In a few days an election will be held in NY that historian Jonathan Sarna claims is historic...the World Jewish Congress will actually be holding contested elections for positions of President and potentially also Chairperson of the Governing Board (yes, not clear why both of those are needed...).
For full background and platform discussion, see Peoplehood, the blog of modern day prophet Yosef Abramowitz. I had a small role in convincing one of the brightest lights in Jewish politics to run for the position, against great odds. Einat Wilf represents for me the future of Jewish leadership, and I am proud to support her. Below is my statement of support..feel free to pass around!
Why I Support Einat Wilf For WJC President
Jacob Ner-David
Go ahead, dream up a model candidate to stand for election
as President of the World Jewish Congress. It probably would sound like this: thirty-something,
top level education, multi-lingual, and professional experience at the highest
levels of global business and politics. A woman would be nice, as we have a bit
of an imbalance in Jewish leadership. A deep thinker, who shatters long held
(thus sometimes outdated) notions of how things “should be.” Not afraid to take
chances, but extremely aware of all the risks and potential consequences. And
of course, someone dedicated to making this world a better place for all
people.
You just described Einat Wilf. Is she perfect? No, none of us are. She hasn’t
finished her PhD yet (she is writing her dissertation at
Cambridge
on the World Jewish Congress in the 1990s, received her MBA already, from INSEAD), does not have rabbinical ordination (neither do I, but I am married to a rabbi…), and is “only” 36.
Does the Jewish people face challenges today? Yes, and we
need to deal with them. But as our leader, we need someone who can articulate
the Jewish vision regarding global challenges, and our unique contribution to
debates on global concerns. We need
someone who can articulate and implement a new vision that connects the Jewish
people, while providing transparency and openness.
Einat Wilf has spent much of her adult life in the epicenter
of the changing nature of business (as a manager at Koor Venture Capital and at
McKinsey), politics (as foreign policy advisor to Shimon Peres) and the Jewish people (Einat is currently a
fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute).
The World Jewish Congress (“WJC”) is also far from perfect. But
like the Jewish homeland, it’s the only one we have (thank God on both fronts).
No other entity claims to represent the global Jewish people. As all are aware,
the WJC has been through difficult times recently in its administrative duties,
but that does not take away from the leadership the WJC has shown over the past
26 years in so many areas: rights of Jews in the former Soviet Union; inter-faith
relations; Holocaust education and commemoration (including overdue restitution
efforts); and more.
The fact that, for most of that period, there were only two
main leaders means that we, as a Jewish people, did not demand anything
different. We have to emphasize that the leadership of the WJC served the
Jewish people to the best of their abilities, and, from my personal experience,
I can say that they did attempt over the years to be inclusive, and to consult
with Jewish leadership around the globe.
What motivates those of us supporting Einat? We see the
current WJC elections as an opportunity to move forward into a new era of “Jewish
foreign policy.” Building on the wonderful work of the previous leadership, who
saw themselves as “Jewish diplomats,” we want to engage the global Jewish
community on the burning issues of the day, and see if we can formulate Jewish
public policy. We want to see the WJC
quickly move out of a transition period with a new constitution, strong
worldwide membership and financial resources, and a new cadre of capable young
leadership with wide support. Scary? Difficult? Sure. But if we don’t rise to this challenge, we will have lost one of
the golden opportunities of this century.
The other declared candidates were in leadership positions
of the WJC during the past years, and are not bringing any new ideas or vision
to the table. We do not only need to “clean up” the organization, but infuse it
with new spirit. Einat Wilf is poised to lead that rejuvenation of spirit, as
she represents the Web 2.0 generation, utilizing state of the art technologies
in business and building Jewish Peoplehood.
Einat Wilf is not a lone voice. She represents, and is at
the forefront of the new generation of Jewish activists from around the world,
who coalesce around central themes of inclusion, transparency, and vision.
The WJC is not just another Jewish organization, and Einat
Wilf is not simply “a young Jewish leader.” Einat is a proven leader, with
experience in business, politics, and facing head on the challenges of the
Jewish people in the 21st century. I will be so proud to call her
President.
Jacob Ner-David is
Managing Partner of
