Israel must repair its ties with world Jewry by repairing itself - opinion

For most people who grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, the place to be on Saturday isn’t synagogue – it’s a Virginia Tech football game. 

My parents, Shosh and Joseph, had different ideas for me. They raised me to be deeply connected to both Judaism and Zionism. The passion they instilled in me is what carried me through making aliyah, a long career in the Jewish world, and to earlier this month, when I officially became a member of Knesset representing Yesh Atid (B’Yachad). 

Much has been written lately in these pages about mending ties between Israel and world Jewry. Given my own personal experience and background, these issues have always been and will continue to be at the core of my work in public life.

Walking into the Knesset earlier this month, I carried with me not only the lessons my parents taught me. I carried with me what I’ve heard from the countless young Jews I have met – not just Israelis, but Jews from around the world – who care deeply about this country, but feel they don’t have a place in the conversation.

I carried with me what I’ve heard from Israelis and Jews from around the world who struggle deeply with the way this country they love rejects their way of living as non-Orthodox Jews.

But lost in much of this dialogue is what comes before talking about operative solutions to the crisis – and it is a crisis – in relations between Israel and world Jewry. We have to understand that this crisis in recent years doesn’t begin and end with this government’s direct failures on this front – and won’t be solved just by handling “Diaspora issues” differently.

Yes, there have been many such direct failures. Today, we have a Diaspora Affairs minister who thinks his job is hanging out at far-right conferences. We have a government that won’t condemn attacks on Reform synagogues lest they anger extremists in their coalition. We have a coalition that voted to impose a prison sentence for prayer at the Egalitarian Western Wall.

But discussing these failures in a vacuum misses the point. Ultimately, these examples are actually symptoms of a greater problem that is the true core of most of the challenges facing ties between Israel and world Jewry in recent years. That disease is the general divisiveness, chaos and disorder that have taken hold on this government’s watch.

Repairing ties between Israel and world Jewry in the coming years, therefore, will not only require reversing the aforementioned direct failures and charting a new course, as important as that will be. And it will require far more than taking technical steps, forming committees, or making aspirational statements.

It will require Israel fundamentally getting its house in order in a way that makes the type of damage done by this government impossible for years to come.

Simply put, those who care about the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry need to pay attention not only to the next government’s direct work in this area, but to two other key policy areas that will help lay the groundwork for long-term repair, growth, and stability in these ties.

The first is ensuring Israeli kids’ education includes not only academic excellence but instills values, among them a deep sense of belonging and understanding of their place in the Jewish people beyond Israel’s borders and acceptance of others, including Jews and non-Jews who think and practice differently.

Because when we promote the values in Israel’s Declaration of Independence – democracy, Judaism, equality, and freedom – we strengthen the foundations of Israeli society and lay the groundwork for decades of future strong ties between Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

Achieving this isn’t just a matter of adjusting curriculum, but includes key technical steps. For example, by better integrating technological tools like AI into classroom instruction, we will free up teachers to do what a good educator can: impart values and life skills.

Also, by turning 12th grade into a year focused on preparation for the army and life beyond school, we will provide greater opportunities for such values education.

Next, those same values cannot only be taught in schools – they have to be anchored in law. One of the top priorities that former prime minister Naftali Bennett has laid out for our next government is finally adopting a constitution in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence. 

Israelis and Jews around the world being confident that Israel’s democratic character is firmly anchored and that liberal values and the rule of law will always be upheld here – that is perhaps the most critical foundation for the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry.

B'Yachad's diplomatic vision

Just recently, former prime minister Yair Lapid laid out B’Yachad’s diplomatic vision alongside former prime minister Naftali Bennett. As part of that vision and as an integral element of Israel’s national resilience, he emphasized the importance of strengthening ties between Israel and world Jewry, particularly with non-Orthodox communities.

The tangible steps he laid out there – from respecting non-Orthodox Judaism to folding the Diaspora Affairs Ministry into the Foreign Ministry as well as engaging young Jews from countries worldwide as “young ambassadors” for ties between their communities and Israel – will, of course, be vital to repair the damage done to these ties in recent years. They are a must. 

But as he concluded his remarks, a smart Israeli foreign policy, including our relations with the Diaspora, begins with smart domestic policy. Anyone who cares about the future of relations between Israel and world Jewry must know that repairing those ties starts in large part with real repair at home here in Israel.

I am grateful to Lapid for the opportunity to serve, and helping bring about this repair will be my focus in Knesset as an olah who didn’t move here just to be part of Israel’s story, but to help shape it.

B’Yachad, we will fix what’s broken and get Israel back on track.