Holocaust Remembrance Day: Jewish survival, continuity is our goal - opinion

• Published date: 27 January 2023

For the Jewish people, it has been 78 years since the liberation of the death camps and we must do everything possible to ensure our sustainability and survival. Our tradition is replete with the demand for a sense of wide communal responsibility, the most famous being "Kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh," all of Israel are responsible for each other

But how can Jews vouch for and support each other when the divide between Israel and the Diaspora is so stark?

Jews supporting each other despite the stark Israel-Diaspora divide

We are not even on the same page when it comes to perceiving each other's challenges. Earlier this month, I had a candid discussion with the president of the European Jewish Congress, Dr. Ariel Muzicant, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs European Leadership Conference. He strongly believes the gravest challenge facing Jewish communities in Europe is the threat of assimilation, which is eroding the sense of Jewish identity and connection to Jewish heritage.

The data he presented is astounding, with the de facto implication that Jewish communities around the world are increasingly shrinking. This represents a significant threat to the survival of these communities, with the greatest danger looming over the small ones. However, Israelis are largely unaware of this grave challenge, and Israel is not doing enough to address it.

Many Israelis believe the Jewish Diaspora is Israel's first line of defense, whether advocating for Israel, providing financial support to Israel and its civil society or fighting delegitimization and BDS. If we have a growing number of unaffiliated or assimilated Jews, Israel's first line of defense will certainly grow weaker.

But the significance of the global Jewish community is more than their support, they are part of our state's DNA and an integral part of our identity. Losing Diaspora Jewry is akin to losing oneself. We must work together, Israel and the Diaspora, to make being Jewish a source of pride. It should be easy for Jews to connect to their heritage and to Israel. But this will be impossible to achieve if this relationship is not reciprocal.

According to a recent survey undertaken by the Center for Jewish Impact in partnership with the Geocartography Knowledge Group on Israel-Jewish Diaspora Relations, 66.4% of Israelis believe the Jewish Diaspora does not have a right to be involved in Israeli affairs since they don't live in Israel, despite their contributions and impact these policies may have on...