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May 13, 2005/Iyar 4 5765, Volume 57, No. 37
Jewish Agency head to step down
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - The resignation of one of the most powerful professionals in Jewish life came as a surprise to many of those closest to him - and sparked rumors throughout the Jewish world about Sallai Meridor's future plans.
In a letter May 10, Meridor, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, informed his staff and volunteer leadership that he would step down early.
After six years as head of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, Meridor said he would leave after the Jewish Agency's board of governors' meeting in June, a year before his term ends.
Names mooted as possible successors include Natan Sharansky, who resigned last week as Israel's minister of diaspora affairs; Shai Hermesh, the agency's treasurer and its second ranking professional; and Ze'ev Bielski, mayor of Ra'anana and a member of the agency's board of governors.
"I believe that the best interest of public organizations require change, and that as a norm public servants should not stay in their chairs forever. Accordingly, the question before me for the past few months has been when to make the change - now or a year from now," Meridor wrote.
"Passing the torch to my successor at the upcoming assembly, which will take place at the end of June, will prevent the downside of a lengthy interim period," he wrote.
It also will allow his successor to "vigorously commence the implementation of the strategic plan," a new action plan the group is putting into place that will focus on building Jewish and Zionist identity worldwide, with particular emphasis on youth.
Meridor's resignation comes one week after Sharansky resigned because of his objection to the government's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
Some Jewish communal officials wonder if a job swap between the two men is in the works. Others say Sharansky's anti-disengagement stance would make him an unlikely candidate to represent Israel and world Jewry through the Jewish Agency, which facilitates immigration to Israel and runs Zionist education programs worldwide.
Rumors abound that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may offer Meridor the post of ambassador to Britain or the United States.
While it's conceivable that Meridor could be making himself available for a political opportunity, sources say he hasn't been offered anything.
Those close to Meridor describe him as a man of integrity who says what he means.
Political maneuvering seems out of Meridor's character, said Steven Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Jewish organizational officials were stunned by the announcement, which comes as efforts are being made to restore order to the agency, which boasts a $350 million annual budget and has emissaries around the world.
Meridor has pushed for reforms to streamline the Jewish Agency, which some have criticized as a bloated bureaucracy. During his tenure, the agency created a strategic plan to nurture the Zionist identity of Diaspora Jews, and launched MASA, a partnership with the Israeli government to subsidize Diaspora youth on short- and long-term programs in Israel.
Meridor also has pushed for aliyah from North America and helped create the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, an Israeli think tank.
JTA correspondent Dina Kraft in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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