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| The Future of the Jewish People |
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This summer, 120 Jewish leaders gathered for three days in Jerusalem for the first-ever
‘Conference on the Future of the Jewish People.’ As with most Jewish conventions, there
was a lot of eating, and schmoozing, and picture-taking, a lot of speeches, and arguing and
yelling. It’s not exactly clear what was decided at the conference – it’s a miracle if 120
Jews could agree on anything!
For some strange reason, I never got an invitation to attend the conference; I’m sure
there was some mix-up at the Post Office.
Since I can’t report on the actual meetings, I’d like to present my own report on the
State of the Jews and Judaism today. This is the Conference not as it happened, but as I imagine it.
Day One
We’d start out with a Demographer, Professor Sergio Della Pergola reporting on our numbers.
He’d tell us that there are 13 million Jews in the world, today. Back in 1938, there were 7
Jews per every thousand people in the world; after the Holocaust, we were at 4.7. Today –
for every thousand people – only two are Jews.
Of the 13 million Jews, 5.4 million live in Israel, and 5.3 live in the US. There are
another 2 and a quarter million Jews scattered throughout the rest of the world.
In the countries of the European Union, there are about a million Jews. France, a nation of
60 million, is home to half a million Jews. But it is also home to six million Muslims. In
recent years, French Jews have become targets of anti-Semitism, the most horrible case being the
kidnapping, torture and murder of a young Jewish man. France’s Chief Rabbi even advised religious
Jews not to wear a Kippah in public. A growing number of Jews are buying homes in Israel –
just in case things become intolerable.
In the United Kingdom, there are almost 300,000 Jews. There too, there’s a growing immigrant
Muslim population. Perhaps more ominous is the anti-Israel sentiment, which culminated in the
Association of University Teachers’ boycott of all Israeli academics because they view the Jewish
state as racist, and London’s mayor making anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments.
Germany has 118,000 Jews – many immigrants from the former Soviet Union. There is a small but
virulent group of anti-Jewish extremists, and much latent anti-Semitism. For example, it is
routine for some German soccer fans to call the opposing team “Juden.”
There are almost 350,000 Jews living in the former Soviet Union. Jews lived under Communism
for 70 years without freedom to practice Judaism. When the Soviet Union collapsed, many of
the most committed Jews moved to Israel, or the West. Those that remained were often products
of intermarriage and assimilation. There are three very different philosophies of what to do
for this population. Zionists believe they should be vigorously encouraged to make Aliyah.
Their numbers will strengthen Israel, while the Jewish state will strengthen their Jewish identity.
Some Orthodox groups, most notably Chabad, want to minister to them where they are, and in doing
so, help to rebuild the once vibrant religious Jewish communities that were wiped out in the
Holocaust. A third approach is less concerned about Zionism or Judaism, and only wishes to see
these Jews live as they choose – wherever and however.
There are some 70,000 Jews still living in South Africa, down from 114,000 in the 1960’s.
Will this community feel secure as a minority within the white minority, and with a raging
AIDS epidemic all around them?
There are almost 400,000 Jews in South and Central America, the majority in Argentina and Brazil.
Jews face the pervasive culture of the Catholic Church, the growing assertiveness of Evangelical
Christians, and a growing Arab population.
And believe it or not, there are at least 10,000 Jews living in Iran. They are generally left
alone to practice their religion; trouble brews whenever they get involved with Israel. One can
only shudder at what would become of this community if Israel were to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities.
Day One of the conference would end with serious questions about the future of more than 2 million
Jews, from South America, to England and France, to Russia and Ukraine, to South Africa and Iran.
Are these Jews in physical danger? Should they be encouraged to get out while they can, or s
hould world Jewry’s resources be to strengthen and maintain their communities?
On Day Two of our conference on the future of the Jewish People, the focus shifts to Israel.
In the morning we hear a lecture that explains that Israel is a nation made up of five very
different tribes, each one about a million strong. Each tribe has a very different culture,
background and philosophy; how these tribes co-exist is the key to the future of the State of Israel.
The first tribe are the Russians. These are people who came to Israel with the collapse of the
Soviet Union. They are, by and large, highly educated, committed to Western Culture and are very
secular. They bring from Russia their affinity for Christmas trees and pork products. A
significant number of them are technically not even Jewish, being the products of intermarriage.
