A BROKEN CHARITY: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE JEWISH EDUCATIONAL CENTER is a relatively short but very informative view into the IRS investigation into the JEC for fraud.  What surprises me is how engrossed I became in a non-fiction book that is nothing I would have picked up.

I wonder how many people would overlook this book?  If you are not Jewish or have any interest in the headline story regarding the Rabbi Bentzion Pil, the founder of the JEC, and his wife, Mattie, regarding what I see as their blatant misuse of donated money, A BROKEN CHARITY is probably the last thing you’d think about reading.  I read the blurb and thought how boring—my apologies to the author.  I am wrong.  A BROKEN CHARITY is far from dull!

Instead, I began reading Jack E. George’s autobiographical account of the months following news that the JEC was under investigation.  It’s amazing reading about the Pils, who continually pulled money out of thin air while the court battle waged on.  (A $30,000 to $40,000 Bar Mitzvah for their son…while the Rabbi was supposedly earning $60,000 a year.  It’s not hard to see how things add up with that tidbit of information.)  I keep wondering if the Pils are just really clever or really insane!  Meanwhile, those who didn’t bail (and probably should have from day one) kept trying to start a new school.  The book covers the struggle to reform the Jewish school where the author was administrator. 

There is never any animosity towards the people in the book.  The author states things as he saw them happen without being mean-spirited.  In his shoes, I’m not sure I would have been so civil, but he succeeds in his mission.  In the end, you get a non-biased, no-finger-pointed look at the collapse of the JEC.  Facts are dealt honestly and that adds to the appeal.

I still can’t say exactly who would find themselves drawn to A BROKEN CHARITY.  It’s not really subject matter that would draw a wide audience, yet it drew me in.  Regardless of the book’s limiting subject, it is a mesmerizing read.