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Latest AJCongress Revolt: Philly Rebels Break Away

By Ami Eden, Forward Staff
Forward, December 7, 2001

Republished by permission of the Forward

In the latest sign of what some observers say is a revolt against a rightward tilt at the American Jewish Congress, several Philadelphia members have launched a new group to promote left-wing Israel causes.

Known as the Progressive Zionist Alliance, the new group is the brainchild of attorney Steven Masters, who recently served as vice president of the Pennsylvania region of AJCongress.

Mr. Masters and several other AJCongress members said they felt the traditionally liberal organization was moving to the right under the leadership of national president Jack Rosen, national executive director Phil Baum and Pennsylvania regional executive director Joseph Puder.

Mr. Puder is a former executive director of the militantly right-wing Americans For a Safe Israel.

"For many years," Mr. Masters said, "it has become clear to me that there isn't an organization willing to stake out a progressive Zionist position in the Jewish community locally or nationally."

The complaints in Philadelphia come as AJCongress members in Boston are fuming over Mr. Rosen's and Mr. Baum's summary dismissal of longtime New England regional director Sheila Decter. Several Boston activists said there was talk of forming a new organization, but no final decision has been made.

The Philadelphians' move mirrors one in Los Angeles, where, after Mr. Baum and Mr. Rosen shut down the local chapter in 1999, a group of members launched their own group, the Progressive Jewish Alliance.

In all three cities, AJCongress veterans are complaining about the refusal of the national organization to criticize President Bush's tax cuts, his plan for secret military tribunals or any section of the recently passed anti-terrorism legislation, the USA Patriot Act of 2001.

On the Middle East, critics add, AJCongress is no longer a leading advocate of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians, nor is it willing to criticize the Israeli government, as it frequently did under former executive director Henry Siegman and successive presidents.

Mr. Rosen and Mr. Baum vehemently deny that AJCongress has shifted to the right. They also deny that any of their recent moves, including a decision earlier this year to close down the organization's chapter in San Francisco, were fueled by political considerations. Instead, they say, the national office is simply trying to enforce budgetary discipline in the regional offices. As for the organization's mounting criticism of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, AJCongress leaders say that is simply the product of changing facts on the ground.

But several Philadelphia members rejected these explanations, pointing to several recent developments: the hiring of Mr. Puder; the quashing by the national office of a local proposal to support campaign finance legislation; the recruiting of conservatives to serve on the regional board, and the pushing out of Mr. Masters from his position as co-chair of the region's commission on Israel issues, leaving the committee under the control of his more hawkish counterpart.

Last month Mr. Master's new group held its first public event, a lecture by Knesset member Avshalom Vilan of the left-wing Meretz Party.

Mr. Masters and another PZA leader, Mark Seal, former executive director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, were recently elected to the board of Meretz USA, which supports its Israeli counterpart. But Mr. Masters said he wants the new Philadelphia group to include supporters of other dovish groups, including Americans for Peace Now and the Labor Zionist Alliance.

Mr. Puder declined to discuss his previous job as staff chief of Americans for a Safe Israel, which is known for its attacks on dovish and liberal groups. He said his task with AJCongress is to carry out the policies of the organization, not to advance his own personal views. "I have not tried to bend right or left or anything," said Mr. Puder. "I essentially carry out policies and represent the views of the organization."

Several critics of AJCongress acknowledged that they see no signs that Mr. Puder has attempted to transform the chapter into a right-wing group. In fact, Mr. Puder attended the PZA's opening event and praised Mr. Vilan's speech in an interview with the Jewish Exponent, a local weekly newspaper.

The problem, PZA leaders said, is that Mr. Puder has followed the lead of the national office in moving the regional chapter to the center, often scheduling events that include speakers representing a range of political opinions from left to right. For those looking to push an unabashedly left-wing agenda, they added, AJCongress is no longer the place.

Former AJCongress national president Theodore Mann, now active with the center-left Israel Policy Forum, said that under his leadership and Mr. Siegman's, AJCongress was "right on target" in 1987 when the organization became the first major Jewish group to call for Israeli-Arab peace based on territorial compromise.

"That position hasn't been changed, just ignored for many years now," said Mr. Mann, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Meanwhile, outrage over Ms. Decter's recent firing continues to burn in Boston. On November 30, regional leaders held what one participant described as an "angry" meeting to discuss the issue.

The Boston members were scheduled to meet with Mr. Rosen and Mr. Baum November 19. But the national leaders cancelled the meeting on the advice of their counsel, after receiving a letter from Ms. Decter's lawyer. One of Ms. Decter's attorneys is Nancy Shilepsky, niece of Leo Pfeffer, who spent decades fighting church-state constitutional cases on behalf of AJCongress.

Mr. Baum said he and Mr. Rosen have been attempting to reschedule the meeting in order to discuss general complaints and the direction of the organization, but not the specific case of Ms. Decter.

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