Israel will begin its celebrations for Diaspora Week this coming Sunday, offering an extravaganza of events to highlight the unique bond the Jewish state shares with its Jewish brethren abroad.
Among these events will be a summit with the President, a gala celebration in Jerusalem, free museum visits, and a series of educational events for Israeli students and IDF soldiers, emphasizing the theme of Jewish peoplehood.
The week is being organized by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs along with several other ministries and organizations.
“World Jewry is our flesh and blood. Today more than ever we can see how important this connection is, as well as the critical need for mutual support among the two parts of the Jewish people,” said Diaspora Minister Dr. Nachman Shai (Labor) said.
“We need to underline the importance of these ties the whole year round and celebrate them during Diaspora Week. The events this year are truly a celebration and so I invite everyone to take part and take the opportunity to get to know our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora.”
The week will start on Sunday, April 3, with an event at the President’s Residence with President Isaac Herzog, Minister Shai, and Jewish leaders from around the Diaspora who will hold a discussion on the nature and importance of Israel - Diaspora ties.
The gala event of Diaspora Week will be staged on Monday evening at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem with Noa Tishbi hosting. It will feature the Tikva Shesh band, along with singers Esther Rada and Idan Yaniv.
Minister Shai will meet up with young Israelis at a bar or two to chat with them about the importance of the global Jewish community to the Jewish state, accompanied by former Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky.
In addition, five hundred Israeli high school graduates will hike together with five hundred of their fellow Jewish students from the Diaspora along the Israel National Trail to get to know each other better and understand each other’s mutual backgrounds.
There will also be a series of educational initiatives designed to expose Israeli school pupils and soldiers to the importance of Israel’s ties with its Jewish brothers and sisters overseas.
Young Israelis who have served as emissaries abroad, staff from the Jewish Agency, and olim (new immigrants) will speak with school pupils around the country about Jewish communities abroad.
Pre-military academies will hold seminars on Jewish peoplehood for their students; young Jews from overseas on educational trips in Israel will visit IDF soldiers and officer cadets to talk with them about Jewish leadership; lone soldiers will tell their comrades about living as a Jew in the Diaspora; and the National Service program will hold seminars on Jewish peoplehood for the young Israeli women serving in this framework.
During the course of the week, the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv will be open to the public free of charge, while teacher training courses on the concept of Jewish peoplehood will be held there as well.
Free tours will be offered at the Herzl Museum in Jerusalem and on Mount Herzl with a focus on the Israel - Diaspora relationship and Jewish peoplehood.
“Diaspora Week this year is taking place in the shadow of a harsh and complex war. Ukrainian Jewry is experiencing upheaval, while Jews from around the world are taking up the challenge to assist tens of thousands of Jews who are in need of help,” said Ministry of Diaspora Affairs Director General attorney Tziona Koenig-Yair.
“For Diaspora Week this year we want to emphasize and show appreciation for this special relationship within the Jewish people, a connection which crosses continents and which underlines the fact that the Jewish people is stronger than ever and is able to assist its brothers and sisters at any time and in any place, in times of crisis and in more routine times as well.”
Diaspora Week is organized by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, together with the Office of the President, the Ministry of Education, the IDF, AM”I, Masa, the Jewish Agency for Israel, ANU Museum, and other organizations.