Start Speaking Diaspora-Ish

We are all aware of the increasing dispute between Israel and the diaspora Jewry, that became much worse over the past two years with the Kotel crisis, the black list of rabbis, reform conversion and arrests of the New Israel Fund people in Israel’s airport.

There is no doubt that we are in the middle of a significant time, that will affect how our future relationship with the diaspora will look like. That’s one of the reasons, and maybe the only reason, why minister Miri Regev took back her decision to cancel Israel’s Independence Day honor for diaspora Jews.

So right before the elections to the Knesset – what are our expectations from the government in this field? 

First of all, talk about it! Whenever there’s a chance, we must bring this subject to Israel’s agenda. Make it part of the news, and the headline of the next paper.

Every year, the ministers and MKs fly to the AIPAC conference, where they only talk about everything but one message regarding the dispute. Every year they miss the great opportunity to speak with 6 million Jews that live in the US – which is almost like the number of Jews in Israel. They miss the opportunity to try and just start to reduce the damage and fix the situation. But they choose to talk about Israel’s regular issues. A waste of time. They could just stay in Israel and save those 12 hours of flight.

Over the next few weeks we will be witnessing the process of forming Israel’s new coalition, where one of the biggest decisions will be choosing the minister of diaspora. He is going to deal a big and complicated challenge – reunited the Jews around the world. The next minister needs to remember the enormous power of the Jews around the world, and their great support in Israel in endless fields.

One second before he is beginning his job, I would suggest him to imagine Israel without this support in terms of diplomacy, investments and mainly without a big, united Jewish peoplehood.

We all know that our real threat is not Iran or Hamas. Our real threat is the continuation of Jewry.

We are all aware of the ongoing discord between Israel and Diaspora Jewry, which has worsened significantly over the past two years with the Kotel crisis, the Chief Rabbinate’s blacklist of Diaspora rabbis, Reform conversions and the detaining of a senior New Israel Fund official at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.

There is no doubt that we are in the middle of a crucial period, one which will shape how our future relationship with the Diaspora. That’s one of the reasons – or maybe the only reason – why minister Miri Regev took back her decision to cancel Israel’s Independence Day honor for diaspora Jews.

So right before the elections to the Knesset – what are our expectations from the government on this issue? 

First of all, talk about it! Whenever there’s a chance, we must put this subject on Israel’s agenda. Make it part of the news, and the headline of the next paper.

Every year, ministers and MKs fly to the AIPAC conference in Washington, where they talk about everything except for the Israel-Diaspora dispute. Every year they miss the great opportunity to address the 6 million Jews who live in the US – which is as many as the number of Jews in Israel. They miss the opportunity to begin to reduce the damage and fix the situation. 
But instead, they choose to talk about Israel’s traditional issues. What a waste of time. They could just stay in Israel and save themselves the trip.

Over the next few weeks, we will be witness the process of forming Israel’s new coalition, where one of the biggest decisions will be choosing the minister of the Diaspora. That person is going to be charged with confronting an important but complex challenge – reuniting the Jewish communities around the world. The next Diaspora minister needs to remember the enormous power of the Jews around the world, and their great support for Israel in a variety of areas.

Before the next Diaspora minister takes on the job, I would suggest that he or she try to imagine Israel without the support of Diaspora Jews in terms of diplomacy, investments – and without a large, united Jewish people.

We all know that the real issue is not Hamas or Iran. The real issue is the survival of the Jewish people.