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February 27, 2009 | 9:45 am

The economy and the Jewish future

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Historian Jonathan Sarna

I’ve done a lot of bloviating about the consequences for the Jewish community of the economic downturn and the Bernard Madoff investment scandal. But Jonathan Sarna, the imminent American Jewish historian, recently gave a speech to the Jewish Funders Network that provides everything you need to know about how American Jews became so wealthy and where the community is headed.

The Jewish Journal has published a transcript of his talk. Here’s what I found to be the most telling part:

At the moment, following billions of dollars in losses to Jewish endowments and a significant decline in annual gift giving, different sectors of the American Jewish community are busy explaining to all who will listen why their particular area of the Jewish economy has to be preserved at all costs. Human services (obviously a priority in tough times); Jewish education (as necessary as oxygen); Jewish camping (shapes Jewish memories and lifelong associations); innovative Jewish start-ups (they are the most efficient sector of the Jewish economy and in many ways the most creative); Birthright Israel (perhaps the most successful program we have established in decades & critical to preserving American Jews’ ties to Israel). And so on and so forth—more or less every program is too good to give up. In a way, the community is like my university: everyone understands that we need to cut back in hard times. The faculty simply insists that: nothing be cut from crucial areas like the arts, the humanities, the sciences, the social sciences and the co-curriculars. Everything else is on the table!

The problem in the American Jewish community at large is that, aside from killing off CAJE: The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education and the American Jewish Congress, nobody has put forth serious ideas about how to cut the Jewish communal budget by one-third. That, however, might well be what we need to do. Foundations, even not taking into account the Madoff losses, are about one-third poorer than they were this time last year. If the downturn stretches into 2010, annual campaigns may be down by one-third as well.

Inevitably in downturns, the weaker organizations are the first to fall. As Warren Buffett observed in his usual colorful way, “you don’t know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out.“ My own guess is that, at the very least, many of the Hebrew colleges, many of the bureaus of Jewish education, several of the Jewish museums and some other shakier Jewish organizations will not survive this downturn.

Orthodox Jewish organizations are apparently in the worst shape. Orthodox Jews have been disproportionately involved in banking and the stock market, and were also disproportionately hurt by Madoff ($2 billion, by one account, were lost by members of a single Orthodox synagogue). They also are heavy users of our most expensive Jewish institutions (synagogues and schools). I have felt for a long time—and for numerous reasons—that Orthodoxy’s rise had run its course. My sense is that the downturn will confirm this. I do not expect to see same kind of Orthodox growth moving forward as we have seen since 1960s, and my guess, sadly, is that some significant Orthodox institutions will not survive.

Sarna goes on to detail seven trends to watch:

I do not have high confidence that we can predict the future today any more clearly.

But this much I am prepared to predict: the economic downturn will end, the stock market will turn around, Jews will begin to make money again, and Jewish funders will regain their confidence and search for new ways to make our community better and stronger.

Let’s hope that this happens soon.

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Ok. I will comment here. I want to open up lines of communication with the Jewish community as it pertains to the Federal Reserve, Social Security and child protection public policy. I first became interested in this when I realized that the damaging public policy was originally written by three prominent Jewish authors and that the Federal Reserve who controls Social Security is depleting the funding by sending out billions of dollars to the states for child removal and adoption. I am going to be studying this relationship in some depth. Who are the targets? Poor and mostly gentile.
I hear the Jewish community discussing anti-semite a great deal, but what about reverse discrimination? Why aren’t you calling out Jews who are clearly anti-gentile and violent in thought, word and deed? I am not seeing any of that. I would like your comments on both. Thank you, in advance, for your feedback.

Comment by Jan Smith on 2/27/09 at 2:00 pm

Sorry to be skeptical, but this sounds like scapegoating under the guise of honest inquiry.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 2/27/09 at 2:24 pm

No, not at all. I am asking very serious questions. I can believe everything I read, or I can go straight to the horse and get it from the horse’s mouth.
I suspect, although I do not know it all, that the Jewish Federation is in control of America. If I am correct, and I have concerns about policy that I believe those in control are responsible for, should I not go to the controlling party? I want this public policy changed and I am going to the Jewish Federation because I believe that is where this doctrine orginated. I also want the Federal Reserve to get their fingers out of the Social Security pot. The Federal Reserve would also be members of the Jewish Federation, would they not? So, you are incorrect. If I was not being forthright, I wouldn’t go straight to the horse.
Jan Smith

Comment by Jan Smith on 2/27/09 at 2:55 pm

No, you are not correct. Though your theories on Jewish power are flattering.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 2/27/09 at 3:20 pm

I am glad to have made your day. However…..Is it not true that 30% of Congress is Jewish, you have your own Jewish Congress, Jewish courts, Jewish Federation and in that Jewish Federation there would be Israel, Federal Reserve and all the above stated entities encompassing that organization? Yet, you represent only 2% of the population. You should be flattered and patting yourself on the back.
So, now about that public policy…...
Jan Smith

Comment by Jan Smith on 2/27/09 at 3:36 pm

No, that is also not true. Forty-five members, or about 10 percent, of Congress are Jewish. Certainly, that is a higher proportion that the Jewish representation in the general population, but the same could be said for Mormons.

As for your understanding of the Jewish Federation, which somehow you believe is the parent organization of both Israel and the U.S. Federal Reserve, I don’t even know where to begin.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 2/27/09 at 3:46 pm

oh my.. Jan Smith.. what a transparent attempt.. either that or you are one of the most ignorant and gullible people using the internet - and in the case of the latter, I should explain that my above statement is NOT a compliment.  I would love to see your sources for Jewish authors being exclusively responsible for the damaging public policy you speak of above..  again, you are either a fraud trying to embed your anti-semitic conspiracy theories, or you are one of the most ignorant people on a computer today - stop watching FOX news.

Comment by nate on 2/27/09 at 4:09 pm

I got that number from another Jewish website. I will look for it.

My research is suggesting that the Jewish Federation was formed to put all the factions under one umbrella and keep a focus on survival and political agenda. Even one of your own articles on here suggests that in stating that Jews should not sue each other but keep a cohesiveness and focus.
I won’t bug you all day about it. I need to run down to the Capitol and put my two cents in on some bills.  I am very interested in the Jewish community now and when I am this interested, I will obsess on information until I feel I have a solid base of information from which to launch my beliefs. I thought you might be interesting to talk to about this because of the book you are writing.
Jan Smith

Comment by Jan Smith on 2/27/09 at 4:12 pm

Here Nate
:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/inside/roberts.html
Would it really make a difference though? You may be too defensive to have a conversation about this. For the record, used carsalesman shame sell techniques do not work on me. That is the strategy used in “Beyond the Best Interest of the Child.”

Comment by Jan Smith on 2/27/09 at 4:24 pm

Beware anything you read on the Internet about Jews.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 2/27/09 at 4:26 pm

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