“Although politically we do not belong to Israel, spiritually and culturally we are of the body of Israel,” British Chief Rabbi Israel Brodis declared today at a reception tendered him by the British Mizrachi Federation. “Religion, as we understand it, serves as a binding force that links the Jew in the Diaspora with Israel,” he added.
Declaring that recent events in Palestine affected Jews throughout the world and helped to bring about a “normalization of Jewish life,” Chief Rabbi Brodis warned that such a normalization cannot be regarded as an aim in itself. “However normal may become our national attributes, our distinctiveness as a people will be recognized by the peoples of the world only insofar as the state of Israel is based on the eternal values of Judaism,” he said. “We in the Diaspora will always look to Israel for guidance.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
