One of the BEST kept secrets of Jews for Jesus is that the foundation of their management structure is not based on the Bible, nor even on management theory. Some have compared the management style of Jews for Jesus to that of a Mafia family, some to just a dysfunctional family in general.
One of the key books noted as required reading by Jews for Jesus missionaries has been “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky. Alinsky was a social theorist who was interested in action, power and justice for citizens in Chicago. More information on Alinsky can be found at places like http://www.progress.org/alinsky.htm, or by doing a simple Google search.
His methods for helping community action and social change organizations have been known to be used, for example, by organizations like Green Peace.
Moishe Rosen allowed Alinsky’s book to become the driving force for how Jews for Jesus related to outside organizations. Jews for Jesus wasn’t the only Christian or non-Christian organization to find Alinsky’s book useful in reaching their target audiences effectively. Alinsky’s book is used quite frequently as a supplement or even required reading at many colleges and university Political Science classes as a textbook for how to get things done.
However, in Jews for Jesus, the Alinsky book became the foundation of how it not only “got what it wanted” in reaching Jewish people for Christ, it also became the foundation for how they dealt with all perceived threats to the organization’s control structure, including both external threats and internal threats. Internal threats could be as simple as a missionary wanting time off for a family funeral when their boss wanted them to work a little extra on writing a pre-Gospel pamphlet to hand out on street corners. The threat in this case is being a challenge to the authority of the supervisor.
For Christians, the fact that Alinsky’s book and its principles are so prevalent in such a high profile religious organization to which millions of dollars are given every year, should be troubling.
The original version of the book, which was required reading at least through the 2000 missionary training class. In the current edition (and is in the first edition after the dedication page) immediately after the dedication page where it says, “To Irene” there are the following quotations prior to the book’s index page:
“Where there is no man, be thou a man.” –Rabbi Hillel
“Let them call me a rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul…” –Thomas Paine
“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgement to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins—or which is which), the fist radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom—Lucifer.” –Saul Alinsky
The following is a quotation from AmericanPatrol.com:
“Saul Alinsky wrote two books outlining his organizational principles and strategies: Reveille for Radicals (1946) and Rules for Radicals (1971).
Rules for Radicals opens with a quote about Lucifer, written by Saul Alinsky: "Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins -- or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer."
In Rules for Radicals, Alinsky says: "Here I propose to present an arrangement of certain facts and general concepts of change, a step toward a science of revolution." He builds on the tactical principles of Machiavelli: "The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-nots on how to take it away."
Rules for Radicals is concerned with the acquisition of power: "my aim here is to suggest how to organize for power: how to get it and how ot use it."
At www.e911.com in their discussion on Understanding Grassroots Tactics at http://www.e911.com/exacts/EA051.html, there is an apropos quotation that exemplifies how former Jews for Jesus staff experience life after Jews for Jesus:
“This sampling of Alinsky's ‘Rules’ illustrates why opposition groups enjoy opposing and why corporations and institutions fail to win.”
In the case of Former Jews for Jesus staff, the opposition is Jews for Jesus itself using the Alinsky Rules and in place of the corporations are the former Jews for Jesus staff. Thus the quote would be re-written:
“This sampling of Alinsky’s ‘Rules’ illustrates why Jews for Jesus enjoys opposing and why former staff and institutions fail to win.”
The website for the Los Angeles Mission (www.losangelesmissin.com) discusses Alinsky, “To begin with, Alinsky…was no Christian. He was a secular Jew; really, an agnostic who, until his death, it seems, was uncertain of an afterlife. This puts in some perspective his nod in Rules for Radicals to Lucifer, "the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom." In a 1960 letter to Maritain, Alinsky calls himself a "congenital heretic." In Rules for Radicals, he says the true organizer is a "questioner," for whom "nothing is sacred. He detests dogma, defies any finite definition of morality, rebels against any repression of a free, open search for ideas no matter where they may lead." This is also Alinksy's self image.”
This certainly is also a good expression of the Jews for Jesus internal corporate structure:
1. Nothing is sacred except loyalty.
2. They detest dogma, except that which they put into place.
3. The morality they want you to see is what you want to see. In other words, they know how to let you see the morality they want you to see in order to best win you to their side.
4. They rebel against any expression of free and open search for ideas from their staff, but CLAIM they allow such.
Why would a “Christian” organization like Jews for Jesus subscribe to tactics that are more in line with the kinds of things Christians would understand Lucifer and Lucifer’s kingdom using?
When I left Jews for Jesus we sat down with a pastor, who once was a Jews for Jesus insider. The pastor coached us through the leaving process with Jews for Jesus. He explained how Jews for Jesus senior leadership uses Alinsky’s Rules to harm those who are in the process of leaving. Each time we entered into negotiation with Jews for Jesus, the pastor would sit down, open Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” and would point out what they just did according to Alinsky’s 13 Rules. He would then show us how we responded. He would explain that Jews for Jesus leadership’s next step would be according to the Rules, so rule number ‘x’ would be their response. Our pastor was always right about how Jews for Jesus would respond. He explained further that Jews for Jesus leadership didn’t even need to consult the Rules any longer, because they were ingrained in the leadership principles, policies and procedures of the organization. They had become the “default mode” of Jews for Jesus after 30 years of living and thinking in Alinsky’s world.
When I became a leader in Jews for Jesus, having not read “Rules for Radicals,” the current Executive Director, handed me a copy and told me to read it. He explained that these “principles of leadership” were how Jews for Jesus leaders relate and manage people both inside the organization and outside the organization.
The following are Alinsky’s actual Rules. Be your own judge as to whether these Rules (or as Jews for Jesus calls them: Principles), are Kosher, or acceptable for Christians, or any other morally-minded individual.
THIRTEEN RULES FOR RADICALS
Excerpted from “Rules For Radicals” by Saul Alinksy
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of Rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own Rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition." It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign. It should be remembered not only that the action is in the reaction and of reaction to the reaction, ad infinitum. The pressure produces the reaction, and constant pressure sustains action.
RULE 11: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 12: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
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