Learning from Those
Who Have Come Before Me
By Moishe Smith,
President, B’nai B’rith International

I am filled with pride and awe as we have just finished an historic Board of Governors meeting in my hometown of Ottawa, Canada. It is a meeting I will long remember.

This was our first-ever meeting in Ottawa. Canadian Prime Minister Harper was in attendance, as was Canada’s Secretary of State, Jason Kenney. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke to us via satellite, and we celebrated the 165th anniversary of B’nai B’rith, the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, and the 120th anniversary of B’nai B’rith in Israel.

What a fantastic confluence of events!

It is no accident of history that we are so respected and admired worldwide. Our success can be attributed to a long and proud roster of leadership—the best and brightest, both volunteer and professional, the Jewish world has ever witnessed.

Who could have imagined that Henry Jones and his 11 fellow German immigrants would build their concern over the deplorable condition of Jews in New York into an international voice of Jewry in more than 50 countries? That their establishment of a fund to provide widows of deceased members with a stipend for life would grow into a network of social service projects in communities around the world?

I was born too late to have known Henry Monsky, our 15th president. Elected in 1938, he was responsible for an era of unprecedented organizational growth, despite—or possibly in part because of—it being an era of unparalleled Jewish trauma. Before he died in 1947, he had transformed the organization into what was unquestionably the world’s strongest Jewish humanitarian organization.

Monsky was succeeded by Frank M. Goldman, Philip M. Klutznick, and then Label A. Katz, three icons that I never had a chance to know. Goldman presided over the opening of our first European office and played a significant role behind the scenes in securing American recognition of the State of Israel.

Arguably, Phil Klutznick is one of the greatest American Jewish leaders and civil servants of all time. As our17th president, he was also the second national president and first executive of AZA, the teenage boys’ component of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization; commissioner of the Federal Public Housing Authority during World War II; an ambassador to the United Nations; U.S. commerce secretary; a renowned builder; and a noteworthy philanthropist, in the United States and Israel.

He presided over what could be called the Golden Era of B’nai B’rith history, creating new program priorities, and traveling heavily throughout the organization to reach out to grassroots lodges in communities big and small.

Label Katz dramatically expanded our international profile, in part through important meetings with Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI that contributed to the Vatican’s reversal of its assertion the Jews killed Jesus. He was a pioneer in urging American Jewry to raise its collective voice in support of the beleaguered Jews of what was then the Soviet Union.

Dr. William A. Wexler, a dentist from Savannah, Ga., succeeded Katz. I will never forget when Bill took this impressionable young man from Ottawa aside and said, “One day you will make an impact on this organization.” Who knows if I would have ever risen to my position of international president without his words of encouragement?
Bill’s greatest challenge during his term was the Six-Day War of 1967. He led B’nai B’rith in the astounding sale of $13 million in Israel Bonds. So great was Bill’s commitment to Israel that he became the first, and to date only, B’nai B’rith president to make aliyah.

Bill was succeeded by David M. Blumberg, a man I was never fortunate enough to meet. Blumberg was our 19th president. During his term, the minimum age for membership was lowered to 18, and the magnificent Scroll of Fire sculpture in Israel’s B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest was dedicated. He was president during one of the darkest days in B’nai B’rith history, when a group of Hanafi Muslims held our Washington headquarters and 123 people hostage for 39 hours before Muslim ambassadors helped negotiate their release.

Jack J. Spitzer won the closest election in B’nai B’rith history to become president in 1978. In March 1979, he made history by leading, at the invitation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the first Jewish group to travel from Israel to Egypt. The historic meeting, which rekindled hopes for peace, was broadcast around the world. After his presidency, Jack was appointed by President Clinton to be U.S. Public Delegate to the United Nations.

Gerald Kraft succeeded Jack. I was deeply honored that Jerry was in New Orleans during my installation as president. Within two days of his election, Jerry flew to Israel to meet with leaders in the world Soviet Jewry movement. It was a critical moment in the movement’s history and its leaders turned to B’nai B’rith, the organization best able to organize Jews worldwide, to coordinate massive international demonstrations on behalf of Soviet Jews.
Subsequently, Jerry was called to Geneva by President Reagan to serve as a resource in Reagan’s discussions with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during which, at B’nai B’rith’s urging, Reagan raised the issue of treatment of Jews.