When one of these Russians falls in battle defending Israel, he cannot be buried in a Jewish
military cemetery. But because the Orthodox Rabbinate is not willing to encourage conversion,
many in this community are doomed to stay on the fringes of Israeli society.
The second tribe are Israeli Arabs. These are not the Palestinians who live in Gaza or
the West Bank; they are Israeli citizens, living in Israel proper, since 1948. They
constitute one-fifth of the population. In many ways, they identify with their Arab brothers
and sisters throughout the Middle East, yet they enjoy the privileges and bear many of the burdens
of Israeli citizenship. They are not, however, expected to serve in the Army, and are viewed with
suspicious eyes by many Israeli Jews who wonder how loyal they really are. At the same time, you
can imagine their ambivalence every time they see their country’s flag with its Jewish Star, or
hear their national anthem, with its lyrics speaking of the 2,000 year old dream of the Jewish
people to return to Zion and Jerusalem.
The third tribe are the Haredim – the Ultra-Orthodox. They are non-Zionists. They accept or
participate in the functioning of the secular State of Israel because of the benefits they receive
from it. They do not serve in the Army. They have very large families. The men, if possible, don’t
work or contribute to the economy, but gravitate to a life of learning and prayer. They are supported
by their wives, or their community’s social welfare networks, or from the largesse of the government –
which needs them and their block voting to help make a coalition in Israel’s dysfunctional democracy.
Within their own neighborhoods, they have established segregated bus lines – men in the front, women
in the rear, and separate check-out lines in the grocery stores.
The fourth tribe are the Sephardim, or more correctly, the Edot HaMizrah. Jews from Eastern communities.
They came to Israel in 1948 & 49 and the early 50’s from Morocco, Yemen, Iraq and other Arab countries.
They had different language, culture, food and education than the European Jews who were pioneers and
founders of the state, and these Sephardim suffered discrimination in many different ways. They tend to
be more traditional in their Judaism than secular Ashkenazim, but more liberal than the religious Ashkenazim.
While they have reached the highest pinnacles of Israeli Society – the Presidency of the State, the
Head of the Army – they haven’t yet achieved complete equality.
The fifth tribe are the Ashkenazim – both secular, and Modern Orthodox. Though these two camps are
separated by religion, they share much culturally, and more importantly, they share the Zionist vision
of what a modern Jewish nation in the heart of the Middle East should be. These are the Israelis
we probably identify most with.
These five tribes struggle to survive in a bad neighborhood, in a sometimes oppressive climate, in
a land that, contrary to the hype, – doesn’t flow with milk and honey. And they struggle, too,
with one another. In a tiny country, 60% of which is desert, these tribes find themselves in rather
tight quarters, and close proximity doesn’t make the heart grow fonder.
Israel has a booming economy and is at the forefront of hi-tech research and development. But it
also has an extraordinarily high degree of need. One fifth of the population is below the poverty live.
There is a great crisis in leadership. The President had to step down because of a sex-scandal. The
Army Chief of Staff resigned because of mismanaging last year’s War in Lebanon. The Prime Minister is
suspected of financial irregularities, and has an approval rating in the low single digits.
The afternoon session is devoted to a heated debate between two men named Avraham.
The first speaker is the noted Israeli author Avraham B. Yehoshua. Born in Jerusalem in 1936, he’s from a
Sephardic family. He’s a professor of literature at the University of Haifa. He is known world-wide for
his popular novels, ‘Mr Mani’, ‘Five Seasons’, ‘A Woman in Jerusalem’.
Yehoshua presented a controversial thesis: “Only the State of Israel can ensure the survival of the Jewish People.”
Israel is the only place in the world where one can live a total, an authentic, a vibrant Jewish life.
Even American Jews, he tells us “are wasting your time; you are merely play-acting at being Jewish. You
put on or take off your Jewish identity as if it were a jacket – wear it when it’s comfortable, discard
it when it’s not. But for Israelis, Jewish identity is not an article of clothing. It is out skin. It
is who we are 24 hours a day, 7 day a week. 365 days a year.” Yehoshua is not talking about religion.
He is a secular Israeli. He is talking about Jewish identity. About language, culture, food. And about
the Jewish calendar. Take Hanukah – it’s not about creating a phony reason for giving presents, so our
children don’t long for Christmas. Rather, it’s about learning from the Maccabees that the price of freedom
is the willingness to fight against overwhelming odds.
