Common cash register: what is hidden behind the puzzling project of MK Gilad Karib

The Ministry of Diaspora sewed a project for "Jewish renewal" with tens of millions of shekels for the dimensions of a small association with no experience in financial management, without a tender and without criteria.

MK Karib, who helped the association while serving as a member of its executive committee, claimed: "The contract was made by the professional level without any involvement of mine"

Kalman Libeskind

08/13/2022

Saturday, August 13, 2022, 9:00 p.m. Updated: 9:01 p.m.

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Gilad Karib in the Constitution Committee on the Corona Restrictions (Knesset Channel)

The decision of the Diaspora Ministry to establish a project for Jewish renewal, with an investment of tens of millions of shekels, brought with it quite a few objections.

Some saw this high-budget move, which was launched just before the election, as a hijacker.

Some wondered what the ministry that is supposed to deal with the affairs of Diaspora Jewry with an entirely Israeli enterprise.

Some claimed that in the Labor Party they found a corrupt way to funnel money to wings that are close to them politically, in Reform and Conservative Judaism.

Be that as it may, the story unfolding here raises questions regarding the cooperation of the Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution Committee, MK Gilad Karib, with an association dealing with "Reviving Judaism", while serving in one capacity as a member of the Knesset and in the other as a member of the Executive Committee of This association.

More than that, the conduct of the Diaspora Ministry led by Nachman Shai, who decided to transfer huge budgets, without a tender and without real criteria, to a small organization, with two employees, which until today managed a tiny budget of only a few hundred thousand shekels, raises questions.

Pluralist and egalitarian Judaism

Back to the 2021 elections. The decision of Gilad Karib, then CEO of the Reform Movement, to run for a place on the Labor Party's list for the Knesset, pleased many of the activists involved in the field they define as "Jewish renewal". Yotam Brom, CEO of the "Pani" organization - Organization The roof of several dozen of these organizations, which we will expand on later, also published a public message of support for the war.

"I have been working in collaboration with Rabbi Gilad for the past six years and I know how talented an idealist he is," he wrote.

"Your success is our success," he added and wrote on the social network, when Karib was elected to a high position: "a lot of work ahead of us."

Moments after the Knesset elections, when Karib became a full-fledged MK, and even more so when the coalition negotiations began and the change government began to take shape, some thought he was the right man for the position of Diaspora Minister.

His position on the list was higher than that of Nachman Shai, who was appointed in the end, and the fact of his being a reform rabbi close to what is happening in significant parts of Diaspora Judaism,

Kriev himself explained on his Facebook page how important it was for him to take care of the budgets for "pluralistic and egalitarian Israeli Jewry", and how much his experience taught him that he had to fight for this to happen.

"This is the reason why I pushed for the inclusion of the commitment to establish the Directorate for Jewish Renewal in the coalition agreements of the Labor Party. This is also one of the reasons why I made every effort that the Labor Party would demand to take over the Diaspora Ministry," he wrote.

"The Beginning of a Revolution"

The association "Panim" is, as mentioned, a body that considers itself as such, uniting the organizations of Jewish renewal in Israel.

It is about a series of organizations, each of which independently conducts extensive activities, but the organization that sees itself as their "umbrella organization" is nothing but a small association with two employees, 25 volunteers and a very small operating budget.

In "Panim" we feel close to the decision makers in the Labor Party in general, and in the Ministry of Diaspora in particular, and when the decision was made to establish the project in question for Jewish renewal, it was clear from a very early stage to the members of the association that this project would fit them like a glove.

On August 2, 2021, with the approval of the state budget for 2022 by the government, which included a budget for the benefit of the Division for Jewish Renewal, they celebrated in "Pani".

"After being elected to the Knesset," said Panim CEO Yotam Brom, himself a member of the Labor Party, on his Facebook page: "I met with Knesset member Rabbi Gilad Karib.

I offered him a variety of proposals, regulations and projects, he rejected them all and urged me to focus on one thing - establishing a division for Jewish renewal.

Since then we have been working day and night on data, wording of position papers and meetings with many partners in order to approve the establishment of the new wing and justify the budgeting for the activities of Israeli Jewish organizations.

