Who Says that “Most US Jews Support Realignment”?? Don’t You Dare Muzzle the Jews for Your Own Self Agrandisement …

If Professor Aumann fears Israel’s becoming a Bolshevik state, what can be said for the situation of American Jews. But then again, if American Jews made Aliyah, all of these fat-cat Yudenrat below might have no constituency and lose their big fat paychecks! And imagine if all of those Jews were over here helping to turn the tide against the demagogues and turning the Olmerts, Bassis, Peres’ and Baraks out of their high offices.

Further, this author will add what has been vocalized on a number of previous occasions; namely that all Jews have suffered murder, pogroms, blood-libels, brutalizations and persecutions throughout these millennia in Chutz L’Aretz and are thus collectively, mentally the equal of any Israeli in terms of the collective resultant suffering and impact of the same on generations of our brethren.

Charity Ends Up In Jewish Leaders’ Own Pockets, While Israel’s Very Survival Is Gravely Imperiled, And Those Who Were Expelled Ten Months Ago Remain In Severe Need.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that Israel will retreat from 95% of Judea and Samaria in order to create an independent Hamas-PLO Islamic terrorist state in the Biblical heartland of the Jewish people. This treacherous retreat will leave tiny Israel with borders that are only 10 miles wide. Even Abba Eban, the extreme left-wing former Israeli foreign minister, once called these indefensible borders “Auschwitz lines.” And Golda Meir, the former Prime Minister from the socialist Labor party, once said that any Jew who supports a retreat to such borders would have to be a “traitor.”

For 2,000 years, millions of Jews were tortured and murdered because they did not have a Homeland in which to return. Now, the holy refuge of Israel, itself, is in grave jeopardy as never before.

But most leaders of American Jewish establishment organizations not only do not raise their voices against this plan of national surrender – these Jewish leaders enthusiastically support the proposed suicidal Israeli retreats, as well as the expulsion of up to another 100,000 Jews from their G-d-given Jewish homeland…while refusing, as a whole, to assist the more than 9,000 Jewish refugees from the expulsion of last August from Gush Katif and northern Samaria.

Jewish leaders with exorbitant salaries challenged

If Jewish leaders need more than $200,000 per year to motivate themselves to help their fellow Jews here and in Israel, they are in the wrong “business!”

For the past 25 years, prior to this past February, I had made thousands of phone calls, soliciting donations from Jewish individuals to help their fellow Jews locally, in Israel and around the world. As was the case with thousands of other solicitors throughout North America, I made these calls as a volunteer.

It is time the charitable Jewish public confront the leaders of American Jewish organizations, including the executive directors and other professionals of the Jewish Federations, under the auspices of UJC (United Jewish Communities), and question the appropriateness of accepting large salaries while performing the work of charity: salaries that are paid from charitable donations.

Upon completing my research, I have determined that there are more than 40 American-based Jewish organizations in which the top leader has received $200,000 or more per year in total compensation (TC). Listed below are the names of the heads of various Jewish non-profit organizations who have received more than $250,000 in TC for the fiscal year ending on the date provided:

Sources:

John R. Fishel – Jewish Fed. Council of Greater Los Angeles – $332,423* (12/31/04)

Robert Aronson – Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit – $355,686** (5/31/05)
Large Discrepancy between the two sources – $267,901*

Anita Friedman – Jewish Family and Children’s Services – $309,404* (6/30/05)

Steven B. Nasatir – Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago $411,806* (12/31/04)
The JUFMC provides the largest share of monies allocated locally and nationally by its sister organization, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Harold Goldman – Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia – $264,400* (8/31/04)

Barry Shrage – Combined Jewish Philanthropies (Boston) – $271,617* (6/30/04)

Yehuda Halevy – Bar-Ilan University in Israel (NY) – $330,000* (9/30/04)

Tom Dine – Jewish Comm. Federation of San Francisco – $271,625** (6/30/04)

Jacob Solomon – Greater Miami Jewish Federation – $295,000* (6/30/04)

Rabbi Marvin Hier – Simon Wiesenthal Center – $361,809* (6/30/04)

Jeffrey Klein – Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County – $314,000* (6/30/04)

John Ruskay – UJA/Federation of New York – $407,000** (6/30/04)
Significant Discrepancy between the two sources – $377,000*

Stephen Hoffman – Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland – $720,844** (6/30/04)
Large Discrepancy between the two sources – $588,916*

Mikhail Galperin – Jewish Federation of Greater Washington – $321,000* (6/30/04)

Marc B. Terrill – Associated: Jewish Comm. Fed. of Baltimore – $292,000* (6/30/04)

Max L. Kleinman – UJC of MetroWest New Jersey – $269,084* (6/30/04)

Martin S. Kraar – American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science – $355,000* (6/30/04)

Peter Willner – American Friends of the Hebrew University – $299,671* (9/30/04)

June Walker – Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Org of Amer – $263,370** (5/31/04)

David A. Harris – American Jewish Committee – $ 396,183** (6/30/04)
Moderate discrepancy between the two sources – $373,296*
Russell Robinson – Jewish National Fund America – $254,566* (9/30/04)

Sol Adler – The 92nd Street Y – $319,319* (6/30/04)

Steven Schwager – American Jewish Joint Distribution Comm $354,000* (12/31/04)

Abraham H. Foxman – Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith – $483,677* (12/31/04)

My response to these arguments is that the salaries should be viewed from a moral perspective, one that embraces the very spirit and intent of the mitzvah of tzedakah. Is it moral to gain wealth from the charitable gifts of others (that were to a large degree solicited by unpaid volunteers)? Would the donors have given their gifts if they knew of the large amounts of money that were to go to the salaries of the top professionals?

In addition, it is my contention that the relatively large salaries of Jewish leaders that are generated from small, medium and large charitable donations, encourage the recipients of that compensation to maintain the status quo, whether consciously or unconsciously. It can be assumed that individuals making 3,4,5 and even 7 hundred thousand dollars annually, wish to retain their jobs. Thus, they are more likely than not to avoid controversy, and to discourage dissent and other original and creative thought. In regard to Israel, it has been the case since the creation of the Jewish State that American Jewish charitable organizations tow the Israeli Government line, no matter how obviously misguided, immoral and self-destructive it appears to be. Any individual or group that challenges that policy takes the risk of being ostracized, or worse.

While the top Jewish leadership in North America has become very comfortable financially, the expelled Jews from Gush Katif and northern Samaria continue to suffer tremendously, ten months after their expulsions from their homes and land. And, the looming expulsions of up to 100,000 more Jews under Olmert’s “disengagement” turned “convergence” turned “consolidation” turned “re-alignment” plan, would place these Israeli citizens in horrendous conditions, while putting the State of Israel’s very existence into serious question. Perhaps the leaders would have spoken out on behalf of their suffering brethren and would be speaking out against Olmert’s plan of national suicide, had they not had so much to lose.

Hoping and praying for justice for the more than 9000 Jewish refugees, and for the prevention of suffering of another 60,000 to 100,000 of our fellow Jews in Israel,