\u201cIsraeli public discourse has virtually no interest in Diaspora Jewry,\u201d explained a statement by Community\u2019s co-creators, the Gesher Leadership Institution and the Diaspora Affairs Ministry. \u201cThe predominant view in Israel is that Diaspora Jewry is obligated to support and invest in the State of Israel, and while we take note of our Diaspora brethren in times of tragedy, familiarity with the world of values and challenges that face Diaspora communities is virtually nonexistent.\u201d
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The project sets out to change this.
Its third delegation returned last month from Los Angeles, where they visited Jewish schools and college campuses, and met with community members, leaders and rabbis. Each Community project is comprised of 10 meetings with approximately 20 participants each, and includes an in-depth visit to Jewish communities outside Israel. Thus far, two groups have visited the US and one visited South Africa.
\u201cWhat happens in Israel very much impacts Jews in the Diaspora, and we need to be aware of that \u2013 and most Israelis aren\u2019t,\u201d said executive director of Gesher Ilan Geal-Dor.
Gesher, together with the Diaspora Ministry, set out to provide encounters with world Jewry to Israelis and expose them to the challenges they face. \u201cIt\u2019s not us and them,\u201d he emphasized, explaining that by introducing these ideas to journalists and opinion makers, they hope it will, in turn, influence public discourse about issues such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, assimilation and Israel\u2019s impact on the Diaspora.
\u201cFor most people it\u2019s something very new on their radar,\u201d the Diaspora Affairs Ministry\u2019s senior director of Diaspora affairs, Hagay Elitzur, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. \u201cMost people say they weren\u2019t aware of this topic at all, or didn\u2019t think it was an important issue.\u201d
Indeed, this was the case for Yisrael Hayom columnist Emily Amrousi, who is taking part in the current sessions. \u201cI have no family in the Diaspora, and I didn\u2019t have any knowledge about it,\u201d she told the Post, confessing that she was guilty of \u201crejecting the Diaspora\u201d and that the only thing that initially attracted her to the project was the offer of a free flight to Los Angeles.
\u201cI thought that I have nothing to say to anyone who doesn\u2019t make aliya,\u201d Amrousi said candidly, explaining that she is very Zionist and it was \u201cclear to her that there was only one center for Jews\u201d \u2013 Israel.
Now, halfway through the program and following the visit to Los Angeles, Amrousi has expanded her horizons and opened her mind. Having met and conversed with a variety of US Jews and having had a glimpse into their lives, she has learned to accept the concept of a Diaspora Jewish life.
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s OK that there will be several centers for Jews,\u201d she reflected.
Amrousi is a religious Jew and was impressed by the egalitarian approach of a synagogue she visited in Los Angeles.
\u201cI saw a more equal approach to women there,\u201d she said.
Amrousi is someone who has also been very clear in her mind that the only definition of a Jew that counts is the one according to Halacha, Jewish religious law. But her recent experiences and encounters have moved her to question that. Recounting her meeting with a pro-Israel student who has a Jewish father, she explained that her eyes were opened to a much wider pool of people who identify with Israel and the Jewish nation \u2013 beyond those who fit that halachic definition.
\u201cSuddenly, there are more people who are part of the family,\u201d she said, opining that it\u2019s important to reopen the question of \u201cWho is a Jew?\u201d Amrousi also believes the subject should not be referred to as \u201cDiaspora,\u201d but rather as the \u201cJewish nation.\u201d \u201cThe topic of diaspora doesn\u2019t interest our readers, because we speak about someone else, that is not us,\u201d she explained. \u201cIf I want to interest our readers, then we need to change the concept. We need to talk about the Jewish nation \u2013 that\u2019s also us. \u201cIt\u2019s not us and them \u2013 it\u2019s one big story.\u201d
The program \u2013 which included Jews across the entire spectrum of society \u2013 enabled participants to break down barriers, not just overseas, but also back at home. Tirza Zisman, editor-in-chief of Channel 2\u2019s 6 with Oded Ben-Ami, overcame the stigmas she associated with haredim (ultra-Orthodox). She spent the last Shabbat being hosted at a haredi home, having become close friends with three ultra-Orthodox men who participated in the project.
\u201cI didn\u2019t know their way of life,\u201d she told the Post, explaining that she had preconceptions about them, such as the exclusion of women in their culture.
While she had these opinions about other sectors of society in Israel, she simply did not think about Jews in the rest of the world before participating in the Community project.
\u201cIt made me see something I didn\u2019t even look at before,\u201d she said. After having been hosted at Jewish home in Los Angeles, Zisman has a newfound appreciation for Diaspora Jewry, admiring the way they hold tight to their identity despite the challenges of doing so in a non-Jewish country. \u201cI saw how important it is to help them preserve their Judaism, because it\u2019s not easy,\u201d she said, pointing to the difficulty of observing the Jewish holidays abroad, or simply holding on to your identity, despite the fact that \u201cit\u2019s not so popular to be Jewish.\u201d
Cinema and TV director Daniel Syrkin came to the program with a different perspective as a Russian immigrant. The program allowed him to further explore a subject in which he had always been interested. \u201cIsrael is very important to them [Diaspora Jews] and Israel cannot ignore the influence it has on Jews around the world.
\u201cUS Jews want an Israel they can love and can be proud of,\u201d he said, having been struck by the passion for Israel he witnessed in the Jews he met in Los Angeles, whether from the Left or Right, religious or secular. Having grown up scanning the credits for Jewish names, an encounter with Hollywood Jews was of particular interest for Syrkin. He noted that even there, where people tend to be rather cynical, he witnessed this attachment to Israel. For instance, he met with Creative Artist Agency\u2019s Adam Berkowitz and saw his eyes \u201clight up\u201d when the conversation turned to Israel. \u201cEven among the most cynical people,\u201d Syrkin said, he found this connection between Jews and Israel both moving surprising.
\u201cIt makes you understand that we have to be a light unto the nations,\u201d he said, stating that Israel had not yet finished its task of building the ideal society. \u201cThey love us and because we are the state of all the Jews we also owe them something.\u201d
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