The road is still long, but this is a significant first step for the new government of change to take responsibility for Jewish culture again and allow each and every one to take part in it."

Brom did not forget to praise the victim on Twitter as well. "A historic step for the field of Israeli Jewry.

The time has come for there to finally be public representatives who will work for a Judaism that gives place to all currents,

The traditions and sectors.

Thank you and great Shafo Gilad Karib and Nachman Shai."

Karib himself, who as mentioned advised Panim to invest energy in this direction, enthusiastically tweeted: "The state budget that was approved this morning by the government includes the budgeting of the Department for Regenerative Judaism in the Diaspora Ministry and standards for the department, in accordance with the agreements with the Labor Party. This is the beginning of a correction of the discrimination against the egalitarian streams and the organizations of Jewish renewal. A first step on a long road. More steps will come. Congratulations to Minister Nachman Shai and the director general of the ministry."

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To the full article

Kriv (Photo: Reuven Castro)

What was less known to most of those involved in this field in those days, is that Gilad Karib is not just an external supporter of the issue, but a serving member of the board of directors of the Panim association.

He remained a member of the association's executive committee even when he was elected to the Knesset, and also when he invited the association's CEO to speak in the lobby he heads in the Knesset, which deals with religious freedom and Jewish renewal.

Karib told the members of the Knesset who were present at the lobby meeting on October 25, 2021 that he left " Face" with his election to the Knesset, but he misled those present. In a correspondence with me, he admitted this week that he remained a member of the board of directors until the end of 2021, over two months after that sitting in the Knesset.

The records of the Corporations Authority also show that Karib continued to serve as a member of the board of directors of the association almost 9 months after joining to the Knesset, except that Karib claims that although he remained a formal member, he did not participate in management meetings after his election.

Be that as it may, Karib celebrated the new budget for the field on his Facebook page as well.

"Every great coup begins with a first step... Among the countless lines of the budget approved yesterday by the government, one line is hidden which is the beginning of a coup. Government budgeting for the establishment and operation of a wing for renewed Judaism in the Diaspora Ministry... The establishment of the wing for renewed Judaism was included in the coalition agreements of the Labor Party" .

A week passed, and it became clear that "Panim" took Karib's recommendation seriously, and they are firmly in the middle of an organized work with the Diaspora Ministry.

"Following the government's decision to establish and budget for a division for Jewish renewal," the CEO tweeted on August 9, 2021, "this morning we met with the professional staff at the Diaspora Ministry in order to initiate and implement the dream that has become a reality."

"Face", it should be said, was officially chosen to lead this project, only many months later.

In practice - as can be seen from the CEO's reports on social media - the Diaspora Ministry behaved with the association as if it had long been chosen to receive the budgets. This is how Brom told his followers on the Internet about his work meetings at the Diaspora Ministry, long before he won the project. This is how he blessed "that we lived and sustained and arrived For this time", with thanks to Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai and the management of his office, whom he called "true partners on the way" after "an important and exciting meeting".

deep within the enterprise

We will get to the crooked, scandalous manner in which Minister Shai channeled the money to the Panim association shortly.

Even earlier, it should be said that what happened during this period in the Diaspora Ministry - when the "Panim" association helps the ministry to build a project that it itself is supposed to receive, miraculously, a few months later - should have raised many question marks.

Karib emphasized this week, in response to a question I addressed to him, that the joint venture of the Panim association and the Ministry of Diaspora Skin and Tendon Cream only in 2022, he wants to say after he left the association, but as mentioned, Panim was deep within this venture long before that.

Here, for example, in October 2021, the CEO of "Panim" shared on the social network: "In a first meeting of its kind, all the directors of Israeli Jewish organizations met with Diaspora Minister Dr. Nachman Shai, with the CEO"

You understood well, "we will come true".

"We just started, and it's still too early to say goodbye, but with partners like these, we can be optimistic," he added.

On Facebook of "Panim" - we will emphasize again, long before anyone in the tender committee approved the cooperation of the Diaspora Ministry with them - they already announced: "We are excited to continue the process to build a wing for Jewish renewal."

