Source: eJewish Philanthropy
The Joint Initiative Between the Government of Israel and World Jewry, organized by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs in partnership with The Jewish Agency, is a historic joint effort to develop practical solutions to the greatest challenges facing world Jewry, with a primary emphasis on strengthening Jewish identity amongst Jews and connecting world Jewry to Israel. The online jam session expanded the conversation and enabled every individual, community, or organization to contribute their perspectives to the "collective wisdom" of the Jewish people. More than 2,000 individuals took part in the online conversation, with participants hailing from all around the world. A group of professionals have analyzed the insights generated during the jam session and have integrate them into a set of recommendations that will be presented to the government for approval.
From the draft report:
A thriving Jewish People and State of Israel that ennoble the world.
To enable Jewish youth and young adults worldwide to author their life trajectories as active participants in Jewish life with a strong engagement with Israel, by experiencing their heritage, their People and Israel. In adopting this mission we are cognizant that in this age span particularly, people reach critical junctures of identity formation. Thus, given the scope of the budget, our desire to have measurable impact, and our knowledge of how Jews make choices about their Jewish journeys, we have chosen to focus our attention on youth and young adults.
The planning process itself has been proof of the adjacent possible. Building on well-used techniques in Jewish communal life to consult and deepen collaboration, this planning process has palpably transformed the conversation between the Government of Israel and the Jewish communal world into a deep dialogue, and it has engaged over 2,000 Jews from every walk of life on five continents in conversation with the planning team through online technology. There is something fundamentally different about this initiative, and in that lies its promise.
This document is the product of our efforts. It is designed to serve four major purposes:
- To articulate the strategic thrust of the initiative, anchored in a vision of the Jewish future, an analysis of the root challenge facing our people today, and the mission and strategic goal of the proposed response.
- To provide guidance and context for the Israeli government in advance of its resolution to dramatically increase its investment in securing the Jewish future.
- To provide the basis for ongoing collaboration for further development of the initiative with strategic partners and potential funders throughout the Jewish world.
- To present the ongoing evolution of the collaborative content development of the initiative, building on the intensive work of the seven content teams.
Conclusion: Next Steps
The recommendations in this paper make possible the next steps in this continuing conversation between the Government of Israel and the Jewish world. While the focus of this paper is the proposed content for the Initiative, the organization of the operational model – who will make decisions and how – remains under discussion. The Government will draft a resolution to increase dramatically its investment in securing the Jewish future. The content development will continue to advance, including the detailing of an implementation plan. The funding community will be invited to explore partnership opportunities and take an active role in further shaping the initiative. B’yachad kulanu k’Echad (together in unison), we contribute this paper to further the shared endeavor to secure the future of the Jewish People and Israel.
Read the entire report here.