Avraham Yehoshua is followed by Avraham Burg. He too was born in Jerusalem, in 1955. Son of the founder of
the National Religious Party, he served as Chairman of the Jewish Agency. He became an activist for Peace Now,
and rose to the position of Speaker of the Knesset.
But Burg became disillusioned with the Jewish State. His book “Defeating Hitler” states that the Holocaust
rendered the Jews mentally impaired and severely paranoid. He condemns Israel for its injustice and for
oppressing the Palestinians. Israel today reminds him of Germany in the early 1930’s. He predicts that
one day the Knesset will even prohibit sexual relations between Jews and Arabs.
According to Burg, the Arabs are not a real threat to Israel’s existence. The notion that they are
is propaganda fostered by the Israeli right wing. Israel, he says, is corrupt, racist, and militaristic.
Religion has helped to turn the Zionist dream into a nightmare. Burg opposes the notion of Israel as a
Zionist State. It should be a nation like any other. He advocates abolishing the Law of Return, which
gives priority and preference to Jews coming to Israel.
Finally, Burg stuns the Conference by telling them he has acquired a French passport (his wife is
from France) and has moved to Paris – and urges Israelis to do the same.
Pandemonium breaks out at the Conference. There is yelling and screaming, cursing and booing. Delegates
throw garbage at Burg and attempt to storm the podium. Security guards rush him from the room. The
meeting is adjourned for dinner.
When the delegates return for the evening lecture, they are addressed by Major-General Amos Yadlin,
Head of Military intelligence. He begins by chastising his audience: “If you think that we Jews have
the luxury of sitting around attacking one another, you are out of your minds! At this very moment
there are five threats to the very existence of the state of Israel – every one of which keeps me
awake at night. You want to sit there and throw paper cups at another Jew? I’m worried about our
enemies throwing nuclear missiles at Tel Aviv!”
There is silence in the room; you can hear a pin drop. The general continues.
“First – let’s talk about Iran. Within three years they will undoubtedly have nuclear capability.
They already possess the missile delivery system required to reach Israel. A Russian veto prevents
the United Nations from imposing serious sanctions that might stop the project. The United States is
bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan and doesn’t have the ability to open a third front against Iran –
and it can’t risk the political fallout or the terrorism that will come in response to an attack.
“Israel has the military capability for an air assault, but the chances of taking out all of the
nuclear sites – many of which are buried deep underground – are slim. Our anti-missile defenses are
good – but chances are that one warhead could get through and obliterate Tel Aviv. And any Israeli
attack on a Muslim country could easily lead to serious uprisings in the territories, and missiles
from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
“Second – Syria. President Assad had the audacity to engineer the assassination of Lebanon’s Prime
Minister; don’t think he wouldn’t be equally audacious against Israel. If Hizbulah could prevent
Israel from achieving complete victory last summer, what’s to prevent Syria – with its armed forces –
from waging a similar campaign in an effort to get back the Golan? Assad could start a limited war
and count on the UN to save him with a cease fire, and then wait for world pressure to come down on
Israel, forcing us to make concessions that are not in our interests.
“Third – Hamas. Weapons are being smuggled into Gaza via tunnels from the Sinai, and the sophistication
of these weapons increases. It’s only a matter of time before missiles from Gaza land in the heart of
Ashkelon and Ashdod, causing catastrophic casualties.
“Fourth – Hizbulah. While UN Peace Keepers turn a blind eye, Sheik Nasrallah, supported by Iran and
Syria, is readying for the next round. Do you know how close Hizbulah came last time to hitting the
oil refineries in Haifa? Do you know what damage – strategic, environmental, and human, that
would do to Israel?
“Fifth – Al Qaeda. Here’s one nightmare scenario – and trust me, there are many. A commercial airliner
is hijacked, and is flown into the heart of Tel Aviv – perhaps into the Azrieli Towers, our commercial
center. We estimate casualties in the tens of thousands.
