Dec. 19, 2004 Embattled WJC calls assembly in bid to rescue its credibility By URIEL HEILMAN NEW YORK Following a stormy autumn in which allegations of financial irregularities and an ugly, public spat among its leadership rocked the World Jewish Congress, the congress now is hoping to end the controversy quickly by holding a new general assembly to clean up the mess. Officials at the congress say the new "plenary session," called for January 10-11, 2005 in Brussels, will put to rest charges that a top WJC official improperly maintained a secret Swiss bank account and that the organization has been insufficiently accountable to its members and donors worldwide. The lead critic of the congress-himself a top official of the organization-says the hastily called session may be nothing more than an attempt to quash the controversy and oust him, the primary voice of dissent, from the group's leadership. Whatever the truth, the conflict roiling the congress-which in recent years has focused on negotiating Holocaust restitution, fighting against anti-Semitism, and Christian-Jewish ties-serves as a cautionary tale for Jewish organizations run with public money but seen as managed with insufficient transparency. "There's a huge paradox here," said Yoram Dinstein, chairman of WJC's task force on constitution and governance, which was created more than a year ago to restructure the 68-year-old group. "Here we have a success story," he said, citing recent WJC accomplishments, "you'd think everybody would stand up and salute each other. Instead they're sparring. I don't understand. This public spat causes damage to the Jewish people, not only the World Jewish Congress." At the crux of the turmoil at the WJC are allegations by Isi Leibler, WJC's senior vice president, that Israel Singer, chairman of the WJC's governing board, may have tried to hide $1.2 million in a Swiss bank account. Leibler also says Singer and WJC President Edgar Bronfman have been running the organization like their own private enterprise, spending money from WJC's annual $11 million budget at whim. Leibler has called for a full independent audit of the organization. Evelyn Sommer, chairwoman of WJC's US caucus, said last week that a WJC committee decided in September to undertake an independent audit, and the results will be made public at the plenary. But Leibler said he has seen no evidence of the audit, and WJC officials in New York refused to confirm that an independent audit was under way or name the members of that committee. For their part, Singer and professional officials at the congress deny the $1.2 million account was hidden from anyone and say Leibler, an Australian who made aliyah in 1999 and is a columnist for the Jerusalem Post, merely is orchestrating a campaign of disinformation in an attempt to seize power at the WJC. They also say no disbursements at the congress have been made without following proper procedures. After Leibler's charges surfaced, Bronfman appointed Stephen Herbits, Bronfman's longtime associate from the Seagram company, to take a full financial accounting of the congress. "There's a legitimate charge out there: 'Why don't you do an audit and clear the air?'" said Herbits, now transition manager at the WJC. "All I'm saying is: Give me time to conduct my business and do it, and then the answer will be evident." Leibler says Herbits is an inside man loyal to Bronfman, not an independent auditor. "All of those who have asked for an independent audit have been shoved aside, demonized and ousted," he said. Leibler said he has "no doubt" he will be ousted from his WJC position at next month's "bogus assembly," which, "convened at less than one month's notice, cannot possibly enable adequate participation as outlined in the [WJC] constitution." Leibler insists he is not interested in taking over the reins of power at the congress. Herbits said the assembly was called to end the distraction of the controversy Leibler stirred. "The way to handle the issue is to have the assembly, set the agenda, get going," he said. "We have to get rid of this distraction. So we're going ahead. We're not going to be quashing anything." He refused to confirm or deny rumors that the WJC is undertaking an independent audit, saying "the media isn't always the vehicle for best communication" of such things. "We do not owe anything to Mr. Leibler; what we owe is to the executive of the World Jewish Congress," explained Sommer. "All these innuendos will not affect the towering achievements of this world organization." The two sides in this public spat, which has spilled over from the pages of American Jewish newspapers into the mainstream press-paint very different pictures of what has been happening at the congress. Leibler says he and a few others at the WJC became aware in July of possible financial irregularities at the organization-including a previously unknown $1.2 million bank account in Switzerland that Singer claimed was for his pension-and pushed internally for an overhaul of the congress and its finances. As Leibler pressed for fiscal transparency, Singer, aware that Leibler's questions were raising eyebrows, went to the American Jewish media pre-emptively in an attempt to discredit Leibler, refute his claims and portray him as power hungry, according to Leibler's narrative. E-mails Leibler said had been purloined from his computer, which appeared to back up Singer's claims, then were circulated to the press. Leibler says Singer and Bronfman moved quickly to weaken his ability to effect change