How Best to Help Israel: a Challenge for Fund Raisers

To the Editor:

Yosef I. Abramowitz’s column hit a chord for me (“Middle East Crisis Raises Tricky Fund-Raising Questions,” April 18). As the founder and president of Panim: the Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, I have had a most anomalous year. Our organization is dedicated to the integration of Jewish learning, values, and social responsibility. Most of our work is done through leadership seminars for high-school and college students, held in Washington, D.C.

We were challenged by our leadership to articulate the need to contribute to Panim at a time when most discretionary Jewish dollars were going to Israel emergency appeals. We responded by saying that we were training the next generation to be effective advocates of responsible public policy. Once motivated, students can provide incredible energy at a time when the entire community is trying to mobilize and influence coverage in the media and the response of public officials to the crisis in the Middle East. So even though our enrollment dropped for the first time in our 14-year history due to post-September 11 anxiety over travel, our fund raising outpaced our budgetary projections.

The more delicate challenge for us in the months and years ahead is to be true to both our mandate to train for leadership (read political activism) as well as to educate with regard to values. The current international crisis raises manifold ethical and moral concerns for all parties involved. Judaism offers a legacy of values that needs to inform how we respond to evolving events.

We believe that our responsibility is to raise both issues of solidarity with Israel as well as issues of conscience as Jews wrestle with how Israel can respond to the threat to its security in a manner that is maximally consistent with Jewish ethical teachings. While this approach may risk alienating some parts of our constituency, we believe that only by staying true to our two-pronged agenda will we deserve ongoing support.

Rabbi Sid Schwarz
Founder and President
Panim: the Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values
Rockville, Md.

To the Editor:

For 54 years both professional fund raisers and Jewish lay leaders in the United States have contributed substantially to the growth and development of the State of Israel. Mr. Abramowitz writes a compelling piece for staying the course in promoting his mission and vision for his organization — even in this difficult fund-raising environment.

None of us could have predicted the events of September 11, the intifada, or the worldwide recession that has challenged our fund-raising skills. However, we must keep the passion alive for our organizations and follow due diligence.

The best thing we can do for Israeli-based organizations is continually nurture our current base of supporters and keep them informed and involved. Along with developing compelling case statements, nurturing our donors is the critical element in sustaining a broad base of support. I suggest that Mr. Abramowitz and others fund raise with the conviction that the Jewish people have faced adversity in the past, but remain a strong vital democratic country.

Now is not a time to suspend our fund-raising initiatives. We have had, and will continue to have, a very important role to play for Israel.

Lisa Benson
President
Benson Consulting Group
Phoenix