Blue and White chairman, Defense Minister Benny Gantz participated earlier this evening in an event marking the launch of the Declaration of Our Common Destiny, a joint initiative of Genesis Philanthropy Group and the Diaspora Affairs Ministry under the auspices of the office of the President of Israel.
The initiative aims to strengthen global Jewry worldwide by linking Jewish communities across the globe to a shared set of values, enshrined in the Declaration launched tonight.
In his address, Gantz shared that the Israeli Covid vaccine has completed phase one trials and will be entering phase two in the coming days.
He further said: “Hannukah is a holiday that tells the story of a nation in crisis, which resonates deeply in these times as well. If once upon a time, the crisis was cultural loss, the enemy a foreign ruler, and the miracle finding a flask of virgin oil, the crisis these days is the loss of social solidarity and resilience that have deteriorated in recent years, the enemy is the coronavirus, that has exacerbated the trend, and, some might suggest, that the miracle is the vaccine, but that is a grave error. Miracles don’t land on airplanes. Injections might protect against viruses, but they can’t heal the wounds inflicted by hatred and incitement. Even when the health crisis is resolved, the social crisis that began to spread here long before the virus did, will keep raging, stronger than ever. The economic crisis will be deeper, and we will need to face it strong and united. In contending with the social and political crisis we face, only worthy leadership, which has earned the public’s trust, can be effective.”
He reached out to world Jewry, saying: “Here, tonight, we chart our first steps toward a new course. There may be a lot we don’t know about the future, but this course can only take us forward. Because when we come together with openness, and a willingness to listen to each other, we are already ahead. I am so grateful to the many people and organizations contributing to this Common Destiny initiative, who are coming together to ask the right questions and to meet the needs of this moment together. My friends, we are only as strong as we are united. Beyond all our differences, we belong to one another and to the larger story of our peoplehood.”