“But let me tell you the biggest threat we face: It’s a little mouse, named Farfur. Al Aqsa TV,
sponsored by Hamas has been running a show called ‘Tomorrow’s Pioneers.’ On it, a Mickey Mouse look-alike
spoke to the children about creating an Islamist State in all of Palestine. In the final broadcast of the
series, aired in June, Farfur the mouse was arrested by characters playing Israeli soldiers. They demanded
that Farfur give them the deed to his grandfather’s land. When the mouse refused, the soldiers beat
him to death. The show ended with the teenaged Arab host telling the audience: “Yes, my dear children,
we have lost our dearest friend Farfur. He was martyred while defending his land, by the hands of
criminals and murderers…”
The general concludes his presentation by saying: “I have nightmares about Ahmadinajad, and Assad, and
Nasralah, and Mashal, and Osama – but it’s Farfur who worries me the most. We can shoot down a missile,
or stop a terrorist or blow up a tank. How, in God’s name, do we counter the hate put into the hearts of
little children by a mouse on a TV show? That hate will grow and fester for another 50 years…” The
general turned, and left the podium.
And on that somber note, day two came to a close.
Day three was dedicated to the situation in the United States.
The session began with a talk by Professor Jonathan Sarna, of Brandeis University. He noted
that Jews had just marked the 40th anniversary of the six Day Way of June, 1967. Most analysts
wondered whether the capturing of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula had
ultimately been a blessing or curse for Israel. But Sarna noted that the war was a turning point
for American Jewry. Prior to ’67, Judaism in the United States had been in decline. In May of 1964,
Look Magazine published a cover story entitled ‘The Vanishing American Jew’ which predicted that by
the year 2000, due to assimilation and intermarriage, there would be no more Jews left in America.
As the pundits have observed – “Look Magazine has vanished – but we’re still here!”
Three years later, the Six Day Way marked a renewal for American Jews. It gave us something to be
proud of, something larger than our own mundane concerns to identify with. At the very moment that
Negros became proud Afro-Americans and chanted “Black Power”, American Jews could shed the image of
history’s perpetual victims, and could take pride in the strength, courage, and brains of the Israelis.
The Six Day Way led to a religious revival, and to political empowerment.
The professor pointed out that the relationship between Israel and American Judaism was one that
worked in both directions. Had Eddie Jacobson of Independence Missouri not called his old partner
Harry Truman and begged the President to see Chaim Weizman and hear out the Zionist statesman, there
might never have been an Israel in the first place. Had influential Republican fundraiser Max Fisher
of Detroit not called Richard Nixon during the Yom Kippur War, the US might not have airlifted critical
supplies to Israel that saved the Jewish state from defeat and destruction.
“With all due respect to yesterday’s speakers, I believe they are both wrong. Israel alone cannot endure.
And Jews in the Diaspora without an Israel – cannot last or be secure. America Jewry and Israel are the
two great centers of the Jewish world. One depends upon the other.”
The next speaker was Scott Shay, a New York businessman and Jewish activist, author of the book
“Getting our Groove Back – How to Energize American Jewry.”
Shay presented a 10-point program for revitalizing Judaism in America, and for ensuring the future of the Jewish people.
One: Fixing Hebrew Schools. We have to make it a top priority to convey knowledge and love of Judaism
to our children. And parents must understand that running carpools and dropping off their kids is not
the extent of their involvement. They must encourage their children to go to youth groups and Jewish
summer camps. And every family should gather for a Friday night Shabbes dinner each week.
Two: Day Schools. Today, 29% of Jewish children attend Yeshivas or Day Schools, and 75% of those who do
are Orthodox. It should be the goal to have 50% of all Jewish kids study at Day Schools, and 50% of that
number should be non-Orthodox. (Solomon Schechter in Jericho is our closest day school.) And the Jewish
Community should use its considerable resources and make a Day School education affordable for every family who wants it.
Three: Israel Trips. Birthright for college age students is an incredible success. We need to make sure
every single young Jew gets to Israel and experiences the magic.
Four: Jewish couples need to marry sooner, and they need to have at least three children per family if we ever
hope to grow demographically. Right now, the Jewish birth rate averages out to 1.7 children per family. At
this level, we’re not ever replenishing our numbers. When Jewish men and women put off marriage till they’re
in their 30’s, it stands to reason that there will be fewer children born.
Five: More Jews must be more committed to giving to Jewish causes, to enable us to fund all the critical
work that our community has to do. It’s wonderful to contribute to a university, or a hospital, or a
symphony orchestra. But first, we have to take care of our own.
Six: Reform Judaism made a critical error 20 years ago in adopting patrilineal descent as a way to determine
Jewishness. This decision split the Jewish people and discouraged conversion to Judaism. Reform Judaism
should revisit the issue. We need to welcome intermarried couples, but we need to encourage the non-Jewish
spouse to formally join the Jewish people.
