Official apartments, trips abroad, the appointment of consultants and increased budgets were the basis of an agreement signed last week between the Kadima and Independence parties intended to pave the way for Independence Party representative Shimon Sheetrit to be named chairman of the Jewish National Fund, and for Kadima representative Eli Aflalo to become chairman of the Friends of the JNF. But officials in these organizations have called the agreement, submitted on Thursday to the Petah Tikva District Court, scandalous and corrupt. The agreement was presented to the court as part of proceedings between the Independence and Labor parties over the question of which party will choose the next chairman of the JNF. The Labor Party has approved the nomination of current Chairman Effi Stenzler for another term. With the Independence Party aiming to prove that it represents the Labor Party in the World Zionist Organization, it signed the agreement with Kadima. It appears, however, that Kadima believed this was a chance to add a host of benefits and improved conditions to the role, as well as transferring powers from the chairman of the JNF to the chairman of the Friends of the JNF, which caused sources in these institutions to express amazement and call it a corrupt agreement consisting entirely of favors and gifts. Clause 14 in the agreement grants the chairmen of the JNF and the Friends of the JNF official apartments, stating that housing for the chairmen and their deputies should be according to the customary rules for government ministers. According to JNF regulations, each chairman is permitted one salaried consultant. But the agreement finds this insufficient, and allows each chairman a second salaried consultant. Clause 12 of the agreement states that the chairmen should create a new committee on environmental protection. But critics of the agreement claim that the new committee would actually means adding more jobs to the organization. Responsibility for the finance department, human resources, contacts with workers representatives, connections with the internal auditor and the accountant and also issues relating to legacies and bequests will all be transferred to the chairman of the Friends of the JNF. This is a scandalous and corrupt agreement, representatives of the National Religious Party said. And a Likud representative objected to the agreement, attacking the factions who signed it and refusing to sign it himself. Kadima sources said the agreement stipulated the conditions to which the chairman of the Friends of the JNF was entitled, as well as the additional responsibilities placed upon him. They said the agreement did not provide anything to which the chairman was not entitled by the regulations. Independence Party sources said that there was nothing problematic about the agreement, and everything was done according to regulations.
