A solidarity delegation of Israeli officials organized by the Gesher social cohesion group visited Jewish communities in New York, against a background of heightened antisemitism and safety concerns across the US.
Antisemitic incidents spiked across the US in May during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, leaving many US Jews unnerved and worried for their safety.
In light of the situation, the Gesher organization decided to send several Israeli officials to the US to show solidarity with Israel’s Jewish brethren abroad.
The delegation was led by Gesher International Director JJ Sussman and includes MK Michael Biton (Blue and White), Jerusalem Deputy Mayor and social activist Fleur Hassan Nahum, Modi’in Mayor and chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel Haim Bibas, Gesher chairman, Lt.-Gen. (res.) Orit Adato, and others.
Over the course of the two-day visit, members of the delegation met with prominent figures in the Jewish community in New York, including Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, chairman and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America Mark Wilf and Eric Fingerhut as well as with individuals and institutions who have been subject to recent antisemitic attacks such as Joey Borgen, and some of the recently vandalized synagogues in Riverdale and Brooklyn.
“The visits and meetings with members of the Jewish community in the United States and its representatives testify to how much our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora long for the solidarity and support of the State of Israel and how important the people to people connection is,” said Hassan Nahum.
“We met Rabbis and community leaders who presented us with the challenges facing the Jewish community these days, including dealing with the rise in antisemitism and attacks on Diaspora Jews alongside the decline in support by the younger generation of American Jews for the State of Israel and the need to restore their trust in us.”
Gesher recently established the “AM’I Initiative” in cooperation with the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, to help Israelis engender a sense of awareness of and responsibility towards strengthening and further developing this connection.
“The word Gesher means of course a bridge. Gesher believes in a two way bridge. After years of being on the receiving end of solidarity missions to Israel from our brothers and sisters across the world, this is a great opportunity to bring Israelis to show solidarity and love back to Jewish communities in the New York/New Jersey area,” said Sussman.
“In this way, we can learn first hand the situation on the ground and open the lines of communication between us in Israel and Diaspora Jewry to strengthen one another.”
Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai (Labor) praised the delegation for its efforts, saying that mutual understanding and cooperation between Israel and US Jewry was an important goal.
“Today you are meeting with some of the finest individuals leading fields across Israeli civil society,” he said in a message to officials from Jewish groups meeting with the Gesher delegation.
“They come to you to learn and engage with American Jewry – your institutions, leaders and communities. After so much time physically apart, this is an opportunity for us, as Israelis, to reengage, and show our solidarity and appreciation for the other center of the Jewish world – North America,” Shai said.