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Strengthening the Diaspora connection: There is a plan, no content

2020-07-10T00:56:06.847Z


Carolyn GlickThroughout the years, Jewish communities helped Israel, and finally the government realized that it was time to respond favorably. • The outline for strengthening this approved relationship this week is packed with good intentions but empty of content. On Sunday this week, the Israeli government recognized that it was time to help Diaspora Jewry. It was while the ministers approved the Diaspora p...


Throughout the years, Jewish communities helped Israel, and finally the government realized that it was time to respond favorably. • The outline for strengthening this approved relationship this week is packed with good intentions but empty of content.

On Sunday this week, the Israeli government recognized that it was time to help Diaspora Jewry. It was while the ministers approved the Diaspora plan to strengthen the connection between Israel and the Jewish communities in the world, and this is the only government decision to date that did not address the Corona crisis.

Determine modes of action and goals. Students of the Moriah School at New York Independence Day parade in New York // Photo: IP

Diaspora Minister Omar Yankelevich welcomed the outline by stating: "The government's decision is to accept responsibility for the Jewish people, as required by the Declaration of Independence and the Nationality Law.

Israel's duty - the world's strongest Jewish community - to assist Diaspora Jews stems from both gratitude and the necessity of the hour. Throughout the country, Diaspora communities helped Israel get on their feet. Now we have to return the favor. The surge of anti-Semitism and the deep economic recession that has plagued the world as a result of the Corona are endangering overseas communities, many of whom have come to power at this time. The question is how to help? 

The government-approved plan is very strong in a statement of intent, but it lacks content. The press release issued by the Diaspora Ministry stated that government activity will focus on six areas: formal and informal education, activity in Israel, world repair, innovation and technology, assessment and measurement and common purpose. 

The government's decision itself emphasizes "honest and genuine partnership" with the Diaspora communities. But already in these airy statements there are two possible problems that point to a certain luminous defect that, if not corrected, could lead to the failure of the government's vital course of action.

The first warning light is the inclusion of the term "world correction" between the focus areas of the project. The term itself is a kind of hologram. Anyone can define "world repair" as they please. According to Jewish sources, the purpose of the move is to bring about recognition of the peoples of the world in the "kingdom of Sadi", that is, the Messiah's days, including kibbutz exile and universal repentance. 

There are others who see the term primarily as a call for charitable giving. However, today the most dominant and common meaning of the term is another. Today, "world repair" means political rather than religious - to act on behalf of Judaism to achieve leftist political goals. In the US, such activities include lobbying for open borders, support for the Black Lives Matter movement, active support for political campaigns and anti-Israeli activity and for universal Judaism.

These and other activities emphasize that, especially among American Jews, the term "world correction" holds today a redefinition of Judaism around a political worldview that in most cases is hostile to Jewish folk and Zionism. Therefore, when Israel undertakes to focus on "world correction", there is a danger that Public taxes will be utilized for the benefit of hostile public interest projects.

Productive Partnership

And that brings us to the second problem in the outline approved on Sunday. Today, there are many factors in the US - Jewish and non-Jewish - that invest huge sums of money to radicalize the Jewish community. As a result of the deep economic crisis in which many communities exist, capital-intensive organizations at the far left of the political spectrum are becoming very powerful players. Lots of aspects of community life, including money buys mastery over rabbis (whose salaries they fund), educational content, hiring teachers in schools, and more. 

In this situation, it will be very difficult for the government to choose partners. Every choice will provoke a stir - whether the government chooses to work with conservative or orthodox philanthropists and philanthropists or choose to work with reformist and progressive philanthropists and organizations. 

The problematic inherent within a joint activity indicates a different activity path. Instead of talking highly about "true partnership," Israel may prefer to base the partnership on providing products that make it easier for Diaspora Jews to sustain themselves as Jews. In this context, there are three main avenues of assistance that Israel can provide: education, religious services and security. 

Evil, reconciliation and rescue

Israel cannot subsidize Jewish studies directly, nor is it its job. Tuition at a Jewish elementary school in America, for example, usually starts at $ 25,000 a year. But there are two things that Israel can provide that can reduce the story and thus make Jewish schools accessible to many families who are now unable to fund their studies. First, with a modest investment in terms of the Ministry of Education's budget, Israel can provide textbooks for Jewish students abroad. In the past, when Israel was a poor and young country, the Ministry of Education had a unit that produced Hebrew textbooks, Jewish history, knowledge of the land, and religious studies for students in exile. Resume its activities.

And there's a teacher thing too. Israel can set up a teacher training project for missionaries in overseas communities. Such a program could include scholarships, training for mission, and a certain subsidization of teachers' salaries to come to communities overseas for three to five years. Such a program could significantly reduce the tuition costs that Jewish schools pay, which would significantly reduce the tuition they charge parents. Such a project will also make Jewish education accessible to many families, and will bring Israel and Diaspora Jews closer together and for the benefit of both parties. 

Regarding religious services, there are already programs in the country today that train community rabbis for overseas communities. It is worthwhile to expand these programs. 

And there is also the matter of dealing with the growing anti-Semitism. Israel can assist in training or sending security guards to guard Jewish institutions. Many Diaspora Jews are rightly afraid to go to the synagogue or send their children to Jewish schools. Israel can and should help them maintain their institutions.

The situation of Jews abroad is getting worse. The rising level of anti-Semitism, the growing assimilation and the dearness of Jewish life all contribute to the collapse of the communities and to weakening their relationship with Israel. This is why Israel has the professional and human resources to make tremendous strategic moves, so it is important at the outset to establish clear ways of action and goals that will ensure that in an attempt to demonstrate badness and reconciliation to our brothers, the goal will not be missed.

For more views of Carolyn Glick

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2020-07-10

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