JERUSALEM (EJP)—Israeli Foreign inister Avigdor Lieberman believes education in the diaspora is “the most pressing issue on the global Jewish agenda, more pressing than any other issue, including the Palestinian negotiations or the Iranian nuclear threat.
He also said assimilation by American Jews is the biggest threat to global Jewry and has called for the Israeli government to pledge $365 million annually for programs in the diaspora that provide Jewish education and enhance the Jewish connection to Israel.
In an address to the meeting in Jerusalem of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Lieberman asked leaders to commit to matching the Israeli government grant for new programming in the diaspora that would focus on Jewish continuity.
“I believe that the Israeli government should contribute $1 million for every day in a calendar year, making a total of $365 million, which we hope you, the Jewish community in the Diaspora, will match for this educational project. This cannot become just another small project and needs to be the central point of partnership between us,’’ he said.
He also called for the creation of a network of high-achieving international Jewish schools and for 3.5 million Jews to emigrate to Israel in the next decade.
Lieberman cited a study in the US showing diminishing Jewish identification, saying “these statistics demonstrate that the Jews of America are facing nothing less than a demographic catastrophe.” The study by the Pew Research Center unveiled a massive study unveiled a massive study on assimilation and intermarriage in the American Jewish community.
Among the findings was that one in five Jews identify as having no religion, and that “among Jewish respondents who have gotten married since 2000, nearly six in ten have a non-Jewish spouse.”
“For many years, Israeli officials have called on our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, like many of you gathered here tonight, to donate your time, energies and funds to Israel,” he said.
“However, I turn to you today and say that, while we are enormously and forever grateful for your assistance, we believe it is now time to concentrate on the challenges facing your own communities, especially those emanating from the dangerous trends in the Jewish community demonstrated in the recent survey.”
He added: “It is my strongest belief that the antidote to this rising assimilation, intermarriage and disengagement is education.”
“In order to prevent this tragedy, all Jewish children should have the capacity and capability to attend a school where they will receive an education that will teach them about Jewish history, values and traditions, to treasure their Jewish identity and to have a strong attachment to Israel and Zionism. We need to ensure that Jewish schools will be among the best in the world.”
“We need to create a global network of Jewish schools that are superior in standard to the American and international school network. Only through this effort can we ensure our endurance as a people,” he said.