Jewish Identity on the Agenda of the Jewish Agency

A Jerusalem Post interview with Jewish Agency head and former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky

At a Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem in February, Sharansky ruffled some feathers when he said, “It can’t be our goal [just] to bring more Jewish people [to Israel].” Before aliya must come a strong Jewish identity, and with steely resolve, Sharansky set out to determine how to best invoke and strengthen a sense of Jewish identity where it’s been dormant.

“Two things happened with the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt – people who were slaves became free, and they became a people. This connection between identity and freedom – which of course is my special interest over the last 20 years – was expressed so deeply and meaningfully in the Exodus from Egypt.”

“And no doubt, there is a big need to strengthen Jewish identity in Israel. It’s interesting that Israelis who are involved in Partnership 2000 discover for themselves, for the first time, their Jewish dimensions which had been dormant for a long time. They didn’t even suspect that it was there; and these include the leaders of the programs.”

“They thought that to be Israeli is to be above being Jewish. A Jew was something that we were for thousands of years; now we are Israelis. We built the Jewish state, we defended the Jewish state, we are speaking Hebrew, we are living here – you can’t be more Jewish than that. But they’ve discovered what Jewish community means.”

“It’s one of the challenges and part of the new strategic plan of the Jewish Agency to develop courses for Israeli schools in the Jewish Diaspora. It’s a very high priority, and we currently have very good partners in the Education Ministry, with Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Director-General Shimshon Shoshani.”

For the entire interview:

http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=172404

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