Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., May 09, 2008 Iyyar 4, 5768 | | Israel Time: 04:21 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Jewish Agency plans large-scale cutbacks By Daphna Berman Tags: Israel The Jewish Agency will soon be initiating a large-scale cutback in a move that would significantly reduce staff size, chairman Zeev Bielski warned this week. Though he would not specify the number of intended job losses at the organization, he said the cutbacks in the coming weeks would "touch every department in the Jewish Agency." But he rejected claims the Jewish Agency is on the decline and insisted it remains as relevant as in the years after the establishment of the State, saying the "reduction in manpower" is simply the result of the dollar's decline. "The Jewish Agency's main problem right now is the dollar," he said in a wide-ranging interview this week ahead of Israel's 60th anniversary celebration. "All of our income is in dollars and almost 100 percent of our expenses are in shekels, Euros and rubles. Those three currencies are up, while the dollar is down." Bielski, who assumed the helm of the organization in 2005 and is known for giving out his cell phone number to recent immigrants, also said that Ariel Sharon's vision of bringing one million immigrants in the coming 15 years remains within reach-though he said that the Agency's increasingly user-friendly services will not provide potential immigrants with a sole impetus for immigration. "The lack of peace is one of the major obstacles (to aliyah)," he said. "If there is peace, hundreds of thousands of Jews from around the world would come." He added Sharon's prediction still had 12 years to go. "It will come; it will definitely come. It's just a matter of timing." Advertisement A state no longer for crazies Though he declined to provide specifics, Bielski also confirmed reports that a deal with Nefesh B' Nefesh, the private immigration organization, is near. Tensions between the two groups have long been high; an agreement between the two expired last summer and has yet to be renewed. He expects a renewed deal "in the coming weeks." He insisted, "We have to reach a deal. To have an argument with an organization that deals with aliyah is crazy." In the interview, Bielski also said the American Jewish establishment has become "more supportive of aliyah than ever before" and that immigration to Israel is legitimate and mainstream in ways it wasn't in decades past. "The heads of the federations are the biggest supporters of aliyah. Even if they won't come on aliyah, they want to be supportive of people who do come on aliyah," he said. "We all grew and now recognize that the state of Israel is a place not only where the meshugaim (crazy people) are coming; people can raise a family here and live a meaningful life in Israel." And he remains convinced that Israel is the only place that provides a secure future for Jews. "If you want to keep you and your family Jewish for generations to come, you must come to Israel. The assimilation and intermarriage (of the Diaspora) will never happen here in Israel. Eventually people will come to the conclusion that if they want to keep their family Jewish, if it is important to them, (immigrating to) Israel is a solution." Bielski was the popular mayor in Raanana for nearly two decades, and the city blossomed during his tenure. The same has yet to happen at the Jewish Agency under his leadership, but he urged patience. "I was mayor of Raanana for 17 years and I have only been here for two-and-a-half years," he said with a characteristic smile. "We are a very big organization with structural problems, but hopefully you will eventually be able to say, 'what he did in Raanana, he also did at the Jewish Agency.'" Bookmark to del.icio.us   Stronger than its ills The 60th anniversary celebrations are accompanied by a bad taste. Rise in racism Israeli Arabs say institutionalized racism has increased.

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