NEW YORK (JTA) — The five-member executive committee of the American Friends of Magen David Adom resigned in a dispute over oversight issues.
The resignation, first reported in The New York Jewish Week, resulted from a dispute between the Israeli emergency medical group and its American supporters, which was demanding greater financial oversight.
“We tried to negotiate a new cooperation agreement with them, but we had a difficult time because of their senior leadership,” Lewis Krinsky, former national chairman of the American Friends of Magen David Adom, said of the Israeli group. “They were making demands that in the opinion of the executive committee would compromise our ability to act as an independent organization.”
The dispute between Magen David Adom, essentially the Israeli version of the American Red Cross, and its American supporters has been going on for some time. In March, the Israelis threatened to cancel the American Friends of Magen David Adom’s contract as Magen David Adom’s exclusive representative in the United States. An investigative series in the Israeli daily Yisrael Hayom alleged misuse of Magen David Adom funds.
American Friends of Magen David Adom raises $20 million to $30 million annually for the Israeli charity.
