A boast by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to visiting Jewish leaders this past week threw Jewish Agency officials into a frenzy to prove to Jewish donors the need for their money. During a tour of the north for Jewish media and community leaders, who were planning to fork over $260 million in emergency contributions, Prime Minister Olmert boasted that the economy is booming, and he ignored or denied the government failures in protecting the north. He also managed to get in a swipe against the media, saying it had given the public high expectations for success in the Second Lebanon War.

"I hope to God he doesn’t drive philanthropists away,” said professor Eliezer Jaffe, co-chair of the Center for the Study of Philanthropy at Hebrew University, who was quoted by the New York Jewish Week. "It’s a gut reaction to the fact that when government is not performing the way it should be, then philanthropy gets involved and makes him look bad."

After the Prime Minister's remarks, Jewish Agency officials hurriedly rounded up Arabs, new immigrants and children to thank the donors for their financial help.