On October 25, 2011, as mentioned, MK Kriev launched the lobby for religious freedom and Jewish renewal in the Knesset. The CEO of the Panim organization, Kriev's colleague in the association at the time, was invited to this meeting, along with several managers of organizations that work together with him, and many of them , it is assumed, will benefit from the budgets that will flow to the new director Shekma.

The "Panim" association received the status of a host from a Carib MK at this meeting. The order of speakers at the lobby meeting, he took pains to clarify, was determined "in cooperation with the "Panim" association. Like the CEO of "Panim", some of the managers of the organizations that were invited to speak are also the "Avoda" party.

From an inspection I conducted this week, the things are correct in everything that concerns Anna Kislansky, the CEO of the Reform Movement, Rakfat Ginsberg, the CEO of the Conservative Movement, and Eran Yarkoni, the CEO of the Shitim Institute. , also a member of Karib's party - got the right to be the first to speak after the members of the Knesset.

"We have learned from the past that in order to gain political power we need to get on the field, give support and incentive to our public representatives. Stand behind them with pride," he said, "...we are here to give support to all the members of the Knesset and the ministers who work for us."

The Minister of the Diaspora, Nachman Shay, spoke about the initiative for Jewish renewal that "put an end to many years of discrimination by the conservative, reformist currents, and other groups in the Israeli public who want to maintain Judaism each in their own way."

And Kriv, as mentioned, misled those present when he said that he was a member of the board of directors of the Panim association "Elect your election to the Knesset", when none of them knew that he continued to serve in this position even at those very moments.

Something important should be said here. There is no allegation in these words against the activities of the Panim association ", and there is no expression of opinion in anything related to the question of the budgeting of one stream or another. The entire preoccupation of this column begins and ends with the manner in which the Labor Party, through the Minister of the Diaspora, poured tens of millions of shekels into a close association, without criteria, without procedures, and in a proper manner for a thorough examination.

Lack of financial stability

Those who want to receive a lesson on how to transfer large amounts of money to those whom the minister wishes to visit, and on the way to make sure that no one else receives a shekel of this money, are welcome to join the journey that we will take you on in the following lines.

Let's start at the end.

Recently, after a year of flirting, the agreement between the Ministry of Diaspora and the Panim association was officially approved.

The office and the association, it was agreed, will work in cooperation for the benefit of "Jewish renewal" projects.

The ministry will finance the activity in the amount of NIS 30 million, at the same time as the NIS 30 million that the association will have to raise on its part.

Why is this project taking place in the Diaspora Ministry?

Well, there is no logical reason for this other than the desire of the people of the Labor Party to flow the money to whomever they see fit.

The Diaspora Ministry has never engaged in such ventures.

This office, as it is called, was established to deal with Diaspora affairs, and not to run huge projects that are all in the Holy Land.

The Tenders Committee, led by the CEO of Nachman Shai, Ziona Koenig-Yair, knew that it had a problem with this matter, and found a solution for it. As it was then, different areas of operation, including "the society and the diaspora". And since no one has changed this definition since then, there is no problem with the Ministry of Diaspora promoting "society" projects, even if they are carried out in Israel.

If you want to understand how crooked this is, consider that according to the approach The Ministry of the Diaspora can take over all the welfare services of the State of Israel from tomorrow. Social workers are not a "company"? In other words, the Ministry of the Diaspora knew that a project for a renewed Judaism should be under the Ministry of Culture or Education or Religion, but they preferred it with them in order to transfer the money For those who have an interest in transferring, and only to them.

Now let's talk about the money.

The "Panim" association, which won the big money, is, as mentioned, a very small association.

It employs only two employees.

Its turnover in 2021 was 696 thousand shekels, 317 thousand of which were salary and general expenses.

A year before, the activity turnover was NIS 632,000, of which NIS 312,000 was for salary and general expenses.

decided to transfer huge budgets, without a tender and without real criteria.

