I’m told that Jewish Federation employees fear for their jobs if they are caught discussing the following case. Craig Prizant was given 12 hours by Fishel to pack his stuff and to leave the building. Tom Tugend reports in the Jewish Journal:
A looming lawsuit is threatening to shake up The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles — causing a blanket of silence to descend on the city’s largest Jewish philanthropic organization. The former top fundraiser for The Federation is reportedly planning to file suit against the agency over his dismissal, possibly as early as this week, alleging that a friendship between The Federation’s president and a subordinate was the reason for his firing. …According to the pro-Prizant explanation, the root cause of his firing was professional friction between him, as the chief campaign professional, and Sue Bender, who had been hired by Fishel to direct The Federation’s prime philanthropy office, a program geared to "elite leaders in our community who possess the capacity to make a significant, multiyear commitment to fund an existing program or create a new one that addresses their passion," according to The Federation Web site. Bender’s job was to cultivate the largest donors, those able to make gifts in six figures and above and to fund new programs. Both Prizant and Bender reported directly to Fishel, but as the friction continued, Bender was allegedly able to count on her friendship with Fishel to favor her viewpoint, culminating in Prizant’s dismissal.
