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Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and Israel Singer in happier times
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| By israelinsider staff May 8, 2007 |
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Edgar Bronfman, Jr. resigned Monday as president of the World Jewish Congress, ending three decades in control of one of the world's best-known Jewish organizations.
The move was the latest blow to the scandal-plagued organization, and followed Bronfman's firing of Rabbi Israel Singer, a longtime colleague and senior official, in March.
The WJC governing board will elect a new president June 10 in New York. Mendel Kaplan, chairman of the WJC executive, is a contender, but there have been persistent reports that Ronald Lauder, philanthropist and president of the Jewish National Fund, could compete.
Matthew Bronfman, Edgar's son, is apparently not a candidate, despite the original plans by the elder Bronfman for his son to succeed him, a plan which raised the hackles of many in the organization and led to charges of nepotism. The younger Bronfman recently resigned under a cloud from the board of Israel Discount Bank.
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"This shows that Lord Acton's dictum, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, applies to Jewish organizations no less than to governments."
Isi Leibler, former WJC Vice President
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Edgar Bronfman's associate, WJC Secretary-General Stephen Herbits, tried to put the best face on the move, telling the JTA that Bronfman decided to leave because the issue with Singer had been resolved. "Bronfman has been trying to leave for six years now he is free to retire because the matter with Singer is closed," said Herbits.
Herbits himself has been in the center of controversy in the past week after saying that the Tunisian-born official, Pierre Besnainou, head of the European Jewish Congress, worked "like an Arab."
Besnainou said that Herbits issued a public apology at Monday's meeting and also sent Besnainou a written apology.
Besnainou said he wasn't surprised by Bronfman's resignation Bronfman had talked about resigning in November, he said.
"The only question was who would succeed him," Besnainou said. As he wrote in a memo to EJC board members: "The decision to brutally dismiss Israel Singer is one of the last elements in this long list of unilateral and non-democratic decisions."
As recently as Friday the WJC had claimed that Bronfman, who turns 78 next month, "has no intention of stepping down." Herbits and others were reportedly taken by surprise.
Herbits said Bronfman's view changed when the steering committee voted Monday to "no longer discuss Singer, that the matter is closed for the World Jewish Congress, that it would not have any more business with Israel Singer," the JTA reported.
Isi Leibler, former WJC VP: a 'sad ending'
Isi Leibler, former vice president of the WJC, played the unenviable role of "whistleblower" who brought to public attention the financial scandals of the organization, and was later vindicated when the Attorney General of New York state, Eliot Spitzer, launched an in-depth investigation which confirmed Leibler's claims and led to the downfall of Singer.
Leibler told YnetNews that the organization fell victim to human foibles related to control over money and power. "This shows that Lord Acton's dictum, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, applies to Jewish organizations no less than to governments," Leibler said.
"There's a sad aspect to Bronfman's unhappy resignation because no body can deny that he contributed much to Jewish life," Leibler said, stressing the billionaire's success in getting restitution of Holocaust victims' funds.
Bronfman, Leibler said, failed to monitor adequately his longtime friend and head of the organization, Israel Singer: "Bronfman's failure occurred when he breached a cardinal principal: He did not supervise his professional executive director and enabled him to operate the organization as through it was his personal fiefdom. This led to corruption, and abuse of public funds."
"Those responsible unfortunately try to shift the blame on one another instead of apologizing to the Jewish people for having been derelict in their duty," Leibler said.
Leibler was most disturbed by Singer's continuing connection with the Claims Conference, the organization in charge of recovering assets looted from the Jews by the Nazis. "The fact that he still remains associated with the Claims Conference is absolutely mind boggling and people will not be able to understand how this could happen," he said. "This is after all the most important fund of the Jewish People."
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