Message from Chair

INTRODUCTION

I am honoured to be delivering my first report as Chair of ARZENU.

The period from the last Chair’s report in November 2008 until today has been exceptionally demanding for all of us in the Reform world and for the Reform Zionist community which forms a part of it.   I am not only talking about financial concerns.  I am also talking about the changes in the way the Zionist world is organized and perhaps about even larger changes.

CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP

Before we discuss that topic, I want to acknowledge the many changes in leadership which have occurred since last November, and specifically to welcome Rabbi Gilad Kariv as the new Executive Director of the IMPJ. These changes mean many of us, and I am certainly including myself here, are learning the ropes and putting demands on everyone around us.  In this regard I would like to say a special thanks to Dalya, who as executive director of ARZENU has held my hand very tightly. I would also like to say how much I appreciate the support I have been receiving from the other leaders of ARZENU, the IMPJ and other Reform organizations, in Israel and beyond. There is a great deal to learn in this role, and it is not easy to teach about the WZO, JAFI and the related world of Israeli politics.

While we missed old friends and their experience and wisdom, our new members bring new energy, new optimism and new challenges. On your behalf I welcome everyone to these meetings.

I would also like to thank the members of the executive for their hard work over the last 6 months.  You will see the benefit of that work this week.

WHAT IS ARZENU

Over the last 6 months I have come to see ARZENU as two organizations: political ARZENU, which is the part of ARZENU which functions within the WZO and JAFI, and constituent ARZENU, which functions in each of the country ARZAs or ARZENUs. I will report very briefly on each of these ARZENUs today; Dalya will be reporting in greater detail in some areas. These meetings bring together both ARZENUs. Please think about this way of understanding what we do, and see if you agree with me, and if so, what this suggests to you about our actions and our prioroties.

WHAT IS SUCCESS

As Dalya and I make our reports, I ask you to think about should be the indicators of success in both of the kinds of work we do, and when should we be looking to measure  our success or its absence.

First, to measure success, we could count.  For example, will there be, a year or two from now, more ARZA branches than exist today?  Will they and the existing ARZAs have more members? And will they be doing more activities?  Will there be more travel to Israel, more donations?  Will more young people be part of the engaged leadership group, and will that group be larger? Will there be more Reform Aliyah? Will we have our share of WZO positions?

Alternatively or additionally, we could look at some qualitative indicators.  Will the WZO have become a more important organization - or will we perhaps have decided consciously to spend our time and energy, finite resources, on other activities?  Will we have a better website?  Will we have better programming to share with our constituents? Will we, perhaps, have a meaningful and large Zionist seminar before the next Congress, attended by many Reform Jews from Israel and all of the ARZAs, which will close with a common understanding of our purpose and a renewed sense of mission? Will the first Reform identified MK have been elected?

Finally, we could also look at our own sense of purpose and mission, based on the goals we will set this week.  Will we have a clear consensus about what we are trying to do, and will we be satisfied that we are on our way?  Will we feel we have made a contribution to creating Reform values in Israel? Will we have gained an understanding of the direction of the Zionist world and will we be working to create powerful partnerships within it.

We will, I hope, by the end of this week, have some consensus as to what ARZENU success might look like, and some agreement on the tools to achieve it.

ASSESSMENT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW

This leads directly to an assessment of where we are now.

The financial impact of the current crises on the WZO and JAFI, and as well on each constituent organization, has been significant. As a result we and all of the other Zionist constituents organizations have been experiencing unprecedented drops in funding, 35% for us most recently, at the same time as our sister organizations are suffering from major drops in philanthropy – except in Australia. Every program is in need and as we all know there is no magic fix. We will hear about this in more detail during these meetings. We are  solvent at this point thanks to the caution of those who preceded us as ARZENU’s leaders, although as we will discuss, we need to look at our finances in a different way. The long term picture is a cause for great concern.We must determine if we need more funding, and if so, decide how to raise it.

As you all know, ARZENU reached deep into its reserves so support Netzer and IRAC last year, and Netzer this year.  The future of such loans and grants will be discussed this week as part of the budget discussions.

We are also facing a time of real challenge for Israel. While many of us may believe that President Obama may provide much needed stimulus for change, change is not easy and here is very risky. We are still digesting and trying to manage the consequences which resulted from the Gaza operation, the criticism which Israel and Jews abroad faced. We may be moving in to a more dangerous world for Jews and for Israel, although the various parts of our Reform world are experiencing this differently. .Anti-Semitism will also be a topic for discussion together.

I believe we all know that the Jewish and Zionist worlds including the Reform world are in a time of major change and restructuring.  I believe that we may be spending too much of our time looking in the rear view mirror, faced with so much change that we can’t really address it effectively. I have asked a small group to turn their minds to the question, of what is changing in the Jewish world as a whole and what will eventually replace the status quo.  That group will be interviewing wise thought leaders, reflecting and reporting to us in the fall, so we can consider where we should be best directing our efforts as the umbrella body of reform Zionists, in order to contribute most effectively to our movement around the world and the Reform world in Israel.

These discussions will be taking place at a time when ARZENU itself is in a period of growth. We have two new countries Spain and Hungary and I am delighted to welcome them on your behalfs. We will do so formally at a later time. There are more new ARZAs on the way I believe as well as the possibility of growth in countries already represented. We will be discussing together how we can support the growth of new ARZAs and the growth of the various ARZA constituent organizations.

We are working closely and effectively with sister Reform organizations and the opportunities that cooperation raises will be a major part of our discussion over the next few days.

On the political side, we have major work at the upcoming Va’ad Hapoel and related meetings.  We must attempt to ensure there is no election while also working to ensure a meaningful Congress. The outcome on this point is by no means assured. Perhaps even more significantly, we must ensure reform of the organization and its governance structure is undertaken. For those of us who have been following the negotiations of the past few months regarding the holding of elections for the upcoming congress, it has been yet another disturbing reminder of the extent of the need for reform of the WZO, and of the extent of the distance which separates the Israeli portion of the organization from its Diaspora membership. Mark’s words last fall remain true and pose a real challenge for us.

We must also determine our own political partners, both from the perspective of the WZO and JAFI, and at least as importantly keeping in mind a longer view regarding of the impact of such partnerships on the IMPJ. That discussion must include the IMPJ.

A major part of our programs together will be to explore further our views as to each of the two ARZENUs. We will be building on the strategic work which was done in November and in February, and move to practical implementation ideas which will then lead us in our budget discussions.

Congratulations to everyone for the hard work and successes to date, and good luck to us all in the very hard work ahead. I look forward to reporting at our next meeting, using some of the metrics I noted above, about the first steps toward our success.