The WCJCS held its annual June seminar in Jerusalem on June 20th, 2010 in conjunction with the Jewish Agency for Israel's annual Assembly.
The goal of this timely seminar was to identity those issues that create tensions between Israel and World Jewry as well as tensions within Israel and within Diaspora Jewish Communities. The session went beyond recent flotilla headlines and the political divisions over such matters as a two-state solution and Jerusalem and addressed the issue of religious pluralism and conversion; the nature and character of a Jewish state; Jewish Identity and the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.
The successful session was attended by over 250 communal professionals and JAFI Assembly delegates and was moderated by Steve Schwager, Executive Vice President & CEO of JDC who also serves as President of the WCJCS. Prof. Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, made a thought provoking and insightful keynote presentation dealing with the complexity of the issues. In addition, a global perspective was provided by:
Jerry Silverman, President & CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America
Barbara Spectre, Founding Director of Paideia: European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden
Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Dean of the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.
Their responses highlighted how these issues are being played out both within various Jewish communities as well as how they affect communities' relationship with Israel. After a round of challenging questions from the audience, Ted Comet, Executive Vice President of the WCJCS provided a closing summary. |
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