"Just days before a critical election for a new prime minister and government of Israel… we celebrated the holiday of Purim, where [the hero] Mordechai is described as seeking peace for his people," said Conference Chairman Robert Rechnitz of Los Angeles. "What a wondrous way to describe a politician - especially compared with those we see today, who seek their personal betterment in exchange for nothing but talk and sweet words. How many times have we been disappointed by leaders who give us nice words, but do not match them with actions."
Rechnitz said he hoped the conference would herald new initiatives that would guide Israel's leadership and build bridges in an increasingly fractured Israel. "We must use this opportunity to remedy the alienation between religious and secular Jews in Israel. It is OK to talk about concessions, but not painful concessions. Our people have a monopoly on pain, and the concessions we should be engaging in should be within our people - to bridge gaps between brothers."
Click here to listen to IsraelNationalRadio's show live from the Jerusalem Conference, including interviews with Rabbi Pesach Lerner, journalist Dan Margalit, and others.
The Monday morning session was entitled, "The Jewish People - Thoughts and Challenges for the Next 25 Years."
"We have not thought about this enough," said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, who chaired the plenum. "People are so preoccupied with demographics that they have forgotten about the central issue of keeping Israel a Jewish State in all the critical and necessary ways, beyond mere numeric dominance. Does the State of Israel have to ask itself how its actions will affect Jews living outside the State of Israel? What do we do so as not to lose the Jews of the Diaspora to intermarriage? Is that within our purview? All these questions are hardly addressed in a serious manner, but I think they are more important than what Israel's borders will be – though some think that is the most important question. "
Amidror recalled a meeting he had with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, in which Kissinger told him, "You have to remember that the United States can live without Israel, but American Jewry cannot."
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (pictured), former Chief Rabbi of Israel and current Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, took the podium next, quoting the Biblical prophet Bilaam, who said Israel is a nation that will dwell alone. "We usually view this as sad and fatalistic," Rabbi Lau said. "Sometimes Micronesia votes with Israel, France once did, but usually everyone votes against us. The Netziv of Volozhin said this verse should be punctuated properly. The real meaning is that 'They are a nation that when alone - dwells.' As long as this nation retains its character, it will remain. But when it mixes and loses its portion, it will lose its ability to remain."
Rabbi Lau then focused on what he views as the main crisis facing the Jewish people – the disintegration of the Diaspora Jewry. "The Jews of the Diaspora are like gold to us," he said. "And it is not the money or the bonds or the trees. But to this day, what have we given them in return - beyond our existence, which is very valuable in and of itself? How many emissaries have we sent? Not to ask for money, but as emissaries? How many of our generals and notables have we sent to Jewish schools – which are the only hope for the continuity of the Diaspora - to show them that Jewish continuity is important to Israel? Press conferences and parlor meetings are well and good, but to sit on a stool with children in the first grade who only know a few Hebrew words is what is important. 85% of the Jews in the Diaspora have never been to Israel. If there is no education and no basis then that is no surprise. Our problem is that we don't reach out enough to the Diaspora. We talk about immigration, but not about building schools there."
Lau then took out a graph he says he carries with him always:
"In the 1990s, from 1990-1997, two Jewish statisticians, Gordon and Horowitz, conducted a comprehensive survey of US Jewry from coast to coast. They sought to determine what happens in the Jewish community. They divided it into five groups – secular, reform, conservative, modern orthodox and yeshiva orthodox. Their model was to see how many out of 100 Jews remain Jewish after three generations. The results were: 72% of secular Jews intermarried, with the rest having an average of 1.62 children – leaving five Jews out of 100 in the fourth generation. 53% of Reform Jews intermarried, having an average of 1.72 children – leaving 13 Jewish in the fourth generation. 37% of Conservative Jews intermarried, having an average of 1.82 children and leaving 24 Jews remaining in the fourth generation. Just 3% of Modern Orthodox Jews intermarried, bearing an average of 3.27 children and expanding to 346 Jews in the fourth generation. Yeshiva Orthodox had the same level of intermarriage at Modern Orthodox, but had an average of 6.4 children and were therefore 2,587 in number in the fourth generation."