Shay (Photo: Reuven Castro)

In a world of proper administration, a world of control and supervision, there is no way that the State of Israel transfers tens of millions of shekels to an association whose entire financial experience is based on the management of a few dimes.

Moreover, when the tender committee listed the tests that, in its opinion, are "essential" that the body that will receive the money meet, there is no mention anywhere of financial strength or anything that mentions it.

What is required?

All kinds of amorphous abilities that there is no way to measure them, such as "in-depth knowledge", "acceptable" "abilities", "readiness", and "understanding at work and interfaces with government offices".

Well, you say, but that's exactly what tenders are for.

so that the best and most suitable one is chosen.

So that's it, the Diaspora Ministry chose to skip a tender.

This skipping also made it possible to ensure that the "Panim" association will receive the project, and also to prevent the need to distribute this money to other organizations that would be found suitable for the criteria, if such were determined.

What is the explanation for the need to skip the auction?

Well, pay attention: the office explained that they were looking for a body that would meet the same ethereal and immeasurable line of characteristics.

"The combination of all these characteristics in one body is rare," the tender committee found.

Therefore, the committee explained, the Ministry searched and found that "aside from the Panim organization, none of the other players meets all the required characteristics sufficiently... Therefore, the Ministry requests to enter into a contract with the Panim organization, which meets, as detailed above, the set of features detailed above and is used Already today as an umbrella organization of the Jewish renewal organizations, it is therefore the most suitable to be a partner in carrying out this activity."

Did you understand?

The only body in the State of Israel that can manage 60 million shekels for the benefit of "Jewish renewal" is "Face".

No one else in Israel understands enough about "Jewish renewal".

No one else will know how to do their best with funds dedicated to "Jewish renewal".

The only body that can and deserves to receive this budget is a body whose annual budget it manages is about 1% of the money it will manage courtesy of the Diaspora Ministry and the taxpayers, from now on.

read and not believe.

About a month ago, as mentioned, the news came out.

"Panim" association is the happy winner of the tender that did not take place.

"I am happy and excited to officially announce the establishment of the Directorate for Jewish Renewal," Yotam Brom, CEO of Panim, announced on social media.

Among the "thanks to those without whom the project would not have taken place," Brom thanked Minister Nachman Shai and MK Gilad Karib, who celebrated the move himself. A few months ago he served as a member of the executive committee of the association that will now receive the money.

This is also one of the reasons why I made every effort to demand that the Labor Party take over the Diaspora Ministry."

Comments

MK Gilad Karib's response: "When I was elected to the Knesset, I effectively ended my activities on the executive board of an internal association.

Formally, the term ended at the end of 2021. The joint venture of the Ministry of the Diaspora with the Skin and Tendon Facial Association during the year 2022. The selection of the Facial Association and the contract with it were carried out by the professional level of the Diaspora Ministry without my involvement in the work processes.

I am very proud of my contribution to the government's decision (as part of the budget discussions) to allocate a significant budget to encourage pluralistic Jewish renewal in Israel, and of my deep ties with the various renewal organizations.

For many decades, Israeli governments discriminated against secular and liberal Judaism in the allocation of resources, tenders and joint ventures.

All government bodies dealing with Jewish culture operate with a clear Orthodox orientation, and I welcome the fact that, for the first time, a government response has also been given to the additional manifestations of Israeli Judaism, which are relevant to millions of Israelis."

The response of the Ministry of the Diaspora: "In accordance with the coalition agreement from June 2021, the Ministry of the Diaspora was tasked with establishing a division for Jewish renewal. After extensive staff work that lasted several months and an in-depth examination of several alternatives, the ministry decided to establish a directorate for Jewish renewal in a joint venture with Panis, the umbrella organization of the Jewish renewal organizations In Israel, an internal organization was chosen because it was the most suitable body and after meeting the criteria defined for partnership in the project, including a deep familiarity with the field of activity and the ability to provide supplementary funding

at

the same rate as the government's budget for the project.

.

The project was published for public comment and no comment was submitted.

The process of establishing the directorate was conducted according to all the relevant laws and procedures, and the protocols of the committees were published to the general public on the website of the government procurement directorate."

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