Behind the Headlines: Fight Brewing over Replacement for Chairman of the Jewish Agency

The Jewish Agency is awash with politics and intrigue over who will replace its chairman, Simcha Dinitz.

After being indicted for fraud and breach of trust, Dinitz took a leave of absence earlier this week, leaving frenzied back-room dealing and calculation in his wake.

Mendel Kaplan, chairman of the agency’s Board of Governors, has asked Treasurer Hanan Ben-Yehuda to preside over agency meetings in Dinitz’s immediate absence, as provided by the bylaws. But the Board of Governors, which convened here Wednesday, is reviewing options for a longer-term strategy.

Pending a decision on who will run the 500-million-a-year agency, which is the primary recipient of money raised for Israel by the United Jewish Appeal, numerous possible scenarios were being advanced by senior officials, many of whom have a stake in the outcome.

The question of who will run the Jewish Agency, which is responsible for bringing immigrants to Israel as well as providing other social and educational services, is complicated by the fact that the agency is not organized simply along corporate lines.

Instead, it reflects two separate balances of power. One mirrors Israeli politics, with the Labor Party, which Dinitz formerly represented in the Knesset, currently wielding more power than Likud, which Ben-Yehuda represents.

The other is between leaders of the Diaspora fund-raising organizations that pay the bills, on the one hand, and the Israelis and their Diaspora Zionist allies, who have an equal say in setting policy. The Jewish Agency chairman and other senior officials are chosen by the Israeli and Diaspora Zionists of the World Zionist Organization, but must be ratified by the fund-raisers.

The simplest way to fill Dinitz’s seat would be for the board to allow Ben- Yehuda to continue serving in the post de facto until an election for a permanent chairman is held in June or even sooner.

Many Labor stalwarts, though, object to such authority being held by a Likudnik, however temporarily.

It is likely, though not certain, that Dinitz will vacate the chairmanship before a permanent replacement is named. He has agreed to step down officially if exonerated before the end of the year, or at the end of the year if his case is not completed. But he is expected to be pressed to resign earlier.

Alternatively, The Board of Governors may opt to name an acting chairman, for which Yehiel Leket, head of the Youth Aliyah Department, is the top contender. A Laborite, he has the backing of the prime minister as well as the WZO, including its Likud component.

But Leket, who wants to use the acting chairmanship to build a base for his candidacy for the permanent post, is said to be fighting an uphill battle for the support of the Diaspora fund-raisers.

Indeed, sources say Likud gave Leket its backing for acting chairman in the belief that the fund-raiser would torpedo his candidacy for the permanent post.

Kaplan and Max Fisher, the veteran fund-raiser who is the Jewish Agency’s founding chairman, have been meeting with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in recent days to reach an agreement.

Kaplan is said to be vehemently opposed to Leket serving as chairman. He is believed to want a permanent appointment as soon as possible and to allow Ben- Yehuda to remain until then.

Rabin’s role in advancing the Leket candidacy is key. Some say it is uncertain whether he will want to push it hard enough to risk alienating Diaspora leaders at this sensitive time in the Middle East peace process.

On the other hand, the Diaspora leaders may not want to fight Rabin over what is only a temporary chairmanship.

Leket himself argues that allowing Ben-Yehuda to continue presiding over meetings instead of electing an acting chairman would violate the requirements for partnership between the Diaspora and the Zionists.

The chairman of the Board of Governors is always a representative of the fund- raisers, he pointed out, while the chairman of the agency Executive is always a representative of the WZO.

“If we don’t elect an acting chairman (of the Executive), there will be an imbalance,” said Leket, “leaving only the chairman of the board with authority.”

“We can’t have a situation where there is no address for authority on the executive level.”

“I am a candidate put forward very strongly by Rabin,” Leket said with confidence. “If I have a chance to perform as acting chairman, I may win (the) respect and reputation” needed to secure the appointment of permanent chairman.