Ted,
Read your post endorsing Mort. Of course, you have every right to endorse whomever you want, and I still consider you a friend. But please be aware of the following facts:
1. The rationale given by Mort for taking such an enormous salary starting in 2008 and continuing thereafter, that he worked full-time for 5 1/2 years for free is not true. I found the real numbers and they are on my website. The truth is he was a volunteer for the first 4 years but it was only part-time. Then he took $40k in compensation even though the ZOA constitution at the time prohibited the officers from getting compensation.
Afterwards, the ZOA constitution was amended to allow the president to be paid. He then took $99k in 1999 and $125k in 2000.
2. Mort has claimed repeatedly that his average salary over the 20 years is only $200k. But he has taken more than $5.64 million in the 20 years, which averages to over $282k. If you capitalize it over 20 years, it becomes almost double that in present value dollars.
3. Measured by valid e-mail addresses, the ZOA’s membership list is fewer than 800. The ZOA website dishonestly says there are 30,000. That means the ZOA is a minuscule organization and lying about it. Not good.
4. The last year for which there are financial statements ins 2012, and donations were barely over $1 million. There is a claim that he raised $5 million in 2013, but it is entirely unsubstantiated. Even if true, a review of Form 990s over the last few years shows that the ZOA is raising far less money than Stand With Us, which is about 10 years old, and even the vile J Street, which is only about 5 years old. The fundraising has been mediocre.
5. There is only the ZOA 501c3. Mort has refused to establish a related 501c4 and PAC. It means the ZOA has very little influence on Capitol Hill.
6. The Israel office is manned only by Jeff Daube. Jeff is outstanding and does more than can be expected of any one person, but he doesn’t have help or even an office.
7. Mort recently did something that, by itself, should disqualify him. He tricked Danny Danon into giving him a letter of endorsement. The letter is dated January 17 2014. Mort asked Danny for the letter without disclosing that he had an opponent and the opponent is me. Danny has told me and others that he never would have done that had he known the truth. It is about to be clarified–publicly. I never would have put Danny in the position of making a choice even though I know he personally prefers me (he chose me, not Mort, to be the US representative on the Executive Board of World Likud). It wouldn’t be the right thing to do. But it is even worse that Mort deceived Danny into giving the endorsement in an underhanded way. It is no trifling matter to deceive the Deputy Defense Minister of Israel.
8. You know that Mort has been smearing me personally with matters irrelevant to the ZOA. The smears are also false.
9 Mort has refused to debate me. He is comfortable debating Jewish leftists and even vicious anti-Semites. The reason is he knows he has the truth on his side. He won’t debate me because he does not have the truth on his side in the election. He can telephone people privately and say what he wants without fear of contradiction.
10. Mort is refusing to allow the ZOA members as a whole to vote. He is requiring people to fly to Philadelphia, his hometown where his friends live, to vote. That’s tilting the playing field. Imagine if the election were in Los Angeles and only people who could manage to attend physically could vote. Not allowing ZOA members to vote absentee, by proxy or by e-mail is undemocratic and indefensible. It makes the election a sham.
11. I’ve arranged for an independent website provider to poll all ZOA members with e-mail addresses as to their preference. Each member will receive an electronic ballot and can respond only from his or her e-mail address, and can vote only once, so the poll will have integrity. As a matter of principle, I’ve agreed that I will withdraw and congratulate Mort on his victory if he wins the poll. The ZOA’s president should have a mandate from the majority of its members. If I win the poll, however, I am going to ask Mort to withdraw, and failing that, for the delegates in Philadelphia to vote to ratify the will of the majority. Having a president with no legitimacy would be a disaster and would make the ZOA into a joke.
12. The title of your column actually is very sad for the ZOA if true. If Mort is the ZOA, what happens when he dies or is disabled? The organization needs to be more important than any one man. It can be much more than it is, because no one man can embody what the ZOA is supposed to stand for and accomplish. We don’t have Jewish kings. After 20 years, isn’t it time to give someone else a chance?
13. I’m a flawed human being, but I treat other people with respect. I don’t bully and scream at employees. Once this election is over, Mort will return to ignoring you. I will continue to like and respect you even after this is over.
Please just give this some thought.
Steve
ZOA badly needs a new head. We American Zionists are pathetic. There is NO counter in the US to the stealth destroy Israel policies of ADL, AJC, Federation, JCPA – least of all to counter the open Israel hatred of J St. Federation takes money to “defend” Israel and does nothing. If ZOA had 100,000 members, which it could easily have it if went to its “natural constituency” like Young Israel’s and Chabad’s (I learned that term from AIPAC) ZOA would have long ago been a 100,000 member organization.
Mort’s big donors, successful business people all, would have long fired any company employee with such a record of failure. Mort should have long ago been kicked upstairs to write his excellent, articles, editorials and op-eds and to continue to schmooze up the big donors that love him. The rest of the running and GROWING ZOA needed to be put in the hands of an organization builder.
