"I think the bottom line of the conference is to create unity," Rechnitz told Israel National Radio's Yishai Fleisher and Alex Traiman. "I am not talking about the overused phrase, but rather true unity - bridging the gaps not only between secular and religious society, but within the religious Zionist movement, so it can get out there and make itself known – not just at times of opposing Disengagement or at times of canvassing for votes."
Another aim of the conference, according to Rechnitz, is to remedy the one-sidedness of socio-political debate in Israeli society, which contributes to the fragmented nature of the Jewish people. "One of the problems I had, as someone from the United States, was that the Herzliya Conference was getting a lot of publicity and was looked at as the central think-tank of the State of Israel. Well, most people that I know were not invited to the Herzliya Conference – and I know people in the center, left and right. It consists strictly of one view. When you invite one view to a conference and you broadcast to the world that this is a think-tank of Israel's intellectual community – that is not a fair representation. As a matter of fact, that is called misrepresentation where I live. [This] conference extends itself to the right, center and the left. We had Haaretz journalists here yesterday, [Labor MK] Matan Vilnai was here last year - the nice thing is that everyone is accepted here in a nice spirit, in a Kiddush HaShem [sanctification of G-d's name] and there is no heckling and no insults. People agree to disagree – this is a very good forum. What I would like to see as an outcome is that this educates the settlers and the nationalist camp to the right to be able to have a forum to meet with the left in a dignified manner because every side here is at fault for the conflict and every side needs to work harder to mend those gaps.”
The conference chairman recalled hearing a lecture by veteran journalist Avi Shavit, where a particular anecdote struck a chord. Shavit had decided to visit Gaza on a Saturday morning before the Disengagement, after Gaza had already been closed to non-residents and activists were going to great efforts to evade security forces and sneak in. Shavit said that as he drove on that Sabbath, he did not pass any blockades or soldiers or police. Rechnitz said that what he took from the anecdote was that one of the greatest tragedies of Israel today is that the assumption can be made that only Sabbath-observers would care about those living in the settlements.
"The settlements were not founded as religious enterprises – but in the spirit of the pioneers," Rechnitz said. "That spirit you can only find today in the IDF - members of the national religious community, career soldiers doing it for the sake of the country. But for most of the country, [the IDF] is a stop on the way to exploring far-east countries. The tragedy is that Olmert has chosen to demonize this fantastic sector. I fear that if the religious Zionist and settlement movement doesn’t change its image by first of all uniting amongst themselves and second of all reaching out to society, that they can actually alienate themselves further."
Asked what the role is of Israel for American Jewry and vice versa, Rechnitz said he was concerned that recent events may forebode bad times for Jews of the US. "A Harvard study has just been published by two professors, and it unfortunately claims that AIPAC is such a strong lobby that it has convinced the leadership of the US to take action and vote against what would really be in their national interest. This is a dangerous precedent similar to what we saw just before the Holocaust, when they claimed that the Jews were manipulating Germany for their own good at the expense of the German people. This has hints of that. It is a dangerous accusation and we don't know yet what the implications are going to be."
The Los Angeles native added that Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) needed to be strengthened and added to the top of the American Jewish agenda. "We need to promote Jewish continuity and religious education, but we also need to promote Aliyah," he said. "Los Angeles is a community that is known for Aliyah – but not as strong as other communities, like Toronto."
Click here to hear the entire interview with Robert Rechnitz