“I’m the right person to promote dialogue with the liberal movements of Judaism,” Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli said during the annual conference of Conference of Presidents (COP) in Jerusalem on Monday.
Tackling antisemitism
Chikli explained to the conference members that his ministry has grown to be twice its size prior this government, mainly since a group of employees of the Foreign Affairs Ministry will be joining him in the new version of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, tasked to combat antisemitism and the boycott, sanctions and divestment from Israel.
He spoke of two goals for his ministry during he term: “Empowering Jewish education for the younger generation,” mainly in Jewish day schools. “We need to be effective in our help for affordable Jewish education in North America,” the minister said. “We’re trying to figure out with other philanthropic foundations,” a solution to was has been dubbed “the tuition crisis.” Chikli said that he and his staff have been “sitting down and learning every piece of research in order to find a solution,” for assistance from the Israeli government for this crisis in Jewish education.
He also mentioned the assistance for Jewish summer camps through Mosaic United, a government owned company. He said that Jewish summer camps are the “most effective way to shape Jewish identity.”
He said that he sees the ministry as “a venture capital” and that “want to make the best investments. In order for us to have stronger Jewish communities that will be a strategic asset for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”
The second goal of the ministry, according to Chikli, was the issue of combating antisemitism. “It's different than it was,” he said of the current state of antisemitism, that has, according to the minister, manifested into BDS activity and “double standards against Israel, mainly in US campuses or on the streets of Los Angeles and New Jersey,” he said, mentioning the recent terrorist attacks against Jews in these areas. “We must fight strongly,” he said of this phenomenon. He gave an example of a European Jewish community that was strongly affected by antisemitism. “What we saw in Sweden concerning Jewish communities is very concerning; that they disappeared because people were afraid to go to synagogue and to Jewish institutions. These communities vanished,” Chikli said and continued: “We need to understand that this is not a game and you need to be very aggressive against the BDS the new antisemitism, but also not just the new antisemitism, but also the antisemitism from the right.”
Regarding the Judicial reform, Chikli said that “everyone in the room is my family and we can have a Shabbat discussion; but the decisions are determined by the knesset.”
The minister added that “we care about your opinion and we are listening even if we don’t agree. We want you to be proud of the State of Israel and we need stronger Jewish communities. We want Jewish children who grow up and are proud of their jewish roots and proud of the State of Israel.”
He concluded by saying that these conversations may be “intense” or “emotional,” just like “family Shabbat tables,” and laughed that “sometimes it's a mess and sometimes it's more quiet. That’s what families are about.”
Liberal Judaism
Asked about his upbringing by a father that was a Conservative rabbi for a number of years, and living in a Kibbutz that was established by the Conservative movement, Chikli said that “unfortunately, Conservative and Reform [Jews] are looked upon as aliens in Israel. I myself saw a woman with a tallit [prayer shawl] since my Bar Mitzvah. I’m not afraid and it's easier for me to have discussion,” Chikli said of his dialogue with the three religious streams.
“I think I am the right person [on the job], specifically in this government, for [promoting] dialogue with the liberal movements of Judaism abroad, and to try and also bring their voice to the table. Not just at the Knesset, but also to the Israeli public and the public debate.
“I’m a Masorti [traditional] Jew,” he said, emphasizing that he doesn't see himself as a Conservative Jew - that is called Masorti in many countries including Israel. “I want to make Israelis understand that these [religious] communities, unlike here [in Israel], are quite big in the US.”
He responded to a Conservative woman donning a Kippah, who was worried about her daughter wearing a Kippah in Jerusalem, that “there is a huge challenge to the political system,” since there are “zero representatives of liberal Judaism in the Knesset and it’s a challenge.”
Chikli added that “we can do more explaining,” about liberal Judaism. “Since childhood I knew there are different sorts of Judaism in Israel and abroad. We unfortunately won’t get a good grade,” he said of the attitudes of Israelis towards Reform and Conservative Jews, “it is a challenge,” Chikli concluded.