BICOM

President Reuven Rivlin called for young Israelis to improve their ties with the Jewish diaspora during his speech to the General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) yesterday.

More than 1,200 members of Jewish federations from across North America are participating in the conference titled “We Need to Talk,” the first time the event is being held in Tel Aviv. In an effort to boost ties with Jewish diaspora communities, President Rivlin called for the creation of a ‘Reverse Taglit-Birthright’ programme to help young Israelis acquaint themselves with Jewish communities abroad. “We must increase Israeli exposure to your schools, camps and communities. They must realise they have a family” he said.

Rivlin added: “The title of this GA is ‘We Need To Talk,’ and I cannot agree more. We need to talk, we have to talk, and we need to listen. We are not ‘strategic allies’; we are family. We do not have ‘shared interests’; we have a shared fate, a shared history, and a shared future – a very bright one. We cannot escape from returning to the table and re-discussing our disputes.”

Rivlin said Israel needs to cultivate more partnerships in the developing world: “Israel, with its innovative capabilities, should strive to be a significant partner in dealing with global development goals. We can do this even better, together, with the Jewish people. I think the time is ripe for a joint Jewish fund, supporting innovations that promote development goals.”

Jewish Agency chief Isaac Herzog told the conference this morning that he was “shaken to my core” by the growing rift between the two largest Jewish communities in the world, describing the crisis between Israel and American Jewry as “existential”. Herzog warned that if Israel and diaspora Jewry did not work together to mend their differences, “we are in danger of losing a significant part of the Jewish people”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the conference on Wednesday.