seems like so long ago yet there's a new one just around the corner (got your text books yet??).

In this entry we wish to cover a recent major decision by the UJA, that is, the recent dismantling of the Mercaz by the UJA. Though it deals with the issue of education, the unilateral decision taken by the UJA is very similar to the manner by which the UJA has dealt with other major decisions that affect virtually every member of the Jewish community. Examples include the following:

- the restructuring of the UJA approximately 7 years ago in which various changes to the structure of the Board of Jewish Education were made,

- the split of the UJA into two organizations, one that holds the assets and another that runs the programs. This represents a huge change in the governance structure of our community,

- the sudden dismissal of the former BJE's executive director - about 7 years ago (see below),

- the wholesale re-organization of the Jewish advocacy organizations whereby the Canadian Jewish Congress was stripped of their Israel advocacy role to replace it with a new, even less democratic organization, the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA).

Let's think about the pattern associated with these decisions.

First, they did not involve any consultation with the community at large. No invitations to participate or contribute were issued nor was there any public disclosure of such momentous events until after the decisions were final.

Second, capriciousness: major decisions are made, often with great fanfare, only to be soon reversed or re-directed.

Third, committees (usually of "lay leaders") are just a pretense, they can be overturned will-nilly.

Fourth, we felt the not-so-invisible hand of some of the "big-money" contributors who adopted leading roles in these widespread reorganizations.

In the case now under consideration, the Mercaz (or what can be better described as a reconstituted Board of Jewish Education (BJE) - so that's what we'll call it) was entirely eliminated. An organization that was brought into being with some fanfare and promise of a bright future was abruptly dismantled, with the snap of a finger. Before going any further, we are of the belief that the typical Day School parent will not miss it. The promise of what a BJE can be (we'll discuss this in another blog entry) is substantial: much good can be generated by a proper Board of Jewish Education. But the Mercaz/BJE did not contribute much if anything substantial over the last 10 years or so. Even its Executive Director of, Seymour Epstein, acknowledged to the undersigned that it was not achieving any improvement in the value proposition or the funding of Jewish education. In fact, in 2004, this director said "we're failing." In announcing the elimination of the Mercaz, the UJA openly confirmed the above when it acknowledged that it could deliver the services previously offered by Mercaz but with much less personnel.

We feel for those who lost their jobs. We know some of them and we know that they are good, capable people who could make a huge difference. But alas, they have now been sacrificed at the altar of poor management so evident at the UJA.

The above forms the basis of our concerns. A proper BJE could indeed bring tuition costs down, improve quality and expand accessibility. We think this is doable and have said so for years. Wayne has frequently declared to top-level UJA executives and some school administrators that he thinks he can lower tuitions to about $3,500/child for primary grades and $5,500 for high school grades. Those in governance positions refuse to commit to any level of improvement in tuition or anything else.

UJA President Ted Sokolsky wrote in an email to Wayne on May 25 indicating that the BJE/Mercaz' Executive Director "was briefed about our leadership's decision to streamline and restructure the Mercaz in advance of the decision being publicly announced." So, this decision came from on high – but without consultation with the community. Not even the Executive Director was part of the discussion. What precipitated this monumental move? Why did the UJA all of a sudden realize that Mercaz was a useless entity, just two years into its re-organization?

Parents pay more than double (total tuition is well over $100 million) the UJA's annual campaign proceeds but, as usual, were not consulted.

This is all so familiar and has its precedent in various actions taken by the UJA in the past. The BJE Executive Director that was hired immediately following the retirement of the long-serving Rabbi Witty z"l was also terminated without cause, notice and consultations with genuine representatives of those who pay the bills. That individual was recruited by a committee that spent thousands of dollars advertising and bringing in potential hires from Israel, the United States and South Africa. But any committee's work can be overturned with the snap of someone's finger at the UJA. The Executive Director in question was dismissed two years into his three year contract so the UJA had to pay him for the final year - a figure certainly well above $100k, not that that is relevant to the UJA. These facts were garnered from various conversations with UJA Executive, the dismissed Executive Director and the chair of the BJE Executive Director search committee.

Many Day School parents wonder why year after year they see their tuitions hyper-inflate with only an acknowledgment by the Schools and the UJA that they “understand the financial pressures that these tuitions have on families”. Of course, they do not. If they did they would do the things that need to be done to reduce tuition. But that story, we'll save for another blog entry.

Outside of Jewish education, community members more generally wonder about why things are not improving in terms of community standards. Instead, they see more anti-Semitism in the news and on campuses and more community buildings serving as monuments to once-humble people proclaimed by the UJA to be "pillars of the community" and "leaders."

