President Reuven Rivlin used the state memorial observance for Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for a call to renew and update the alliance between the State of Israel and the Jews of North America.
Rivlin noted that Ben-Gurion signed an historic agreement with United States Jewish leader Jacob Blaustein two years after the establishment of the modern Jewish state which recognized the loyalties of the two communities to their own countries without pressure to immigrate to Israel and non-interference in local political decisions. Rivlin said, "For almost seventy years, this agreement formed the framework of understandings between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. This agreement was the bridge on which strong and firm relations were built between the State of Israel and the largest Jewish community in the Diaspora.”
Reflecting on his recent trip to address the Jewish Federations of North America, he continued, "Almost seventy years after that historic agreement, here, above Ben-Gurion's tomb, the time has come to declare: It is time for a renewed alliance, for a common language, between Israel and the Diaspora before we are too late." He explained that both communities have changed and concluded, “Therefore, we must embark on a new path: no longer a relationship of charity, but a shared commitment to justice, to Jewish and human mutual responsibility. No longer with the silencing of mutual criticism, but with courageous and sincere openness. No longer with idealization, but with a true partnership based on a really knowing each other, and on agreed-upon institutions to solving problems, and to establish a common policy. This we will honor the memory of David Ben-Gurion, and do justice to his legacy."