'Only the Jewish Agency can connect the Jewish world'

Jewish Agency chief defends its role after Nefesh aliya takeover.

By HAVIV RETTIG GUR
nefesh olim ben gurion 248.88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
nefesh olim ben gurion 248.88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
The Jewish Agency may have "outsourced" the important function of bringing aliya from the world's largest Jewish community, but it remains for the foreseeable future the only body connecting the diverse communities of the Jewish world together, according to agency director-general Moshe Vigdor. Vigdor was one of the architects of the Jewish Agency-Nefesh B'Nefesh agreement announced last week that gave Nefesh responsibility for North American aliya marketing and implementation. He spoke to The Jerusalem Post this week in the wake of that agreement. "There is nothing more important than the connection of Israel with the worldwide Jewish communities, not just in the United States, but also in Latin America, France, Britain, South Africa, the Former Soviet Union, and elsewhere," he said. This connection, which is "the most important strategic asset" of the Jewish world, could only be maintained "by a body that is tightly networked world-wide. The Jewish Agency, which has all the communities around the table with Israel at the center, is the only body that can do this." The agency's network of emissaries is particularly important in places where Jews could still find themselves in trouble, said Vigdor, citing the example of the Russian-Georgian war, in which emissaries in the Caucasian nation had helped ferry dozens of Jewish families out of war-torn Gori and elsewhere to the capital Tblisi and, for some, to Israel. "If you want to have this capability, it will mean protecting the infrastructure [of emissaries]. After all, you can't expect emergencies. A private body can't replicate this function, because it isn't financially viable to maintain a permanent network." Vigdor also believes major aliya is still possible. "There will still be waves of aliya in the future," he insists. In May, at an event celebrating Israel's independence in Moscow, "Israeli ambassador to Russia [Anna Azari] told me the same thing: we can't dismantle the infrastructure for major aliya just because it doesn't look like it will happen in the near future." Vigdor has pursued numerous structural reforms in the agency, seeking to unite its disparate departments into a single "pillar." But for all the reforms and outsourcing, the agency has simply updated the same basic missions it has always had, he believes. "The goals of the past were aliya, which meant rescuing Jews in distress, settling the country and building the state of Israel. The goals today are aliya of choice, including creating new ways for Jews from overseas to connect to Israel, to live here part-time, to do more business with Israel; enhancing Jewish identity, especially among young people through programs such as Masa; and reshaping Israeli society by linking Israeli and Diaspora philanthropists on social projects," said Vigdor. The uniqueness of the Jewish Agency "is that it isn't a single act or goal, but a holistic system that lets people operate in a larger framework." For example, strengthening Diaspora Jewish identity leads to aliya, while a stronger connection to the Diaspora helps in improving Israeli society. According to Vigdor, the agency's strategic goal "is not to be just a 'parliament,' but to connect the Jewish communities to Israel strategically and powerfully with a shared Jewish identity."