New Mexico’s Jewish federation is on brink of collapse

(JTA) The Jewish Federation of New Mexico has almost run out of cash and workers, and all of its packages have been suspended or are being handed over to different neighborhood entities, in line with interviews and courtroom information.

The dysfunction is the results of mounting acrimony at a 74-year-old establishment liable for serving the state’s estimated 24,000 Jews. After board resignations, lawsuits and the flight of many longtime donors over the previous two years, the board has been discussing dissolving the federation completely.

“All of the packages are gone,” stated federation board member Marina Rabinowitz, who agreed to affix the embattled board in January in hope of turning issues round. “The federation used to provide grant cash to virtually all Jewish establishments throughout the state. However not anymore.”

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Among the many packages and grantees affected are the Jewish Care Program, which aids the aged, together with Holocaust survivors, and is being transferred to the Jewish Group Middle of Better Albuquerque; PJ Library, which offers books without spending a dime to Jewish households; the Santa Fe Jewish Movie Competition; and the Hillel chapter on the College of New Mexico.

“The state of affairs in New Mexico is unacceptable and we are going to do all the things in our energy to make sure that the federation is ready to proceed serving the Jewish neighborhood, supporting Jewish infrastructure, uplifting Jewish life, and serving probably the most weak,” stated Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, which represents 450 communities throughout North America.

What the long run holds for New Mexico’s Jewish neighborhood is unclear. For now, all “central” packages historically supported by way of federation funding are nonetheless in operation, in line with a JFNA spokesperson.

However even when the federation folds, donors might materialize to maintain the packages afloat independently and the packages which have misplaced workers might be restaffed beneath new preparations.

The dispute in New Mexico, which the Jewish Telegraphic Company first uncovered in March, facilities on the tenure of Rob Lennick, the federation’s former government director, who departed just lately. He has since been employed to move The Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties, serving the world of Daytona Seaside, Florida, a JFNA spokesperson has confirmed.

A number of workers members started complaining in late 2020 that Lennick was susceptible to matches of rage and was at occasions intimidating and hostile. Lennick denied these allegations, discovering help among the many government committee of the federation’s board.

The chief committee moved to supply Lennick a mortgage and a contract extension and the board authorized the supply in a vote in February 2021. However shortly after, a number of board members accused the manager committee of concealing the complaints towards Lennick earlier than the vote.

About half the board quickly resigned and 4 members who stayed on filed a lawsuit. They’re now asking a New Mexico courtroom to take over the federation to make sure its administration construction could be overhauled.

Lennick is now contemplating submitting his personal lawsuit as a result of he says he has been unfairly maligned, in line with his legal professional, Daymon Ely, who declined to say who could be focused within the lawsuit.

“I’m not going to call names, however you’ve got people who have somewhat little bit of energy and in my judgment, have abused that energy,” Ely stated. “We’re contemplating bringing a lawsuit as a result of he has left and so they proceed responsible him for issues that weren’t his fault. They’re nonetheless speaking in regards to the acrimony being his accountability, however I believe he actually did attempt to flip down the amount and I believe the info will present that he tried to do a superb job.”

Present members of the manager committee didn’t reply to requests for remark. David Blacher, who resigned as president of the federation, declined to remark.

In January, with most of the board seats vacant, the manager committee recruited Rabinowitz. An economist by occupation, she agreed and noticed a possibility to contribute by checking out what appeared as messy monetary accounting.

However she says that when she requested for entry to the federation’s books, she was rebuffed by the manager committee. After repeatedly “begging,” she says she was lastly given some numbers, resembling a revenue and loss assertion, however not any documentation that may validate the figures.
“I’ve no confidence that no matter is introduced there may be truly true,” Rabinowitz instructed JTA.

What she has been in a position to set up is that the federation coffers just lately dwindled to about $22,000, a minuscule quantity for a corporation with a proposed funds of about $1 million in 2020, and an enormous drop from three years in the past when the federation reported that it had 18 months in working bills in its reserves.

Rabinowitz is just not positive the place the cash has gone. A minimum of a few of it’s going to pay the lawyer representing the manager committee members in courtroom, in line with courtroom information.

“I have no idea what right here is mismanagement and what’s fraud,” Rabinowitz stated. “The one factor that I can let you know is that a corporation that has existed for over 70 years was destroyed within the final three years.”

Shelly Prant, the manager director of Albuquerque Jewish Group Middle, stated she believes the neighborhood will rally to make sure important packages will proceed and that her group and others are ready to choose up any slack created by the issues on the federation.

“There’s a core group of individuals in Albuquerque and across the state which might be actually caring, passionate and philanthropic,” Prant stated. “They usually’re actually taking all this very significantly and making an attempt to assist, and so on the finish of the day, we’ll be okay although proper now, it’s difficult.” PJC