So, what do we do about it? As always, we invite your comments, forward our and your comments to other community members and don't take our word for it - call the UJA at 416.635.2883 and ask them why there are no public community forums and why you are not even allowed to read the minutes of their meetings.

We, the community, are capable of so much more and so much better.

Again, as always, we ask that you forward these messages to other members of the community and encourage them to join the list (see instructions below).

Wayne J. Levin & Yossi Adler

Your Feedback & Our Response

Hello Fellow Community Members:

First, an apology for the wide interval between updates. There's a lot going on in our lives - as there is in yours, we're sure. Second, we've been receiving information via email and snail-mail - and we want to thank everyone who has contributed. It helps to get direction and confirmation so please send us what you wish (though we are in no way encouraging you to breach any confidence or trust). We will be publishing this information in the days ahead.

You are welcome to email us at wjlevin@mac.com or send material via snail mail to:
FederationWatch
#506 - 592 Sheppard Ave. West
Toronto, ON M3H 6A7

In this note, we want to comment on some of the feedback that we have been receiving. There are three groups of responses.
1. Most of it has been very encouraging. They have either direct experience with the UJA and affiliated institutions or are close enough to those that have direct experience and, as a result of these experiences, share our concerns,
2. Many people do not understand the issues. They appreciate the pro-Israel work of the UJA (as do we), but are unaware of the UJA's lack of governance in the UJA itself, and their poor record regarding Jewish Education, Advocacy and other initiatives.
3) Some are not happy at all with what we're doing, even though many in this group agree with our concerns. Their fear is that we (the Jewish community) will be a Shunda for the Goyim (embarrassing ourselves in front of the broader community).

We'd like to speak to this.

First, nothing is more embarrassing than when our leaders make us look like fools in the eyes of government and among other communities. We tend to have a self-image of being highly respected. But we are not always - and certainly not as often as we'd like to think. For example, during the height of the Day School Funding initiative in 1999, 2000, I (Wayne) had several conversations with senior government employees and leaders among other communities regarding their confusion over who is authorized to represent the Jewish community. The UJA alone funds several "representative" organizations (CJC, CIJA, CPAC), then add to that some parent groups who, like the UJA, asserted representative authority and the B'nai Brith who also champions Jewish causes without bothering to consult with the constituency for whom they claim to represent.

Second, and perhaps more embarrassing, are these organizations' failure after failure to achieve any success in these vital initiatives. Currently, a group of parents are taking the government of Ontario to court over their failure to support special needs kids in Faith-based schools. This, despite the fact that the government actually budgets for this need! The CJC blew it when this funding was made available 10 years or so ago. Is the UJA or CJC supporting these parents? No. More on this later.

Third, is the conduct of the UJA and affiliated organizations. Few know that the CJC mishandled a faith-based school funding initiative during the first Harris mandate by prematurely announcing that they had achieved a "breakthrough." Years would go by before the shortly-lived EETC (Equity in Education Tax Credit) came into being and that too was poorly managed by the CJC.

There are plenty of examples outside of Jewish Education. Before the last provincial election the McGuinty Government established a $30 million slush fund for various community initiatives. The UJA got half of it for their "Fantasy Land" up north. The UJA can get money like that out of the government, which is not funded out of a recurring budget, but can't manage to win the money that is budgeted to support special needs kids - leaving affected parents to fend for themselves.

Some have suggested that we look like we have an "axe to grind." Frankly, we are not entirely sure what that often used expression means. Looking here suggests it means we have ulterior motives. What could be more ulterior then transforming governance in the Jewish community? That's what we're after.

Besides, we'll bet that just before every calamity we Jews have experienced, there were those who advocated alternatives that were dismissed because they appeared to have "axe to grind."

We ask that you focus on the substance of the issues we raise and the evidence we present. We always ask that you contact the UJA yourselves and discuss the issues with them - and at the same time, while talking with them, we ask that you insist on public forums.

Coming up next, some insights concerning the demise of the Mercaz/BJE.

Wayne J. Levin & Yossi Adler
PS - please pass this around.

Useful UJA Event Next week

Whlle we have major concerns with the UJA's existing structure that keep it,
and our community, far from their respective potential, it is incumbent upon
us to acknowledge and appreciate worthwhile and important initiatives by the
UJA.

From time to time, the UJA runs some really productive events. One of them
is coming up next week on marketing.

Click here to check it out.

The Jewish Community is extremely resourceful - there's all sorts of talent.
Running events that connects this talent with those who can benefit from it,
along with hosting events that connects Jews with fellow Jews generally,
does enormous good at strengthening each of us individually and all of us as
a community.

Yasher Koach.

We hope the UJA will invite suggestions from the community for ideas on
other such events.

And do seriously consider attending the event on Tuesday.


Wayne Levin & Yossi Adler