Where Your Dollars Go

The highest paid executive of an American Jewish organization is Richard Joel, president of Yeshiva University, who was paid $848,176 last year, according to the The Forward's annual survey of salaries paid to the leaders of 76 national Jewish groups.   

In some cases the data is a year or two out of date.  It isn't noted, but some also have other high-paying jobs as well.  Barely 10 per cent of these top execs are women.

After YU's Richard Joel, other top earners in Jewish academia include Brandeis University's Frederick Lawrence, $588,809; Touro College's Alan Kadish $547,514; Jewish Education Service of North America's Donald Sylvan, $204,750 and American Jewish University's Robert Wexler  $118,898.

In the Federation world, the top earning executives are Stephen Hoffman, Cleveland ($644,518); Jerry Silverman,  Jewish Federations of North America ($625,000); Marc Terrill, Baltimore ($477,859); Steven Nasatir, Chicago ($477,783); John Ruskay, New York ($462,000);  Ira Schwartz, Philadelphia ($457,784), William Bernstein, South Palkm Beach County, $419,899 and Steve Rakitt of Greater Washington, $401,044.

Among the political advocacy groups, Aipac's executive director Howard Kohr was paid $472,500 last year, The Israel Project paid Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi $220,000, Americans for Peace Now paid Debra DeLee $202,000, J Street paid Jeremy Ben-Ami 200,225.

Republicans are apparently more well heeled than Democrats, judging by the salaries paid by their advocacy groups.  The Republican Jewish Coalition' paid executive director  Matt Brooks $461,070, well over double the $171,200 the National Jewish Democratic Council paid president and CEO David A. Harris .

A sampling of the others:  Marvin Hier of Simon Wioesenthal Center, $721,714; Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, $621,470;  David Harris of American Jewish Committee, $440,429; Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, $397,363; Jewish National Fund's Russell Robinson, $375,147, Morton Klein of Zionist Organization of America, $363,462; Dan Mariaschin of B'nai B'rith International $329,138, and NCSJ's Mark Levin, $194,411.

The highest paid woman on the list is Jennifer Gorvitz, CEO of the San Francisco Federation, $305,000.

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