The perennial issue of relations between Israel and diaspora Jewry was one of the main themes of the second International Young Leadership Assembly convened at a tranquil retreat near Sdom on the Dead Sea.
The idea expressed by the young — relatively — spokespersons from Israel and the United States was to hold their dialogue in peaceful surroundings away from the clamor of everyday life and, symbolically, beyond the reach of the “Jewish establishments” of Israel and America.
But as Ehud Olmert, a young Likud Knesset member who delivered the opening speech to the Assembly, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “One cannot avoid the Establishment altogether but the idea is to stay away from the political parties and that principle was observed.”
The organizers of the assembly, most of whom could be described as the “social elite” of the Israeli and American Jewish communities, are by virtue of their own positions, representatives of the Establishment.
They received a $35,000 grant from Jewish Agency chairman Leon Dulzin to cover the costs of the conference. They announced that next month they will hold the founding session of the “Israel Forum” that will consist of a 30-member council, an II-member executive and a president — a model if there ever was one of an establishment organization.
The Israeli participants in the Assembly included prominent personalities such as singer Shlomo Artzi, poet Alma Elyagon, businessmen Yom Rosenfeld and David Kolitz and lddo Disenchick, an editor of Maariv. Among the Americans were Steve Greenberg of New York, Carl Kaplan of Washington, Michael Adler of Miami, Brian Lurie of San Francisco and Marshal Breger, President Reagan’s advisor on Jewish affairs.
Olmert spoke of the centrality of the State of Israel, of the need to end the imbalance in relations between Israel and the diaspora. The participants agreed there was a wide gap between the Israelis and Americans with respect to the future of the Jewish people.
‘A NEW GENERATION OF JEWS’
The Israelis see the ultimate solution for the Jewish people as immigration to Israel. The Americans insisted that the diaspora is a fact of life. Both groups agreed that on this crucial subject there is no agreement.
An Israeli speaker, Brig. Gen. (res.) Nehemya Dagan, a veteran Air Force pilot, recalled that visits to the Jewish communities in Australia and the United Kingdom convinced him that neither Israel nor the diaspora could exist without each other.
The Assembly originated when contacts were made by Israelis with a group of activists among the young leadership of the United Jewish Appeal. This led to the first Young Leadership Assembly in Israel. The participants in the second Assembly expressed hope that stronger ties will develop from personal contacts made, most important of all, the business contacts. Kolitz noted that several large-scale business transactions resulted from the first Assembly.
“It is a new generation of Jews,” said Olmert describing the gathering. “The older generation on both sides of the ocean is gradually leaving the scene and these people will eventually lead the Jewish people.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
