February 12, 2008

Israel Office

• Same-Sex Couples Given Green Light for Adoption
• Israeli Mortgage Defaulters Will No Longer Be Thrown Onto the Street

SHATIL

• The Forum to Promote Micro-businesses Affects Change on the Macro-level
• SHATIL and State Comptroller’s Office Man Immigrant Hot Line

Message From Larry Garber

 As part of NIF’s Board meeting program last week in Washington, we screened a new documentary film, Eyes Wide Open, which was produced by long-time Board member Jon Lopatin, directed by Paula Weiman-Kellman and written by Stuart Schoffman.  The film depicts the differing attitudes of contemporary American Jews toward Israel, many of whom are visiting the country for the first time.  Included in the film are expressions of religious and historical fealty to the state of the Jews, but the dominant feelings among the film’s participants are varying degrees of internal conflict regarding the basis for the connection. 

The film’s presentation of a diversity of views among American Jews is consistent with recent academic research.  For example, the much cited Cohen-Kellman article raised considerable discomfort within the organized Jewish community, which remains fully committed to Israel’s future but is struggling to find a formula to connect Jews of younger generations to Israel. 

Birthright and similar programs offer a first firewall, but the challenge is deeper: Israel represents both something special for Diaspora Jews and an imperfect state.  Israel thus is a far cry from a “or l’eumim” (light unto nations), but suffers political, social and economic inequalities and an exaggerated militarism similar to those found in other contemporary democracies. 

The connectivity issue, however, is a two-way street.  Many Israelis remain ignorant or dismissive of the vibrancy of Diaspora Jewish life.  The subconscious contempt for those who have not made Aliyah, for the most part, is a relic of previous generations.  Yet, the assumption remains among many Israelis that Diaspora Jews stay where they are because they live a good life, and not because they are Jewishly fulfilled; and they support Israel financially as a hedge against another Holocaust, and not because they have specific views of what a Jewish state should be. 

The links between Israel and the Diaspora Jews must be rethought based on new paradigms.  We must nurture meaningful partnerships, which reflect an appreciation that, in today’s globalized world, exchanges of knowledge and expertise inevitably will flow in two or more directions.  

Two mundane examples from the NIF world illustrate the types of shared learning that can benefit both parties to the partnership.  Our US operations have much to learn from technological innovations that allow our Israeli colleagues to communicate among offices in different parts of the country cheaply and effectively.   Our Israeli colleagues, meanwhile, have much to learn from the increased emphasis on transparency and good governance within the US nonprofit world.  

My hope is that NIF, at both the Board and staff levels, will continue to exhibit the attributes of a true partnership.  In this manner, NIF can serve a model for other joint ventures among Israelis and Diaspora Jews, as well as for communities in other regions of the worlds that seek to create linkage across political and geographic borders.

In this week’s NIF News, we report on a major breakthrough in LGBT rights after Israel’s Attorney General ruled that same-sex couples can adopt children. And as Israel endures one of its coldest winters in decades, we report on new legislation in process in the Knesset, which will prevent mortgage banks from throwing defaulters out onto the street. SHATIL reports on a new policy that will help women starting micro-business gain financial independence.  In addition, we highlight SHATIL’s hot line for immigrants from the Former Soviet Union.