I owe a great deal to the next president, Seymour Reich. It was Seymour who gave me my first appointment to the Board of Governors. He remains not only one of our most distinguished and celebrated leaders, but a great leader of today’s Jewish world.

Serving simultaneously as both president of B’nai B’rith and chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Seymour played a critical role in the historic Solidarity with Israel Conference in 1989, which brought leaders of Jewish communities and organizations from around the world to Israel to show their support for the Jewish state.

Kent Schiner is my friend and confidante. He is always there for me no matter when the call. During his term as president, he placed special emphasis on expanding programming for lodges and units. He presided during one of the most prestigious weeks of our organization: the celebration of our 150th anniversary. Festivities were held in multiple communities from New York to Washington, D.C., culminating in a memorable Havdallah service on the grounds of the Jefferson Memorial in which President Clinton participated.

Clinton observed, “No one has done [community programs] better than the Americans who do the work of B’nai B’rith….For all that B’nai B’rith has done…and for all that you will do in the tomorrows to come, on behalf of all the people of the United States, I say a profound ‘thank you.’”

For all the guidance Kent continues to provide me during my presidency, I say a profound “thank you.”
During my presidency, Tommy Baer remains my “go-to-guy.” No matter what special, delicate challenge I bring to him, Tommy accepts it, and delivers with aplomb, just as he did during his term as president.

Not only did Tommy shepherd us through a massive, historical re-organization of B’nai B’rith—eliminating districts, creating regions, developing new program delivery systems and program structures—he helped B’nai B’rith make a major impact internationally. Passionate about justice for Nazi war criminals, he took a major role in the 1996 extradition of Nazi Captain Erich Priebke from Argentina to stand trial in Italy. Three years later, Dinko Sakic, one of the last living Nazi commandants, also was arrested in Argentina and extradited to Croatia to stand trial with Tommy again playing a role.

I was especially pleased when one of my closest B’nai B’rith friends, Richard Heideman, was elected 26th president in 1998. It was appropriate that Richard—a passionate Zionist—was elected in Israel as we celebrated her 50th anniversary. He courageously presided over a very difficult time for the organization.

A former Grand Aleph Godol (international president) of AZA, Richard had a profound affection for the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO). Yet, he understood how important it was for BBYO’s growth to loosen its ties to B’nai B’rith and pursue independent philanthropic support.

He made the difficult choice to help both BBYO and B’nai B’rith by doing so. Richard championed the sale of our headquarters building—an aging building in need of repair. It was a difficult decision, but the best for the organization.
I learned a great deal from my immediate predecessor, Joel S. Kaplan. Joel appointed me chairman of the executive—a position that enabled me to, in a sense, get “on-the-job-training” for the presidency by handling many of the day-to-day responsibilities of leadership and focusing on organizational growth and development.

In addition to fighting an uphill battle on behalf of B’nai B’rith in the terribly anti-Israel United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Joel presided over the creation of a program to help Latin America through the economic crisis it was facing in the early 21st century.

Through the Communities in Crisis program, BBI and our partner, the Brothers Brother Foundation, brought more than $64 million worth of medicines and supplies to schools and hospitals in Latin America. Joel continues to help B’nai B’rith by serving as chairman of our Disaster Relief Program.

I look back with pride on all the accomplishments of our illustrious leaders and I am determined to do all I can as we move toward our 175th anniversary in 2018—a landmark occasion when I hope our 32nd president, whoever he or she may be—will look back positively on my legacy.

I would be terribly remiss if I did not recognize the outstanding work and support of our professional staff. From A.B. Seelenfreund, the first paid secretary (the term at that time for executive) in 1905 to Maurice Bisgyer, who guided the organization from 1937 until 1965, Rabbi Jay Kaufman, Rabbi Ben Kahn, Dan Thursz, Tom Neumann, Sid Clearfield, and—for the last 10 years—Dan Mariaschin, the continuity these men have provided and the way in which they have implemented our policy has been essential to our success. Volunteer leaders come and go, but professional staff is the proverbial glue that truly holds the organization together. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

As I look back upon the great achievements of our organization, in the spirit of the upcoming High Holidays, I look forward to helping repair the world (Tikkun Olam). To all of our members, supporters, friends, and staff, l’shana tova tikoteivu—best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.