Seven: We should re-affirm the Bar mitzvah ceremony with a new celebration every 18 years. At the age of 31,
as Jews marry, and begin their families, there should be a reaffirmation Bar Mitzvah. And then again, at 49 –
at Mid Life: Instead of a sports car, get a Bar Mitzvah. At 67 and the brink of retirement – another Bar Mitzvah.
And at 85 – another celebration to solidify one’s legacy. Each of these Bar or Bat Mitzvahs will be marked by a
commitment to study Jewishly, and to embark on a Hesed project to do good deeds and acts of kindness.
Eight: The Conservative Movement must be strengthened. Conservative Judaism played a critical role for
much of a century as a unifying force for American Jewry. It must play that role now. At the heart of
Conservative Judaism are these principles: The observance of Shabbat, holidays and Kashrut in some form;
Weekly attendance at Shul; Serious Torah learning; Tzedaka; and a commitment to Israel.
Nine: Jewish Defense Organizations – like the ADL – must understand that anti-Semitism today comes not
from Christianity, or from far-right hate groups, but from Radical Islam and from the far-left. These
should be the focus of our efforts.
And Ten: The Jewish mission in the world is Tikkun Olam – fixing what is wrong in our world. This means
a Jewish commitment to social Action, Ethical behavior, and Tzedakah for all Jews. This includes the
Orthodox, who in recent decades have become almost exclusively concerned about ritual observance, and
often disengage from the wider world.
Shay’s speech received mixed reviews. Everyone heard something that they liked and agreed with, but he also
managed to step on the toes of just about everyone.
The final speaker of the Conference was Dr, Benjamin Ravid, professor of Jewish history. He began by reviewing
many of the points that had been presented over the three days: Our numbers are declining. Jews in Europe,
face a resurgent anti-Semitism that threatens their physical safety. Israel faces severe internal challenges
at the same time that external enemies, especially in Iran, threaten its very existence. Jews in America,
by contrast, due to the unprecedented freedom, wealth, and security, seem to be drifting away from their
tradition and even their Jewish identity. We gather together and hear these reports, and our hearts are
sick. We even wonder if there will be a Jewish people in another 50 years.
Ravid tells his audience: “All this bad news is the good news.”
“This week, I commemorate the 50th yahrzeit of my beloved father, Shimon Rawidowicz. He was a
professor of Jewish philosophy and Hebrew literature in several universities.
“In 1948, he published an essay entitled Israel: The Every-Dying People. This was, his response to
the horrors of the holocaust. In the essay, my father wrote that when you examine Jewish history
carefully, you find that every single generation bemoaned their fate, and believed that they were the very last Jews.
This began with Abraham himself, who complained to God “I have no children” – there is no one to follow me.
It continued with the Rabbis of the Talmud, through the philosophers of the Middle Ages, and with the poets
and writers of modern times. They all thought that the Jews were on the verge of extinction. But 4,000
years after Abraham, we are still here, still worrying if we are to be the last generation.
Most of us can only imagine what a Jew must have thought in 1944 about the future of our people. And yet,
by the time my father’s essay was published, the Jewish people had created the State of Israel!
“Listen to my father’s words, written after the darkest moment in our people’s history, and on the eve of
the brightest:
“… Israel has indulged so much in the fear of its end, that its constant vision of the end helped it
to overcome every crisis… no catastrophe could ever take this end-fearing people by surprise, …
“We are confronted here with a phenomenon which has almost no parallel in mankind’s story: a nation that has
been disappearing constantly for the past 2,000 years, exterminated in dozens of lands all over the globe,
reduced to half or third of it’s population by tyrants ancient and modern – and yet it still exists, falls
and rises, loses all its possessions and re-equips itself for a new start, a second, a third chance – always
fearing the end, never afraid to make a new beginning, to snatch triumph from the jaws of defeat. There is
no nation more dying than Israel, yet more better equipped to resist disaster…”
Ravidowicz’s words leave the delegates to the Conference on the future of the Jewish People with trepidation,
with the enormity of the challenge awaiting them, but mostly with hope for the future.
The chairman formally ended the conference, and asked everyone to rise, and led them in singing
Ha Tikvah – the quintessential Jewish hymn – about hope.
The delegates left the conference hall, and walked outside to see a setting sun turn the Jerusalem
stone into gold, and to ponder the work that lay ahead…
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