JERUSALEM—‘’We are proud of the values that we work hard to protect. Israel is a Jewish, democratic state where the two go together and cannot be separated. Show people what life is like here, picture by picture, tweet by tweet, face by face,” Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin told 150 Jewish journalists and bloggers from 30 countries around the world as he addressed them at Beit HaNasi, the president’s residence in Jerusalem.
The journalists took part in a 4-day summit organized by Government Press Office (GPO) with as main topic how to strenghten relations between Israel and the Diaspora.
Opening his remarks, the president said, “We Jews are the people of the book. We are a people of words. From our earliest days, our words have defined who we are. We carried our words in our hearts, in our books, on the long journey of the Jewish people. You, too, are people of words, and pictures,“ he continued.
“Today, you work on different platforms: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, but the task is still the same – to tell stories, to help us understand, to bring light and truth,” the president added.
Picture by Mark Neiman, GPO.
“You know better than anyone that the conversation about Israel today is online. It happens where you are – in the blogs and the social media, in your words and pictures, in emojis and in likes. You are truly on the front line of that conversation,” he continued, “and you do it so little space! How do you tell a story in 280 characters? In a single photo? In a few emojis?”
Concluding his address the president thanked the conference participants for coming to see Israel up-close. “There is so much here that we are proud of that we want you to see and want you to share. Not just the advances in science, technology and innovation; not just a secure state in the face of great enemies. We are also proud of the values that we work hard to protect. Israel is a Jewish, democratic state where the two go together and cannot be separated. Show people what life is like here, picture by picture, tweet by tweet, face by face.”