The governing body of the Joint Authority for Jewish Zionist Education convened for the first time here on Wednesday, although the authority still lacks a precise definition of its budget and functions.
It took almost three years to set up the authority, which is supposed to provide Diaspora input and supervision into the Jewish education programs for the Diaspora run by the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization. These bodies spend about $50 million a year on Diaspora Jewish education.
The authority is composed of a 12-person Executive, which incorporates the three main education departments of the WZO, and a 36-person commission, which is the governing body of the authority. The commission met Wednesday during sessions of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting here.
The co-chairmen are Simcha Dinitz, who is also chairman of the Jewish Agency and WZO Executives, and Irwin Field of Los Angeles, a member of the Jewish Agency Executive and a former chairman of the United Jewish Appeal.
In an interview, Field said the idea is to create “a mechanism which can potentially have a significant impact on Jewish-Zionist education, both in the classroom and outside. We are trying to create a system that better serves the needs of 21st-century families and young people.”
The director general of the authority is David Harman, an expert in education who has taught at Hebrew University and at Harvard and Columbia. Harman has held senior posts with Israel’s Education Ministry and with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
The commission is composed mainly of leaders of the WZO, the United Israel Appeal and Keren Hayesod, but it also includes Diaspora professionals and lay leaders in the field of Jewish education.
The former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Seymour Reich, is a member of the commission. The current Conference of Presidents chairman, Shoshana Cardin, is also a member.
An important innovation is that four leading Israeli educators have been named to the Executive of the authority. In the past, WZO and Jewish Agency Executive posts were held almost exclusively by WZO politicians.
REMINDER: The JTA Daily News Bulletin will not be published on Monday, Feb. 18
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