Ruth Messinger
Ruth Messinger Image by Getty Images
The hallmark of a good leader is not simply what she does while in office. It’s how she chooses to leave.
The announcement in October that Ruth Messinger was stepping down after 17 years as president of American Jewish World Service wasn’t a complete surprise — despite her formidable stamina and almost youthful enthusiasm, she is, the calendar attests, celebrating her 75th birthday this November.
As one of the fastest growing Jewish not-for-profits in the country, AJWS might have been expected to conduct a national search to replace its charismatic and popular leader. Instead, with Messinger’s prompting, the AJWS board concurrently announced that Robert Bank, the group’s current executive vice president, would take her place — “a testament to how we feel about the work that AJWS is doing today,” said board chair Kathleen Levin.
Messinger doesn’t leave a legacy only at AJWS, which has created a uniquely Jewish way to promote economic and gender equality in the developed world. She has inspired a generation of women in political activism, as a mentor, champion and, as Rabbi Joy Levitt wrote in the Forward, “constant nudge… No one wears her dedication, enthusiasm or relentless commitments better than Ruth does, and no one shares all of that with more generosity than Ruth does.”
Levitt described her good friend as the “Jewish Madonna of human rights work.” And, as Messinger eases into a new role as global ambassador for AJWS, she undoubtedly will remain a ray of light.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
