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Gael Grunewald, the deputy chairman of the World Zionist Organization, head of the education department, tells Israel National News that educating the Diaspora about Israel is essential to developing a strong connection with Israel.
“The goal of our department is to spread the message of Israel all over the schools in the Diaspora and we are doing that by sending emissaries in order to bring the spirit and creation a connection between them and the State of Israel,” says Grunewald who will be at the Arutz Sheva Jerusalem Conference on May 22 in New York City.
Sending Israeli emissaries into communities in the Diaspora, especially to schools, is essential to their mission, and creates an authentic sense of Israel for Jewish children.
“Many schools want to have real Israelis,” he explains. “They bring something very special and that’s why many schools all over the world and in America want to have emissaries in order to increase the level of education and also to create a real connection between Israel and the Diaspora.”
The connection is not about right away simply encouraging aliyah but about forging a lasting spiritual connection to Israel through speaking about Israel to young Jews.
“We need to work in a smart way. We are not going to speak about aliyah, we are going to speak about Israel,” he says. “We know that by the end of the process, the children’s parents will say, ‘You know what, Israel is an option’ and we want to be sure that Israel will be an option.”
He explains that for Jews who live in South Africa who have the option to move to Australia or Jews who live in Paris, where the future is increasingly uncertain, they want to have them think about Israel and aliyah through creating a spiritual connection so that Israel will be a good option for them.
But he laments the fact that Israel is not doing enough to promote itself in Jewish communities around the world so that the connection is enhanced.
“Israel is doing but not enough, I’m very sorry to say that. We need to do more. The government has to do more but not just the government, I’m talking about Israeli society,” he says. “I’m talking about Religious Zionists, the Mizrahi, we need to do more. In the same way that this very important group in Israel knew to join the army in the past, and of course today, we need to do the same thing regarding the connection between Israel and the Diaspora.”
Click here to join JCNY 2022 - the Arutz Sheva Jerusalem Conference in NYC