8dbdent Said:
My sympathies
Boy am I glad I am a Brit! As we would say there is something rotten in Denmark! This Mort – it is obvious that he has had his day and its cash; he is also such a modest person , Moses must be blushing . I think Steve should be given the post of ZOA Comptroller [ his ability to dig out the facts is wonderful] and a new face to be found for the Chair.
Can they match my one shekel donation?
Joseph,
Very fair question. The answer is straightforward. I don’t think these issues are “petty bickering,” but are instead big and important. The facts show that something is seriously amiss. The actual numbers contained in the documents filed by the ZOA with the government prove that this very important organization is doing very badly. The active membership number is pathetically tiny. We all want the ZOA to be effective and important. It should be democratically run. Finally, this is an election. There’s no way to inform the ZOA members without providing them the information publicly. But I share your concern and hope the ZOA heals after this election is over.
Steve
I am a member of ZOA but not as active as some of the other pro-Israel advocacy groups to which I belong. I am distressed to see this
type of petty bickering and wonder why Steve Goldberg can’t make his position from within the current structure.
I am grateful to Ted for allowing me to post my Response and pleased that Mort Klein has finally surfaced. I will address his points.
First, it is absolutely true that Mort Klein rescued the ZOA when it was moribund at the end of 1993 and that without him there would be no ZOA. That’s not the question, however. The question is what is the ZOA’s present condition, and is Mort Klein the best person to bring the ZOA to the next level.
Let’s look at the present situation. Based on the ZOA’s public filings with the government, the total donations over the 5 year period from 2008-2012 (documentation on 2013 is not yet available) were only $11
$11,791,062. That’s a paltry $2.3 million per year. During that same 5 year period, Mort Klein’s compensation was $3,423, 022, which is almost $700,000 per year and a staggering 29% of total donations. These figures can’t be denied because they are based on the Form 990s filed by the ZOA.
The ZOA failed to file those Form 990s for 3 consecutive years. The result was that the ZOA’s 501c3 status was revoked effective May, 2011 until May, 2013. Who takes responsibility for this? Where does the buck stop? Who is accountable?
Mort Klein decided not to proactively disclose the loss of the ZOA’s 501c3 status to the public. I personally believe that was illegal, but let’s assume it is debatable? Wasn’t there a moral obligation to the public to come clean?
The ZOA is a shrinking organization. Despite the false claim on its website that it has 30,000 members, the mailing list has only 9400 people on it. Of those 9400, only 1099 have e-mail addresses. Of those 1099, only about 800 e-mail addresses are still valid. Of those 800, many are inactive. Shouldn’t the ZOA be much larger?
The turnover of key employees at the ZOA is unacceptable. How does Mort Klein explain 10 national executive directors in 20 years? Were they all incompetent? If so, who hired them and why? If the ZOA is a happy place to work, why is the current national executive director, David Drimer, looking for a job with me as one of his references? Hasn’t all this employee turnover negatively impacted the ZOA’s effectiveness?
Why did Mort Klein deceive Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon into giving him a letter of endorsement? I have confirmed that Mort Klein did not disclose to Danon that I am running against him when he asked for the letter of January 16, and that Danon would never have given him the letter had he known the truth. As Deputy Defense Minister, Danon has more important things to do than to get involved in ZOA politics. Danon appointed me to be the U.S. representative on the Executive Board of the World Likud and to the Extended Executive of the WZO, and he and I are personal friends. I never would have asked him to take sides in this election. It is shocking that Mort Klein would deceive the Deputy Defense Minister of Israel to get his endorsement, and I ask for his explanation.
Unfortunately, Mort Klein has refused to debate me because he has no response to these devastating facts. He has also refused to allow the ZOA members nationwide to vote, but is insisting that only delegates who are able to be in Philadelphia on March 9 can vote. This is undemocratic and an insult to loyal ZOA members across the country. The excuse that the ZOA constitution does not allow it is feeble. There is absolutely no reason Mort Klein and I can’t agree to conduct a vote of all ZOA members across the country and to abide by the vote of the majority, with the loser to voluntarily withdraw. I am prepared to agree to honor the wishes of the majority of ZOA members across the country. I am arranging for an independent website provider to conduct such a vote. I will announce the results once the website provider tabulates them. I ask Mort Klein to agree to this procedure. Would he really want to be President of the ZOA without a mandate from its members?
Finally, I reiterate that Mort Klein deserves praise and thanks for helping save the ZOA 20 years ago. But the present situation is the report card on his 20 years of service, and it is not a good one. The question is who is best suited to bring the ZOA into the future.
@ Bert: I agree with Bert. Ted; Both trust you We need you to something…mediate? arbitrate? Or???
I am a non-active member of ZOA and am very concerned over these conflicting claims. I am especially troubled by claims that ZOA has only 800 members and that only those attending the convention in person will be allowed to vote. I had thought that the ZOA at least was totally honest. I wish there was a way to know the whole story so we can sort all this out and not tear ourselves apart.
Another email from Mort Klein
Email from Mort Klein to me.