True Jewish Unity — and Some False Impressions

To the Editor:

Your recent opinion article concerning Israeli charities (“Israeli Charities Need U.S. Partners, Not Patrons,” My View, November 27) leaves many false impressions and certain questions.

It isn’t clear whether the authors, Robert Fenton and Yonatan Gordis of Yesod Resource Management, have something to gain monetarily from attacking the historical worldwide support Jewish people have given to the Jewish Agency for Israel. While it is true that “Israeli charities need U.S. partners, not patrons,” I wonder whether Messrs. Fenton and Gordis and that firm have something to gain from painting an unfair and overly simplified picture of the facts as they exist today both in Israel and the United States.

I do know that the Jewish Agency has resettled over 500,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union and over 25,000 from Ethiopia in the last decade. I also know that the article is using the current issues between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewry as a blanket indictment of activities funded by a substantial amount of dollars raised in the United States through the Jewish Federation’s United Jewish Appeal campaigns and sent to Israel.

For the article to have been fair and responsible, it should have pointed out that the vast majority of those dollars fund activities that are solely humanitarian in nature. Some dollars do go through Orthodox institutions for several purposes, but one must remember that currently less than 1 per cent of Israel’s population are members of Conservative or Reform movements, so that the services provided are done so through Orthodox agencies as they are in other countries through Catholic, Protestant, or Muslim agencies where populations of those religious elements are large.

Furthermore, the writers conveniently neglect to mention that millions of dollars are being allocated to groups in Israel that are sponsored by the Reform and Conservative movements, projects that support understanding between Arabs and Israelis, women’s- rights groups, and many others.

The most serious and untrue assertion in the article states that Israel is struggling “to undo the hopelessness that is rampant in the country . . .” That conclusion is anecdotal and surely misleading.

Israel is a democracy and, therefore, all citizens share concern about their country’s future. Israel, in 50 years with many wars of survival, has reached a standard of living equal to that of most of the Western world. “Hopelessness” is a gross exaggeration and perhaps indicative of how much credence the readers should give to the rest of the views and conclusions of the authors.

The Jewish people historically have responded charitably to help all in need, including other Jews. All institutions need to examine themselves and improve consistently to deserve the support of their donors and customers. However, the Jewish community knows full well the dangers of fractionalization and disunity. We must be able to respond to worldwide Jewish emergencies financially as well as otherwise. Each of us in business for ourselves is a less wise approach.

Larry J. Hochberg
President
Hochberg Family Foundation
Wheeling, Ill.

* * *

To the Editor:

Robert Fenton and Yonatan Gordis astutely assess the changes occurring in American Jewish philanthropy to Israel. As Israel matures and American Jews become more educated about their donations’ uses, partnership and involvement are essential to the continued viability of the relationship between the two communities.

The answer to creating understanding about religious diversity and other issues is to increase, not decrease, American Jewish involvement in the life of Israel — and to widen Israelis’ exposure to the richness of American Jewish life. A two-year-old global initiative of United Jewish Appeal (U.J.A.) and the Jewish Agency for Israel — Partnership 2000 — contains the seeds of this understanding. Partnership 2000 links Diaspora communities with underdeveloped regions in Israel, bringing tangible economic benefits to Israel while creating the people-to-people links that have been so sorely lacking.

This program goes far beyond the old give-receive relationship. Twenty-three Israeli regions and cities have been matched with 90 Diaspora communities. Each region combines urban centers with neighboring rural peripheries and is administered by joint Diaspora- Israeli committees who meet regularly. These planning teams identify development accelerants and obstacles to growth and formulate strategies to address them. By working together in the decision-making process, Israelis and Diaspora Jews are together helping to shape the future of local regions.

Partnership 2000 has also created new avenues for personal links, enabling U.J.A. to reach those American Jews who have not been involved in the past and help them define a role for themselves in the world Jewish community. These relationships between Diaspora Jews and Israelis have the potential to last and flourish because they are based on common interest and mutual respect.

Among the many strategies the U.S. Jewish community is considering to address the potentially divisive issue of religious differences among the major streams, Partnership 2000 offers a simple, direct way to stimulate understanding. Instead of pulling back from our involvement with Israel, as some American Jews are currently advocating, we need to become more involved — with new, innovative programs that will lay the groundwork for true Jewish unity.

Richard Wexler
National Chairman
United Jewish Appeal
New York