The United Jewish Communities General Assembly is taking place in Jerusalem in honor of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. Over 2,500 delegates from Jewish Federations all over the United States joined representatives of organizations from Israel and others for four days of lectures, breakout sessions, and a choice of trips to over 60 places of interest in Israel. Optional locations included “In the path of the Patriarchs” to Gush Etzion, agriculture in the Jordan Valley, Sderot, Northern Israel after the 2nd Lebanon War, and meeting Gush Katif expellees.
Israel National News' Rochel Sylvetsky interviewed delegates at the National Convention Center in Jerusalem to find out their feelings about Israel’s achievements in 60 years, the gap between Israel’s technological progress vs. the escalation of security issues, and the debate over concessions to the Palestinian Authority. Brief video highlights of her interviews are featured below. A longer written report follows:
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The delegates had just heard President Shimon Peres’ address to the plenary in which he suggested that Israel close its eyes to its enemies’ faults and agree to concessions in order to make an attempt at peace. He compared this to a husband who shuts his eyes to his spouse’s failings so that they can build a home together. A random survey of delegates found that they did not accept Peres' words at face value and while they did not offer solutions, they were more cautious about insuring Israel’s safety.
President of Israel Shimon Peres to GA: We must close our eyes to make peace
Former IDF Commander in Chief, Moshe “Bogey” Yaalon, who spoke at a packed symposium afterwards, may have affected their opinions. He claimed that Iran, Hamas and Hizballah act rationally only with regard to their own survival and exhorted the West to use political and economic sanctions as well as the threat of military operations, which Israel might have to do alone, against Iran. Iran, he claimed, is already waging a proxy war against Israel via the latter two terrorist organizations.
A delegate from Tennessee claimed that one cannot impose peace, and that each side must desire peace in order to achieve it. The delegate said that Israel’s medical aid to Arabs could serve as an example of learning to accept Israel’s positive contributions to the region.
Andy Weinstein of Dallas, Texas, would not dictate policy to Israel, but was adamant that the first priority must be that Israel’s children are secure and safe in their homes.
Rabbi Joseph Blau of Yeshiva University, New York, felt that Israel must worry about its security first but try to find a way to have less conflicts in the coming sixty years.
Shira, a vivacious college student from Syracuse, New York, has just finished a year in Israel and is working in the US for Pardes Institute. She claims that many students find Israel safer than their hometowns so that this is not an issue in planning to spend time in the Jewish State. The security situation is too complicated for her to address, but she feels that American Jews who love Israel cannot even imagine giving up parts of the country.
Aya Goldberg, from Louisville, Kentucky is spending her husband’s sabbatical year here. She thought that the 2005 disengagement from Gush Katif was the right thing to do until she saw the results and is now against concessions to the Arabs. Her heart goes out to those expelled from Gush Katif, but she admits that her life is not affected by the plight of Sderot.
Rabbi Shonbrun, head of a 300-family Conservative congregation in Miami, Florida, proudly stated that three of his children have immigrated to Israel and that one of them started army service in the IDF Golani brigade this week. He wants to see a strong Israel. “What would happen”, he asked, “if Canada bombarded the US with rockets. We all know the answer. We can’t let our neighbors push us around.”
The GA ends on November 19, with a plenary on Tikkun Olam: Israel and the World after a session with Professor Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, and Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud party and former Prime Minister. The UJC plans to have more of its General Assemblies in Israel, to see from up close the results of its work and in order to help the Israeli economy.