The government committee on Israel-Diaspora relations declared this week in its first meeting that Israel still had a role in offering “spiritual” rescue to world Jewry.
After World War II, Israel provided a “physical” rescue for Jewish refugees from the Holocaust, said Rabbi Yehuda Amital, the minister without portfolio who head the committee.
Today, Israel can help Diaspora Jews find answers to questions about their spiritual identity, the rabbi said.
Other committee members include: Yossi Beilin, minister without portfolio in the Prime Minister’s Office; Ehud Barak, foreign minister; Yair Tsaban, absorption minister; Uzi Baram, tourism minister; Shulamit Aloni, communications minister; Shimon Shetreet, religious affairs minister; Avraham Burg, Jewish Agency chairman; and Ehud Olmert, mayor of Jerusalem.
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.
