In celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, join American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Ryan Lavarnway, 15-year Major League Baseball catcher and Team Israel veteran, for a live recording of AJC’s podcast, People of the Pod.
The power of visits to Israel to foster deeper attachment between American Jews and the Jewish state is well-known. 73% of American Jews who have been to Israel reported that their visit strengthened their connection to Israel, the AJC survey found. Israel and the organized American Jewish community need to think creatively and in partnership about how to recapture at least some of these lost opportunities during the pandemic.
AJC CEO David Harris, responding to a Wall Street Journal essay by Israeli historian Benny Morris, points out that the mission of UNRWA, set up in 1949, made no reference to refugee resettlement, and its definition of a Palestinian refugee included future generations without any time limit. Question is why Unrwa is not under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The fundamental problem with the Amnesty International report is that it is disconnected from reality. Israel has nothing to do with apartheid, and apartheid has nothing to do with Israel.
The potential for further improvement of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel is promising, given the participation of an Arab party, Ra’am, for the first time in the governing coalition. The role of non-governmental organizations like Givat Haviva in shaping Jewish-Arab understanding and cooperation has long been and will continue to be an important factor in strengthening Israel’s democratic society.