Guaranteeing our future

The handwriting has been on the wall for a long time. These are emergency times for the Jewish people in the Diaspora and they can degenerate into a major catastrophe. This is a catastrophe of a new category. The Jewish people are not being depleted by persecutions, anti-Semitism and racism. We are dealing with a catastrophe that is the product of a new era.

The data spread before us speaks for itself: Jewish birthrates are in constant decline. Assimilation and intermarriage are reaching stratospheric proportions - 50% in North America, 40% in France and England, 45% in Brazil and Argentina, 80% in Russia.

The link between Jews in the Diaspora and the local Jewish communities is in a downward spiral as well and the data is alarming: less than 24% of young Jews in North America belong to Jewish organizations. Less than 50% of North American Jews under the age of 35 feel a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Less than 25% of North American Jews under age 35 define themselves as Zionists. More than 60% of North American Jews have never visited Israel and, furthermore, a very large portion of them no longer considers Israel to be a major component in defining their Jewish identity. For nearly 60 years the State of Israel remained "the project of an entire Jewish people," the major initiative and creation of the Jewish people during the 20th Century. However this trend has sustained increasing erosion for decades.

The Jewish communities in the Diaspora and particularly those of North America, where most of the Jewish people outside the boundaries of Israel reside, have developed a primary attachment and commitment to the countries where they live. Most Jews residing there are second and third generation Americans who were born, raised, educated and reached maturity in the United States. Most of them haven't been fortunate to receive a genuine Jewish education. The majority does not speak Hebrew; most are not Orthodox.

The State of Israel bears the obligation to guarantee the continued existence of the Jewish people in the Diaspora. Following the 60 years that World Jewry displayed commitment to the State of Israel and mobilized on her behalf it is now the turn of the State of Israel and the government of Israel to step up and guarantee the Jewish people's future.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert enunciated this position vigorously in the important address that he delivered before members of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors last June, where he called for a change in the framework of Israel-Diaspora relations.

This is the major challenge on the Jewish people's doorstep and the Israeli government has a decisive role to play.

One must remark that a few starts have already been made in recent years to respond to this challenge, and particularly by the Jewish Agency that recruited the government of Israel as a partner alongside Jewish communities and Jewish philanthropists worldwide.

While projects such as Birthright and MASA have brought to Israel over 200,000 young Jews for short and longer visits allowing them to experience and try out life in Israel, one must honestly admit that these projects are small potatoes limited in scope in terms of the resources invested in them. They can't by themselves provide the required answer given the dimension of the crisis that we confront. Furthermore, some of these programs are already today being downsized and experiencing budget cuts, as a result of the world financial crisis and a drastic decline in contributions by Jewish philanthropists.

It is crucial to institute a fundamental change in Israel-Diaspora relations. We no longer have a situation where the Jewish communities are the contributors while Israel is the recipient of contributions. It is vital to develop a joint program, a long-term program endowed with copious resources, led by the Jewish Agency, to safeguard the continued existence of the Jewish people.

The address by the prime minister last June galvanized the start of a process. The Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, which just recently reconvened in Jerusalem, continues to lead this process towards its culmination in forging a joint program between the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency to save the Jewish people. We are all hoping for the establishment of a good government that will prove beneficial to the State of Israel. However, it is equally critical that this government should also demonstrate its worth in terms of guaranteeing the future of the Jewish people.

Zeev Bielski is the former Jewish Agency Chairman and a newly elected Knesset member