within the congress. First, they dismantled a three-person operations committee in which Leibler wielded significant power and replaced it with a nine-person steering committee. Then, in mid September, they stripped Leibler of his membership on the steering committee and asked him to cease all his activities on behalf of the congress. They succeeded in getting the European Jewish Congress-one of five regional caucuses represented in the WJC-to call for Leibler's resignation in November and, Leibler says, called the WJC plenary session for next month in Brussels to oust him entirely from the congress and solidify power with Bronfman. So far, only the Swiss and Australian Jewish communities have expressed support for Leibler's position. In September, Bronfman, 75, who has served as WJC's president since 1981, changed his plans to retire from the organization and said he'd run for another five-year term. In the 1980s, Bronfman contributed the bulk of the WJC's budget, helping revive what had become a moribund organization. Today, Bronfman contributes about 20 to 25 percent of the organization's annual $11 million budget, with the balance made up by some 100,000 to 150,000 donors annually, WJC officials say. Singer and Herbits are promoting a very different version of events than Leibler. They say Leibler knows there is nothing nefarious happening at the WJC and that his accusations needlessly have sullied the otherwise good name of an institution that represents Jews and Jewish interests around the world. According to their account, Leibler either knew or easily could have found out about the $1.2 million account, which had been set aside for general pension payments-not just for Singer, who already receives an annual $226,000 "ex gratia" pension from the WJC. Singer was the professional head of the WJC for more than 20 years until he retired in 2002; then, he was elected to his current non-salaried lay position. The three-person WJC operations committee was replaced in August with the nine-person steering committee to give greater representation to regional WJC chairmen around the world, not limit Leibler's power, according to Herbits, and Leibler was ejected from the committee in September only because of his irresponsible and insidious accusations. Singer also said he went to the press to rebut Leibler's charges only once Leibler already had begun peddling his charges to reporters. For the time being, the truth of all these claims and counterclaims remains unclear, though there is some evidence to support Leibler's questioning. The $1.2 million-whose provenance WJC officials originally said was a $1.5 million payment to the WJC by the Jewish Agency for Israel-was moved from a bank in New York to Geneva, then to London, then back to New York. Singer and Bronfman's defenders insist there was nothing wrong with these transfers and that the money never left the WJC's possession. But Leibler contends the transfers constitute suspicious movement of funds nobody other than the Singer-Bronfman coterie knew about. Leibler said he only found out about it after Daniel Lack, a lawyer and longtime congress staff member in Geneva, wrote to him about its existence. Avi Becker, the former secretary general of the WJC, said he was never aware the money existed. Singer and Bronfman declined to comment for this story. When news of the account first was disclosed, Franklyn Snitow, a lawyer for Bronfman and Singer, said the $1.2 account represented a proposed pension for Singer, but Herbits now says that was a misstatement, and that the account was for WJC pensions in general. The controversy has become a growing problem for the congress. Seen as slow to respond to the charges, the WJC has faced increasing calls from newspaper editorialists and other Jewish officials to be more forthcoming about its finances and operations. Perhaps in a move to stave off more bad press, the WJC last week sent journalists an outline of the congress' accomplishments over the last three years. "Combating Anti-Semitism" topped a list that included supporting Jewish communities, promoting Jewish education, fostering interreligious dialogue and campaigning for Holocaust restitution. Herbits also said the WJC was now looking for a new communications director. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he did not consider the congress' work on anti-Semitism to be very significant. "I haven't found it, expect in their mailing brochures and fund raising," he said. "They check in on certain issues, but I don't consider them a significant element in the fight on anti-Semitism." The belated public relations effort by the congress-undertaken only after it became clear Leibler would not let the issue simply go away-may not be sufficient to revive the reputation of an organization likely to suffer from the bad press. If fund raising falls significantly as a result of this public fracas, the group either will have to curtail its activities or Bronfman will have to pick up more of the tab. The WJC has "permitted itself to deliver to itself a body blow which has undermined its credibility," Foxman observed. Either way, Herbits says, the Brussels conference will clear up all the controversy come January 10. Leibler says he doubts that-unless it includes the results of an independent audit, which would constitute "a major victory for Jewish public opinion." At this point, the two sides appear to agree on only one thing: The congress' credibility (or lack thereof) will become fully evident at the assembly in Brussels.