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September 15, 2009 | 8:33 pm

Sokatch leaving Bay Area federation for New Israel Fund

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Rumors circulated earlier today, but now it’s official: Daniel Sokatch, who only last summer left PJA to take over the San Francisco federation, is leaving to run the New Israel Fund.

Sokatch’s letter to the federation’s president and staff:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I am writing to let you know that I will be resigning my post as CEO of the JCF in order to assume the leadership of the New Israel Fund.  This was not an easy decision for me, as I am genuinely sad to be leaving the Federation and its rich history of 100 years of tikkun olam and tzedakah, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a global organization at a particularly critical time for Israel.

Still, I feel completely confident that I leave the organization in capable and passionate hands . I am so very proud of the Federation and all we have accomplished together over the past year. I take great pride in our mutual and committed efforts to accomplish our goal that the Federation-and our Jewish community-remain relevant, vibrant and dynamic in the 21st Century. It is my hope that our meaningful progress continue ever onward.

Thank you so much for sharing in this most-important and vital cause; you should all be justly proud. I will miss each and every one of you.

Sincerely, and with heartfelt appreciation,

Daniel Sokatch

The Fundermentalist says Sokatch was not pushed out. And I believe it. He just had too promising a future to hold down.

When Sokatch left LA, he gave me this exit interview. An excerpt after the jump:

Jewish Journal: PJA has prided itself on getting Jews who don’t identify to affiliate with being Jewish. What makes this a Jewish organization?
Daniel Sokatch: We are a bunch of people who choose to do this Jewishly for whatever our reasons—whether they are ethnic or ethical or religious or spiritual or historical or familial—we all understand our personal obligation to get involved in the work of building a better community for everybody.
It’s not coincidental that those three pictures I keep on my wall—Gandhi and King and the Dalai Lama—are all progressive religious leaders who led or lead great social movements that have at their core universalistic messages from their particular religious places.

JJ: Over the years, you have operated outside the synagogue and religious community.
DS: We are interested in going where the Jews are, and the first place you find Jews is in synagogues. I’m sure that at least half of our membership and probably more belong to a synagogue. But what is interesting is, around half don’t. Where we have been really successful is finding those unaffiliated Jews, those Jews no one can engage, and engaging them. I’d like to say we have some brilliant marketing plan to reach them. What I think happened was that we just did good social justice work, and as our reputation grew, those people found us.

JJ: Sort of a Jewish “Field of Dreams.”
DS: It was. We often say that, “If you build it, they will come.”

6 Comments — Leave your comment

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Mr. Sokatch is leaving his post to one, that supports the end of the Jewish State as we know it. He purports to say that Israel in is a critical crisis, assuming that the issue of the Palestinian Arabs is the number one issue. What about the nuclear threat of Iran? Will he blame this on Israel too? At what point will Mr. Sokatch leave the Jewish community alone, and just join forces with the Arab groups who seek a one state solution with a full right of return? Anyone that is involved with J Street and invites Salam Al Maryati, from MPAC to speak at convention must be in denial about what is said about Israel and Jews when Mr. Sokatch is not around. This man does not deserve the amount of attention given to him as his opinion of Israel is one of doom and destruction. He uses the term “peace” as if no other Jewish groups want peace, but at what price?

Comment by Allyson Rowen Taylor on 9/15/09 at 10:57 pm

Allyson
I love you for your energy and your enemies. Keep it up. I don’t know what the Jewish Journal is trying to prove and who they are trying to prove it to in featuring this kinky joker as straight news.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 9/17/09 at 12:24 am

Allyson—I know you, and I’m sorry to see in your comment that you have really left the realm of reason.  I have seen you speak forcefully and work tirelessly against the lies and hate targeting Israel, yet here you say such absurdly false, wrong and hateful things about Daniel Sokatch and the New Israel Fund, among others.  Disagreeing, even with great passion and vehemence is one thing, but whatever credibility you had with regard to Israel is gone by virtue of your own words. Congratulations and full steam ahead to Daniel Sokatch and the New Israel Fund in their efforts to help Israel be the most just, equitable, and democratic it can be, living up to the vision of Israel’s founders and to the many, many, lovers of Israel who share that vision.

Comment by Oraneem on 9/17/09 at 4:02 pm

Grow up, Oraneem, as Allysin and I have. Your and Sokatch’s deluded and naive efforts have and will continue to lead to weakening Israel and bringing death to more Jews in Israel and around the world. I am being charitable in using the word ‘naive’, as I personally would grant Sokatch the respect of believing he is too intelligent to be so misguided as to the evil agenda of the New Israel Fund, making him corrupt in my opinion.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 9/18/09 at 1:54 am

Baseless and useless, ridiculous, and ad hominem attacks, not anything thoughtful.  Anyone can go to http://www.nif.org to see and decide for themselves.  Loving Israel and trying to help it be the best it can be makes you deal with reality.  Those of us who are not naive realize this.

Comment by Oraneem on 9/19/09 at 12:32 pm

I believe that a plank in the Confederate platform that precipitated in the Civil War had something to do with loving black people by trying to help them adapt to the role that their nature dictated for them. People like you are motivated by trying to make sense of history by justifying the exile of the Jews as somewhere from a normal condition to a transcendent value, and trying to return to it.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 9/21/09 at 1:18 am

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