Letter

Shocking News

Sent by Sumner Kaplan, President, AJCongress, New England Region
To AJCongress members. Republished by permission.
December 7, 2001

Dear Friend,

I'm afraid that I have some shocking news for you. A few weeks ago, Sheila Decter, our long time Director of AJCongress, New England Region, was fired by our national office.

Their reasons kept changing. They said she was too critical of Attorney General John Ashcroft. They were constantly critical of the age of our lay president and hinted that they wanted a younger Director. They have said that it was because we had too few representatives at the last national convention, and simultaneously that we were trying to take over the convention because we offered too many resolutions for consideration. Just a few days ago, they claimed it was because she did not follow office procedures, or that she did not meet their (unarticulated) fundraising goals (despite the New England Region raising more total revenue than any other region since 1996).

But no matter what they claim, it is clear to the Governing Council that Sheila's abrupt discharge was part of a larger strategy. We believe that National wants to change AJCongress from a membership-based progressive organization into a New York-controlled conservative shell with little interest in local matters except fundraising for National.

As you can imagine, the lay leadership of our region not only vehemently disagree with Sheila's dismissal, we believe that our national directors have abandoned AJCongress' roots, traditions, and political ideology.

We could write volumes on Sheila's accomplishments and her dedication to AJCongress ideals. She is an extraordinarily effective leader in the Jewish community as well as one of the most respected leaders in the Greater Boston progressive community. Contrary to National's evident view, Sheila epitomizes what an AJCongress Director should be.

Over the past few weeks, members of the AJCongress and members of the broader community have lobbied hard to have Sheila reinstated, but to no avail. Letters and calls from leaders throughout the area, including Cardinal Law, Senate Majority Leader Melconian and Rep. Barney Frank, have fallen on deaf ears. National has decided, and no amount of pressure will change their minds.

New England is not alone. National has recently shut down other regions and fired other regional directors, commonly with little or no warning or regional leadership consultation. Sadly, the AJCongress that we were once proud to be part of has gravely deteriorated.

National's swing to the right is evident in their recent news releases: in the past few months they have been praising Attorney General Ashcroft and President Bush, and failing to critically examine the potential for abuses of civil rights and civil liberties in their recent actions.

Where do we go from here? In the coming weeks, we will be deciding how we're going to proceed. Of course, your ideas and suggestions are encouraged and welcomed.

But no matter what we decide, our dedication and commitment to progressive Jewish values will guide us in our pursuit of justice and righteousness.

Sincerely,

Sumner Z. Kaplan
President
AJCongress New England Region

David B. Cohen
Franklin M. Fisher
A. Van C. Lanckton
Daniel D. Levenson
Laurence S. Locke
Alexandra Moses
Kenneth A. Sweder

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