"As many mistakes as there could be in the study, the trends are clear," Rabbi Lau concluded. "What do we worry about while this is going on? Nonsense and vanity. And it is happening in the United States, with wonderful schools and Bnei Akiva and Chabad. What can we do as Jews when we say we are responsible for one another? Our brothers and sisters are being lost before our eyes. What can we do so that this candle will not be extinguished?"
Veteran Israeli journalist Dan Margalit spoke after Rabbi Lau, largely taking issue with his conclusions. "The Jewish people are dissipating in the world," he said. "I think in 25 years, there will be no debate with [Arab MK] Ahmed Tibi regarding the Law of Return because there won't be quantities of Jewish people outside Israel enough for it to be relevant. In the atmosphere of globalization and the war of civilizations, the Jewish people will continue to shrink."
Margalit said that this pessimistic assessment need not necessarily be combated via strengthening Jewish life in the exile. "What are we doing to have Israel be the Jewish State and not the state of the Jews?" Margalit asked. "How and why would it be a Jewish state if the Jews of the Diaspora do not come live in it? Unless it will be the state of the Jews, Israel's chances of being a Jewish state are negligible. As you know, there is a danger to the Jewish majority in the State of Israel, as well... If we have a critical mass of Jewish people in the State of Israel, then it will become a Jewish state.
"We cannot preserve the Diaspora, but [we can only preserve] enclaves for a certain number of generations. There is a need for a great breakthrough among the Jewish leadership in the Diaspora. It is necessary for them to draw the conclusion that there is nothing to look for in New York and that they have to go to the land of the Jews. I am afraid that leadership does not exist right now."
Margalit then offered an alternative solution whereby Israel would continue to build walls, fortify them and launch a recruitment effort to accept anyone in the world who wants to undergo a simplified conversion. "I don't know what it says in Jewish Law about conversion... but I think that those who can, should find a way to increase the Jewish people via a mass conversion effort."
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the Young Israel movement, agreed with Rabbi Lau about the importance of education, suggesting that widespread educational projects focus on educating youngsters about the Land of Israel. "We must spend some time teaching Jews in the Diaspora about the Land of Israel – the history, the geography, the mitzvoth [commandments]. How many people know where Judea and Samaria is or what the distance from Gaza to Ben-Gurion airport is? If we could find creative ways to teach a connection to the Land of Israel - that will be a foundation to stay connected. We talk about college students who don't care. They don't care because they don't know the difference between the Land of Israel and Uganda."
Former Prisoner of Zion and current Likud MK Natan Sharansky addressed the conference, taking strong issue with Margalit's suggestion to pursue mass conversion. "When I was in Russia I heard a Soviet functionary speak about how Israel made its great efforts to bring immigrants to Israel in order that they could act as cannon fodder to fight the Palestinians. I knew then that it was a lie, and was filled with pride that the Jewish State goes to the ends of the earth to gather the exiles," Sharansky said. "But now, a good Israeli comes and says, 'We need cannon fodder – we need bodies – and let's take whoever is willing to come' – like a football team. This is Soviet propaganda standing on its head. And these are the finest people in Israel suggesting this."
Monday and Tuesday's sessions focus mainly on political and social issues, while the third day of the conference will be dedicated solely to all matters pertaining to the city of Jerusalem. “This conference is being held in Jerusalem and one of its roles is to encourage and strengthen our Jerusalem,” said Conference organizer Yehuda Oliva.
Sponsored by Arutz-7's sister newspaper B'Sheva, the conference is taking place at the Regency Hotel (formerly the Hyatt), located in eastern Jerusalem. Oliva says that the location of the conference is in itself a statement. “It says that we see Jerusalem as one united whole,” he said.
The Regency is also where Moledet Party founder and Tourism Minister Rehavam (Gandhi) Ze'evi was murdered in 2001. Ze'evi's killers were apprehended from a posh Jericho prison by the IDF last week following intelligence information indicating they were to be released.
As in past years, simultaneous translation into English is available throughout the entire conference through headsets made available at the door. The conference can also be viewed live by clicking here. On the broadcast page, click "English" in the right column for simultaneous translation.
[Viewers should be able to see the live video while hearing the English translation. If you encounter difficulties, try toggling from Hebrew to English broadcast until you get the picture with the English sound.]
Click here to see the conference schedule.