Dark horse candidate aims to revamp Jewish Agency

• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Author: GIL HOFFMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

On a visit to the camp, he was impressed by Marcelle Bensimon, the Moroccan nurse who ran it with care. The two were married in 1969, and had their daughter, Fleur, four years later.

Now Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is deputy mayor of Jerusalem and a dark horse candidate to head the Jewish Agency, and the irony is not lost on her.

cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

>

"I exist thanks to the Jewish Agency," she said. "If I am chosen to lead the agency, I would come full circle."

Next week the 10-member selection committee made up of representatives of the World Zionist Organization, Keren Hayesod and Jewish Federations of North America will start interviewing the 10 candidates looking to succeed new president Isaac Herzog.

Intelligence Services Minister Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), who has the support of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, remains the leading candidate. But only two no votes from the selection committee are enough to doom a candidate, which has flung the race wide open.

If Stern and other well-known candidates like former ministers Danny Danon and Omer Yankelevich are vetoed by two members, a lesser-known, dark-horse candidate with no significant opposition – like Hassan-Nahoum – could pull off a surprising victory.

She would be the first woman to head the Agency, and its first chairwoman of Sephardi descent. She would join Natan Sharansky as an immigrant who held the post, and would highlight the untold story of the agency's success with North African aliyah.

"It would be historic for a woman of color to take the leadership role," Hassan-Nahoum said. "If we want to show the beauty of the diversity of the Jewish community in all its glory, we need to display that diversity in our leadership as well. Diversity and hearing different voices enable better decision-making. It's a fantastic sign of the times that six of the 10 candidates are women, but the best person should be chosen, regardless of gender."

Hassan-Nahoum said she wants the job because she has the unique skill set, talent, and experience in fundraising, branding and messaging to lead the Agency to its next stage. She has employed those skills to promote Jerusalem from her volunteer position advancing the city's foreign affairs and tourism, and even though there is no one on the city council who can replace her, Mayor Moshe Lion supports the candidacy of his deputy.

...