4 Adar 5770, 15.02.2010

 

A Seminar Concerning the Future of the

 Jewish People

 

Members of the Young Leadership Program Visit the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute

 

Itamar Ben-Ami

 

On Thursday, 27 Shevat 5770, 11 February 2010, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute held a seminar for the members of the Young Leadership Program of the Institute for Zionist Strategies. The JPPPI is a think tank and policy planning institute whose mission is to help assure a thriving future for the Jewish people and Judaism with Israel as their core state, by engaging in professional strategic thinking and planning on short and long-term issues of primary concern to the Jewish people, with special attention to critical choices that have a significant impact on the future. The Institute provides estimates of situations and dynamics, "alerts" to new opportunities and threats, provides assessment of important current events, strategic choice maps, innovative action alternatives and policy-option analyses to decision makers, opinion leaders and others who are engaged with, and whose actions affect, the Jewish people. Also, the Institute organizes policy retreats for decision makers, facilitates informed Jewish people discourse on crucial issues, develops Jewish policy professionals and encourages research in critical understudied issues.[1] As part of this mission, the JPPPI invited the members of the IZS Young Leadership Program, out of recognition of the importance of this group in discourse surrounding the future of the Jewish People. The seminar was conducted at the JPPPI offices in Jerusalem, and was attended by researchers and members of the JPPPI. Speakers included JPPPI President and Former Head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, JPPPI Chairman Avinoam Bar Yosef, Former Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Avi Gil, as well as JPPPI members Dr. Dov Maimon, Shmuel Rosner and Yogev Karasenty. The seminar included lectures and discussions on an array of central issues concerning the future of the Jewish People.

 

"Assimilation is higher among Jewish men than among Jewish women"

 

At the opening of the seminar, JPPPI Chairman Avinoam Bar Yosef presented the Institute and its activities. In his address, he portrayed the essential need for tracking and research of the strengths of the Jewish People, both spiritual and physical, and of the decline in the identification with Judaism of Jews in the Diaspora. Next, JPPPI member Yogev Karasenty presented an up-to-date review of the Jewish People and demonstrated Jewish identity and demographic trends among Jews in the Diaspora. Mr. Karasenty emphasized that despite the global transition from "Jewish People" to "Jewish Peoplehood", which is based on a less binding connection between each Jew and his Jewish identity, the JPPPI still sees the State of Israel as the leading and central force of the Jewish People.

 

Following this, Dr. Yehuda Mirsky spoke of the concept of Tikkun Olam from a Jewish aspect and presented positive and negative concerns regarding its position as a mutual goal both of the State of Israel and of Diaspora Jewry. During his speech, he called for Jewish action in support of Tikkun Olam and stressed the need for it to be adopted as a mission of Global Jewish Peoplehood. Dr. Mirsky differentiated between "tzedek" (righteousness) and "tzedaka" (charity), and claimed that Judaism, as a religion deeply rooted in both rights as well as obligations, must adopt Tikkun Olam as a universal ideal.

 

"The key positions in Jewish communities in France are controlled by a Haredi monopoly"

 

Following Dr. Mirsky's speech, participants were addressed by researcher of Judaism Dr. Dov Maimon, who presented a review of French Jewry as a test case of the functioning of a Diaspora Jewish community. Dr. Maimon discussed the difficulty surrounding the preservation of non-religious Jewish communities in modern nation-states, due to the centrality of the state in every aspect of life, as opposed to the pre-modern era, in which the needs of Jews were met by the Jewish community. The difficulty in preserving a Jewish identity was attributed by Maimon to the lack of strategy to ensure the preservation of the Jewish ethnic identity while simultaneously fully participating in greater society. The first solution, according to Maimon, is the construction of Jewish nationalism, in which Jewish culture is integrated into civil life. This concept is in effect in the State of Israel. Moreover, such a solution cannot be applied to any other nation-state, such as France. In such cases, Maimon said, a Jewish ideal is necessary for non-religious Jews who are not active in community life, via which their Jewish identity will be preserved even in the midst of non-Jewish surroundings.

 

"The State of Israel is not the primary target of the Iranian nuke"

 

Later on, JPPPI President and Former Head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash spoke of the strategic challenges facing the State of Israel today. Gen. Zeevi-Farkash described the Islamization trend in Europe and the Arab world and claimed that this trend, and not Arab nationalism, is what constitutes Israel's gravest security challenge today. Furthermore, Gen. Zeevi-Farkash emphasized the importance of full Jewish identification with the State of Israel and identified "dual loyalty" and a lack of identification with the State of Israel as a central strategic threat.

 

Following a lunch break, Mr. Avi Gil, Former Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a key figure in the peace processes with Jordan and the Palestinians, addressed the group. He presented members of the Young Leadership Program with a glimpse into the complexity of negotiations with the Palestinians, and conducted a historical comparison of the position of the State of Israel in its responses to various Arab demands. The words of Gil were particularly notable in light of his status and many years of experience, and his lecture opened a window into the world of diplomacy – an area which remains mysterious to a majority of people, and to challenges this discipline places in front of the State of Israel.

 

At the conclusion of the seminar, Shmuel Rosner, journalist and expert on American issues, evaluated the voting patters of American Jews and noted the considerations of the Jewish voter in Presidential and Congress elections.

 

The seminar was summarized by IZS Chairman Israel Harel and JPPPI Chairman Avinoam Bar Yosef who called upon the members of the Young Leadership Program to continue their efforts for the sake of the future of the Jewish People, both in Israel and in the Diaspora. In accordance with the counsel of Gen. Ze'evi-Farkash, it was concluded that the cooperation between the JPPPI and the IZS Young Leadership Program should be strengthened.