Choking Jewish Communication

...Schwarz replied that the Council had made available its mailing list only on rare occasions, but he would take the matter up with the Council leadership...

...Council president Norman Goldstein explained that contrary to what he and Mr Schwarz had previously told me, the Council list had never been made available to anyone, and certainly not to the Washington Jewish Week, as he had earlier thought was the case "I've given you a policy, not a rationale," Mr...

...Jewish Community Council this way...

...I explained to Mr Schwarz that MOMENT magazine was held by a charitable corporation, that it had IRS approval as a charity, just like his organization, so that contributions to MOMENT are tax-deductible I explained how MOMENT was fighting for its life, that I had two years to make it self-sustaining, after years of six-digit deficits I told him that there had never been a self-sustaining, independent monthly Jewish magazine, so we were trying to do something that had never been done before...

...In the secular world, where the numbers are large, it doesn't matter that a few organizations refuse to make their lists available to others But in the Jewish world, it does And we cannot afford it Let Jews hear what other Jews have to say Let there be competition in the marketplace of ideas Those recipients who are not interested need only drop the unwelcome envelope in the waste basket...

...But I said no...

...We realize that so-called "junk mail" sometimes brings us something that does interest us And the person who is paying for that "junk mail" is trying to send it only to people who will be interested Isn't it worth the effort to field a few complaints in order to allow Jewish causes to communicate with Jews who might be interested'* Mr Goldstein's "rationale" stressed the necessity for screening requests...

...What's the down side for the organization of making its mailing list available' Some people will complain if their names have been made available to others The answer to those who complain is, "We'll restrict your name and take it off the list when we make it available " We all receive piles of "junk mail," gripe about it occasionally, and throw away what doesn't interest us...

...So we mail and mail again trying to reach all those we feel confident would be interested in subscribing to MOMENT if they had the opportunity to become acquainted with it Because others have adopted the policy of the D.C...

...Jewish Community Council, the universe of prospective subscribers that a Jewish magazine can hope to reach is highly restricted...

...Maybe, when they asked to reprint Joe Alpher's article, I should have said yes But I had to make my point—our life depends on our ability to reach people, to ask them if they would like to subscribe —H.S...

...But isn't it better to make judgments about whose requests to accept and whose to deny, rather than say no to everyone' Don't we have to make similarjudgments when we decide who can use the lecture hall at the community center' Or are the people who control these Jewish mailing lists really afraid of competition' In some cases, that may be * You can even make money It is customary to pay for the use of mailing lists And if you can't trust the person who is using the list not to use it again for something else, you can put the addresses on yourself, and charge for this service' the real issue, but as a matter of fact, competition is usually good for both competitors That's why Macy's loves Gimbel's That's why the Jerusalem Post and Commentary make their lists available to MOMENT, and we do likewise as do many organizations...

...could be one reaction...

...It was full of fresh insights presented in clear, understandable language...

...The Council is by no means unique in guarding its mailing list But I am fighting for the life of this magazine...

...So I asked Mr...

...In contrast, we are virtually assured that every time we send out a mailing, we will attract the interest (and the subscriptions) of a significant number of the recipients...

...And I certainly supported the activities and programs of the Council...

...I was not surprised at the request The Washington Post had already made arrangements to reprint from the same issue of MOMENT Hy Bookbinder's article on the speech Jewish voters would like to hear from presidential candidates ("What Presidential Candidates Should Say To Jewish Voters...

...On the other hand, the reprinted article could whet the reader's appetite and lead to a subscription But it doesn't matter...

...Here's a way I can ask the Jewish leadership in my home town to subscribe to the new MOMENT...

...Schwarz if I could send a brochure to his Israel Fact Sheet mailing list, asking them to subscribe Mr...

...That is why we do not have the kind of independent Jewish magazines that require a substantial circulation to support them...

...But surprisingly few make an effort to have their names removed from lists when presented with the opportunity...

...The aim of publishing is to get information out to the community...

...You may not understand why (neither do I), but that is the fact (We tried to buck this fact, which is well-known in the magazine industry, by placing an ad in the Baltimore Jewish Times in an issue that contained a wonderful article about the new MOMENT, as our experts predicted, we received four subscriptions from the ad...

...The reason was "policy...

...The article he wanted to reprint was titled ' 'Is the De Facto Peace With Jordan A Better Model Than The De Jure Peace With Egypt'" by Joseph Alpher, deputy head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University...

...The fact that the D C. Community Council's policy is not uncommon raises the broader issue: that this not-uncommon policy chokes much-needed channels of Jewish communication...

...The only way to sell substantial numbers of subscriptions is by mail...

...So that's why I said no to the Jewish Community Council...

...Whether it helps circulation is another matter It can be argued both ways "Why subscribe if the most important articles are reprinted in publications I already get...

...I told him that we were both trying to strengthen Jewish life—and he agreed Mr Schwarz was not only sympathetic, he agreed to carry my case to the elected leadership There followed a series of—what shall I say—embarrassed, ashamed, almost apologetic (they would deny all three characterizations) telephone calls from the two prominent lawyers who head the Council...

...Here's why In the course of my conversation with Mr Schwarz, I asked him to whom the Israel Fact Sheet would be sent The core of the mailing list was 1,900 leaders of the Washington Jewish community Wonderful, I thought...

...I could understand why D.C's Jewish Community Council wanted to reprint Joe Alpher's article...

...Goldstein conceded, and when he sensed that I might write something about the Council's action, he then offered a "rationale" the Council receives many such requests and "who's going to put the value judgment on each one'" It may be unfair to single out the D.C...

...Let me talk from the perspective of MOMENT magazine...

...He wanted to reprint an important article from the September issue of MOMENT in the "Israel Fact Sheet" that the Council distributes...

...As editor of two other magazines that also publish seminal articles in the areas they cover [Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible Review), I often receive requests to reprint articles Rarely do I say no After all, our job is to communicate, to impart information and ideas to as many people as possible...

...I told him—and he agreed—that MOMENT was an important community resource, that there was no other magazine quite like it...

...The answer was "No...