Recent ‘article’ confirms to many the newspaper‘s fall from excellence

By Dan Brown

“Nothing is more threatening than a powerful woman – not even a powerful man.”
Meredith Jacobs writing in JTA

Last week, The Jerusalem Post, aka JPost, published JDC rocked by internal strife over CEO search process – Special Report.

Had JPost published a well-sourced piece about the legitimate problems facing JDC today, as opposed to a “special report” filled with anonymous quotes and insinuations, it would have passed muster. Instead, JPost allowed former JDC officials [with an agenda] and a handful of JDC board members a very public forum to vent personal vendettas. So much for journalistic integrity!

Additionally, while JPost miscalculated their way back to relevance with a highly biased and narrow choice of interviewees, the involved board members clearly violated their fiduciary responsibility to the organization they were elected to lead.

JDC is a large and complex organization and like many / most organizations is beset by both internal and external challenges, leaving aside the affect of the global health pandemic on the organization’s footprint.

The election last year for Board President pitted two committed lay leaders against each other.

The continued failure of JDC to name a new CEO, regardless of the “why,” is problematic and embarrassing, both internally and externally.

JDC’s staff appears unsettled over multiple changes in the organization.

Considering JPost‘s footprint both within Israel and the global Jewish world, a deep dive into the above would have made for a compelling and relevant “special report.”

Instead ….

JPost engaged in a very public and inappropriate take-down of Sarah Eisenman, JDC’s Assistant Executive Vice President and Executive Director of Entwine, JDC’s successful young leadership initiative and a rumored internal candidate for the CEO position.

Eisenman, in her early 40’s has a long and solid history with JDC. In fact, a proper look into her background, which JPost failed to engage in, would have turned up the paper’s own article, where they feature Eisenman as a “Jewish leader of the future!”

The JPost article raises the question, would the same article have been written if the candidate‘s name was Sam Eisenman?

The entire article is totally inappropriate for a “special report” unless JPost is rebranding themselves as The National Enquirer, Israel!

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Additional thoughts:

A red line has been crossed when a respected media publication feels they can level an unprovoked attack on any communal professional.

Our younger professionals, especially women, Jews of Color, and single parents (to name just 3 of a way too-long list) are often not treated the same as their white male colleagues. The lip service needs to stop and change needs to actually move forward. Allies need to speak up and not just sign petitions!

Board dissension is a positive. No board should be a rubber stamp of the CEO or lay chair. On the flip side, personal vendettas have no place in organization governance!

Former employees should exercise caution when discussing their previous employers (what’s the problem boys, your severance packages were too small? Outing you would likely prove professionally embarrassing!)

Journalists, and their editors, need to be especially careful with story leads from people who may have an agenda.

In the rough and tumble of Israeli politics, which make Donald Trump’s Twitter account appear amateurish, baseless personal attacks are an art form. Is this the future JPost aspires to? If so, they are off to a good start.

Dan Brown is the founder of eJewish Philanthropy.

The opinions expressed above should not be regarded as statements of the views of other eJewish Philanthropy contributors, its advisors or funders.