With the election of a new president and the retirement of its longtime executive director, the American Jewish Congress entered a new era this week, leaving many to wonder whether the veteran Jewish “defense agency” would also now change direction.
The organization has long been perceived as falling on the liberal side of the political spectrum. It was an early advocate of Middle East peace efforts, has long battled the religious right, and has been active in numerous fights for human rights and civil liberties.
But judging from the plans unveiled at its biennial national convention here this week, it appears that, for the moment at least, AJCongress will stick to its traditional approach, while expanding some of its existing programs.
The organization’s new president, Chicago attorney David Kahn, said in an interview this week that he was “not looking so much for change” as he took the reins at AJCongress, “as enhancement” of the agency’s current work.
He said he had deliberately “not plotted a specific program” yet, to allow the group a chance to organize its priorities.
But he cautioned convention participants that it is important to be careful in choosing issues on which to focus. “We can be truly effective only if we are selective,” he told the group.
Kahn, who has served in a variety of positions at AJCongress, including senior vice president, replaces Robert Lifton, who stepped down as president this week after a six-year stint.
And Phil Baum, the group’s associate executive director, is taking on the responsibilities of acting executive director while the organization searches for a replacement for its longtime executive director, Henry Siegman.
Siegman, who retired this month after 15 years, has been appointed visiting senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kahn, Baum and AJCongress Washington representative Mark Pelavin discussed the group’s plans in an interview as the biennial convention was concluding Monday.
Baum said that the 76-year-old agency’s traditional areas of interest – which include the U.S.-Israel relationship as well as civil rights, religious liberties and other domestic issues – would remain the same, with the possible addition of new areas.
Addressing the approximately 180 participants at a luncheon session Monday, Kahn said he hoped for a growth in AJCongress’ programs on women’s issues. Among the areas that could receive more scrutiny are discrimination against women and Jewish women’s role in the business world, culture and society.
He and the other AJCongress leaders also spoke of trying to spread programs sponsored by individual AJCongress regional groups across the country. Among the programs he mentioned was the Chicago-based David V. Kahn Religious Liberty Resource Center, which he founded.
“This follows the new demographics in Jewish life,” said Baum, noting that Jews are “now a national community” rather than an East Coast urban-based group.
AJCongress is now rethinking the role of its regional chapters as they relate to the national organization. The national organization wants the regional groups to do more fund raising, while the regional groups want more autonomy.
In recent months, the regional leaders have organized themselves into a regional interest group.
“People far away from headquarters tend to feel lonely,” Baum explained, a phenomenon that he said should be overcome to achieve “a sense of unity in the whole organization.”
No decision has yet been made on how this restructuring will be manifested, Kahn said.
In addition, no decision has been made on a replacement for Siegman, who indicated his desire to step down a year ago but was persuaded to stay on until now.
Kahn said the group was “in the midst” of its search and that he was not sure when a decision would be made on a new executive director.
Siegman has long been a strong voice against the so-called “religious right.” More recently, he has been a forceful advocate on behalf of the Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Along with Lifton, Siegman became involved in the Middle East peace process early on and was among those exploring the idea of territorial compromise.
Lifton, for his part, became closely identified with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and has been a leading supporter of the policies of Rabin’s Labor government.
One of AJCongress’ goals at this point is to “create a consensus in support of the peace process” between Israel and its Arab neighbors, said Pelavin of the group’s Washington office.
The group also expects to be involved in exploring the new relationship that develops between Israel and American Jewry as the peace process begins to take shape in the Middle East.
Baum said AJCongress would continue to work on bringing American Jews and Israeli Jews together to “find out what we have in common.”
Among the other new AJCongress officials assuming office are Danny Goldberg, president of Atlantic Records, who is the new chair of the group’s executive committee; Robert Rosen, a New York-based businessman, who will chair the board of trustees; and Zoe Baird, who will chair the board of advisers.
Baird, who was President Clinton’s first failed pick to be attorney general last year, is senior vice president and general counsel for Aetna Life and Casualty Co. in New Haven, Conn.
At Monday’s luncheon ceremony, Baird introduced Attorney General Janet Reno, who delivered a passionate address on behalf of the Clinton administration’s crime bill and the effect of crime on the nation’s children.
Itamar Rabinovich, the Israeli ambassador in Washington, addressed the group Saturday. He criticized Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat for not strongly condemning the recent terrorist attack in the northern Israeli city of Afula.
Other issues discussed at the conference, which ran from April 8 to 11, included health care reform and black-Jewish relations.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
