Leaders to debate future of Jewish people

Leaders, academics from Israel and around world, including Netanyahu and Peres will attend annual gathering sponsored by Jewish think tank at Mount Zion Hotel.

By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLER
The future of the Jewish people will be debated and analyzed in Jerusalem during the course of a three-day conference organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) that starts Wednesday.
Leaders and academics from Israel and around the world, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres will attend the annual gathering sponsored by the Jewish think tank at the Mount Zion Hotel.
“The intention of the participants of the conference is to shape a broader strategic concept for the Jewish people in order to ensure its future and prosperity, and to offer the State of Israel and Jewish organizations operative suggestions to deal with challenges and extant threats,” Avinoam Bar-Yosef, the JPPPI’s founding director, said.
Five main issues will be on the agenda this year, ranging from the delegitimization of Israel to the controversial conversion bill.
The leading panel will examine the various ways in which negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians may affect relations between Jews in Israel and the Diaspora.
Former diplomat Avi Gil will moderate the discussion, touching on sensitive issues like the future of the Holy Basin in Jerusalem, the potential division of the city and Israel’s Jewish identity.
Also in attendance will be former US ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat and Russian-born Israeli businessman and philanthropist Leonid Nevzlin.
The JPPPI was founded in 2002 to provide a home for long-term strategic thinking concerning Israel and the Jewish people. It receives funding from private donors and an annual budget of $1 million provided by the Jewish Agency for Israel.