Just a few hundred yards separate the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and cabinet room from the Jerusalem headquarters of the Jewish People Policy Institute, the clumsily-named think tank set up in 2002 by the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency for Israel. Judging by a pair of recent blue-ribbon reports from the two offices on Israel’s relationship with…
(JTA) — Its leaders call it a “historic development,” a “paradigm shift” and a “change in the relationship” between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. But when it comes to the details of the Joint Initiative of the Government of Israel and World Jewry, key questions have yet to be answered — including what it will do…
“This is a revolution in the State of Israel’s relationship with the Diaspora,” said Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett of the Israeli cabinet’s decision to approve the “Joint Initiative of the Government of Israel and World Jewry” in Jerusalem today. The initiative, launched by Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aims to enhance…
It is almost a cliché to say that Passover is the family holiday for Jews (our Thanksgiving, if you will). It’s when we get to sit at the same table with our loved ones, who also happen to be the ones that can be oh-so exasperating. It is a fascinating tradition where we tell a…
More than 1,000 Diaspora rabbis called on Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to withdraw his support for Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, known for his anti-Arab stances, as chief rabbi of the city. The rabbis, including the leaders of the major non-Orthodox Jewish movements and the head of the New Israel Fund, sent the letter to Barkat on…
Getty Images Yesterday in these pages Mira Sucharov explored the concept of qualified Diaspora Jewish citizenship in Israel. She was responding to Naftali Bennett’s floating of the idea (he called it “semi-citizenship”), but she seems open to the notion. However vague, both Bennett and Sucharov meant more than just the ability of ex-pats to vote…
Supporters of Naftali Bennett celebrate in Tel Aviv in 2013. / Getty Images When I heard that the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency were spearheading a three-day “Online Brainstorming Marathon to Plan the Future of the Jewish People,” the international crowdsourcing initiative instantly grabbed my attention. Partly, it was because I’d heard that Israel’s…
(JTA) Israeli Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said that Jews outside Israel “should have some sort of say” in the Israeli government’s affairs, and even suggested offering “semi-citizenship” to Diaspora Jews. The vague concept is related to the so far somewhat undefined $1 billion-plus project that has been picking up steam this week….
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