Prize winners at conference
Prize winners at conferenceHezki Ezra

The World Forum of Orthodox Judaism held it's annual conference on Wednesday in Jerusalem, honoring leading rabbis, professors and other figures for their contributions to Judaism and the Jewish nation worldwide.

The Forum, which unites synagogues and Jewish communities around the world, meets annually to discuss pressing issues for the leadership of Orthodox Judaism.

On Wednesday, a key issue raised was innovation in the Torah-observant world, and harnessing modern tools such as the internet and smartphone applications to spread Torah and Judaism to the general Jewish public.

Another point of concern was the topic of securing synagogues in Israel and around the diaspora following a skyrocketing in anti-Semitism worldwide, and the horrific Jerusalem synagogue massacre in Har Nof last November, in which four Jews were murdered at prayer by Arab terrorists, with two of them beheaded in the shocking attack.

Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau and Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz also spoke at the conference about the need for greater dialogue within the Orthodox Jewish community, and greater cooperation in confronting the various challenges to it.

At the end of the conference, prizes of recognition were awarded to Prof. Aviezri Fraenkel, Rabbi David Turgeman, Rabbi Uri Sherki and Prof. Yehuda Eisenberg, for their important activities to advance and develop the Jewish world each in their own field of expertise.

In receiving his prize, Rabbi Sherki spoke of the need for Jewish leaders to deal with the norms of Israeli society, and communicate at the highest level of national discourse in philosophy and culture.

He also noted that Rabbi Avraham Hakohen Kook zt''l, hailed as the founder of religious Zionism, stressed the importance of holiness in three spheres: the religious dimension of Judaism, in the national dimension of Zionism and the cosmopolitan dimension of communicating with the nations of the world, and that there cannot be complete holiness with any of the three lacking.

The Forum intends to hold a national conference for gabaim (synagogue managers), and to start implementing the coordination throughout the Orthodox Jewish world as discussed at the conference.