Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett arrived Wednesday morning at the introductory convention for Israeli "emissaries," those that will be sent around the world in coming weeks to serve Jewish communities in need of strengthening.

"If I think of the major challenge facing world Jewry today, it's that we're losing millions of Jews [to assimilation]," Bennett emphasized to the crowd. "Few times in history has there been destruction of Jewry on the scope we are seeing: during the first Temple period, during the Holocaust, and in our current period."

"Israel, in my eyes, is not only the state of the citizens of Israel, but the state of world Jewry. Your mission is one of saving, of looking outward from the confines of the community you will be serving."

"I expect each and every one of you to work hard and think how you can save another Jew. The key lies more in your inner strength than in ideology," he added.

Bennett also shared some of his personal story: "My family also served as emissaries in the US from 1977-79. The technique that worked best was when we invited Jews to our home and they saw real life. People want to see real faces. Who you are, and not just what you represent, your behavior, your honesty - this is the most effective way to connect people to us.

"I believe in you," Bennett concluded. "The State of Israel has no greater mission. Lots of love, wish you luck."