Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie, a quasi-official Chabad spokesman, argues in the Forward for Federations opening their doors – and wallets – to haredi causes. Steven I. Weiss breaks down Eliezrie's arguments here. Most notable is this claim by Eliezrie, with SIW's response following in italics:
Just imagine if Orthodox scholars had a major seminar and referred to the AJCommittee as “liberal extremists,” “ultra liberal” or “being on the fringe.” The front-page headlines would scream, “Orthodox attack AJCommittee.”
Point me to a gathering of Orthodox scholars that doesn’t do that (other than perhaps the recently defunct Edah), and you get a prize.
No matter how tone-deaf the Federations may be to haredim and haredi causes, fanciful claims – even from polished haredi spokespeople like Eliezrie – show clearly why the problem exists. From Rabbi Avi Shafran downward, haredim play fast and loose with the truth. In this case, that lack of honest assessment hurts an otherwise important cause.