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Friday November 21, 1997

Will Israel celebrate 50th without diaspora at party?

Avraham Burg

The closer we get to Israel's 50th birthday, the more likely it seems that we may attend this party without a date. Western, particularly American, Jewry -- our steady companion over the past five decades -- may sit this one out at home.

For a protracted period, we have sadly watched diaspora Jewry grow further and further away from Israel in light of political and economic developments. In that context, the strife of the last few weeks -- during which an unyielding religious establishment in Israel has thwarted attempts to reach a compromise that would enable all of the major streams of Judaism to find equal expression within Israeli law -- has brought about a most serious threat to the unity of the Jewish people.

More and more voices are calling for diaspora Jewry, which has been a steady and trustworthy partner since the birth of Israel, to reconsider the historic covenant of mutual commitment.

In the 50 years since Israel was established, world Jewry has stood by its side in moments of excitement and joy, just as in fear and anxiety. It hasn't always been easy. Often, Israel has been a stubborn and willful partner, difficult to understand and to make understand. But never before have the Jews of the world seen these "lovers' quarrels" as a reason to give up and let Israel manage on its own.

Now, for the first time, and I say this with the deepest regret, there are voices calling for an end to the Israel-diaspora partnership.

Meanwhile, there are other voices calling for courses of action that to my mind are just as irrelevant. A noted American newspaper columnist, a supporter of Israel whom I consider a friend, recently suggested that American Jews should stop contributing to the central United Jewish Appeal federated campaign for Israel. Instead, the columnist wrote, they should put their money into smaller, single-interest movements in Israel, in an effort to influence the nature of Israeli society.

This reflects a basic misunderstanding of our society. The battle for Israel is not the battle for small changes; it is the battle for the big agenda. And the only way for American Jewry to enjoy real religious and social influence over the fabric of Israeli society is through a concerted, collective effort that can exert real, concerted pressure.

The United Jewish Appeal, and the Jewish Agency for Israel -- the major arm through which it operates in Israel -- work exactly along the lines that my columnist friend and so many other American Jews want: in support of the new immigrants in their first steps in Israeli society, the closing of educational and social gaps, the settlement of outlying regions and the furthering of Jewish education.

The Jewish Agency is also the only organization in Israel in which all of the religious streams of Judaism work harmoniously together, from a worldview of cooperation and mutual respect. No other organization has doubled its outlay for religious tolerance in this budgetary year alone, and has committed itself to raise tens of millions of dollars for this cause in the coming year.

A boycott of the central campaign, therefore, would be self-defeating. To the contrary, these are days in which to enhance your spiritual investment in Israel by joining forces to help build the Israel you would like to see.

At the Jewish Agency, we are attempting to rewrite the agenda of collective responsibility, offering a genuine partnership in shaping the future of the Jewish people. Together we are seeking answers to the question: How can the Jewish people survive without an external enemy? This is the great challenge for the 21st century.

And together we have every reason in the world to succeed. After all, who would have believed 50 years ago that Israel's population of 600,000 would become 5 million, with major accomplishments in almost every field of human endeavor? Who would have believed a decade ago that we would have been able to rescue and absorb over three-quarters of a million Jews from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and every other location where there was a need?

I hope and pray that we will celebrate our 50th independence day together, and not only with a party. More importantly, I extend an "invitation for involvement" to Jewry in Israel and the diaspora to be full partners in our collective efforts to build an Israel that is more open, more pluralistic, tolerant and democratic.

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