TORONTO – The World Council of Israelis Abroad held its first-ever conference in
Toronto this month, under the theme “Building Bridges to World Jewry and the
State of Israel.”
The three-day meeting was sponsored by the UJA
Federation of Greater Toronto, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel’s Ministry
of Diaspora Affairs and the Mishelanu Organization for Israelis
Abroad.
RELATED:Authorities hail 2010’s strong aliya growth Amir Gissin, the consul-general in Toronto, said at the opening
on January 18 that there is a “consensus” at Israeli missions about “the
importance of maintaining Israel as an option for the second generation of
Israelis [abroad]. They didn’t choose to leave. Their parents
did.
Research shows that the most successful olim “are second generation
Israelis – those who were born in Israel and left at a young age or who were
born abroad but grew up in a Hebrew-speaking household,” he said.
“Those
who decide to return have a successful absorption and become again a part of
[Israeli] society.”
Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein spoke of
“Israel’s need to present itself effectively to the world, and how Israelis
abroad can be partners in this.”
Gissin said Edelstein’s message was
“honest and relevant” but that unfortunately in his experience, it is not
necessarily the case that Israelis abroad will be involved as “active and
effective supporters for
hasbara [Israel advocacy].”
He added that “it is
a personal choice,” and that although he has tried for years to recruit and
engage Israelis “proactively” for this purpose, “the results were less effective
than I thought.”
Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency, also
spoke at the event.
Ted Sokolsky, president and CEO of the UJA Federation
of Toronto, said the conference was “a historical marker” and a metaphor for the
change in attitude in “regard to understanding the unique role of Israelis
abroad both to Diaspora Jewish communities and to the State of
Israel.”
The conference was organized around three main pillars: building
an Israeli community abroad, the relationship between the local Israeli and
Jewish communities, and the relationship between the State of Israel and
Israelis abroad.
“Five years ago in Toronto we [the federation] realized
that we’d failed miserably in relating to Israelis who come to
Toronto...
Our approach was paternalistic... We began reaching out and
created an Israeli forum to find internal leadership in the Israeli community,”
Sokolsky told this reporter.
One very successful outcome of this new
approach, according to Sokolsky, was Kachol’v’Lavan, a supplementary after-school
program which “was started in Hebrew for the children of Israelis and now
includes Canadian Jews looking for quality Hebrew training. Another success is
the building of a new Jewish community center in Toronto, in an area where there
are a lot of Israelis among the 75,000 Jews.
“Israelis have been part of
the creation of this facility, scheduled to open in 2012 and have a strong sense
of ownership,” he said.
“We have all realized that expatriates can be an
asset to a country,” Sokolsky said, describing the Israelis who have moved to
Toronto since 2000 as “more confident,” with far less of “a sense of isolation”
than in previous years.
“They don’t see themselves as yordim, but as
Israelis working and living abroad... They are also very conscious that they
have to make a strong effort if they want their kids to be Jewish,” he
said.
Prof. Renat Cohen from York University said, “Rather than requiring
complete incorporation by either Israel or the local community, Israelis in
Canada, or at least in Toronto, are establishing and strengthening their own
distinct community.”
If this “stream of migration slows down, the Israeli
community is likely, in a generation or two, to completely integrate in the
general Jewish community. Either way – the “Myth of Return” [to Israel] is still
alive,” she said.
Jennie Starr, the founder and director of the Tarbuton
nonprofit institution in San Diego, said the conference was an “exceptional
opportunity for all organizations to focus on first, second generation Israelis
and third generation Israelis abroad.”
Tarbuton provides “Israeli-themed
programs and classes for the local Israeli and Jewish community... offering
opportunities to learn and maintain their Hebrew language skills, share their
traditions and build a deeper connection to Israel.”
Starr grew up in a
home where her Israeli father and American mother did not speak Hebrew with
their children, though they provided a rich Israeli environment filled with
Israeli food, music and holiday celebrations.
“We did not join synagogues
and I had only two years in a day school. It wasn’t
matim [suitable] really for
us. We visited Israel every four-five years, the most we could afford at the
time,” said.
She did not begin to learn to speak Hebrew until she
“married an American who lived in Israel for seven years and could speak Hebrew
fluently.”
When they had a child Starr wanted to provide “linguistic
continuity” and connection to Israel. She started Kishkushim, a Tarbuton
program, as “a mommy and baby play group” for Hebrew-speakers, as a way of
“building an enclave for the continuation of the Hebrew language,” and later
added a formal after-school program with classes for reading and writing
skills.
Tarbuton participants learn “Hebrew, their roots, the history of
Israel, and
Yahadut [Judaism] in a way that that is consistent with Israeli
traditions around the
hagim [festivals] which are in many cases celebrated
differently than in Jewish American organizational settings.”
Starr said
the conference focused on ways to build “business relationships, and
collaborative projects between Israeli businesses and expatriates,” as well as
“looking at how we can maintain linguistic continuity of the Hebrew language”
and “maintain and build both Jewish and Israeli identity.”
Uzi Rebhun,
from the Harman Institute of Contemporary Judaism at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, presented data regarding “Israeli Identification and Attachment to
Homeland Among Israelis Abroad.”
There are believed to be about 1 million
Israelis in the Diaspora, mostly in North America, with significant numbers in
Europe and Australia.
According to Rebhun, about 22 percent of Israelis
living overseas stay abroad for 11 or more years, 27% stay abroad for six- 10
years, 22% stay three-five years, and 17% stay abroad for less than two
years.
Over 56% of Israelis who emigrate are between the ages of 18 and
29, more than 29% are between the ages of 30 and 39, and only about 2% move
overseas when they are between the ages of 50 and 59.
A very important
way they stay connected to Israel is through newspapers, Rebhun reported. Only
3.7% of Israelis abroad said that they never read an Israeli newspaper, while
76.3% said they “very much” read Israeli newspapers. By comparison, only 48%
said they “very much’ listened to Israeli music, and 16.4% “very much” read
Israeli literature and poetry. About 35% of Israelis abroad said that they never
listened to Israeli radio or watched Israeli television.
Sixty-five
percent of Israelis living abroad visit Israel once a year, 13.9% visit every
two years, 8.4% visit every three years, and 12.5% once every four years or
less.
Rhonda Spivak is the editor of an e-paper,
www.winnipegjewishreview.com