Minister of Jerusalem & Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett and Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky have engaged Jews around the world in an online conversation to determine ways to secure the Jewish future and strengthen young Jews’ Jewish identities and ties between Israel and the Jewish world. The two leaders participated in an online jam session organized by the Joint Initiative Between the Government of Israel and World Jewry.

The Joint Initiative Between the Government of Israel and World Jewry, organized by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs in partnership with The Jewish Agency, is a historic joint effort to develop practical solutions to the greatest challenges facing world Jewry, with a primary emphasis on strengthening Jewish identity amongst Jews and connecting world Jewry to Israel.

The online jam session seeks to expand the conversation and enable every individual, community, or organization to contribute their perspectives to the “collective wisdom” of the Jewish people. More than 1,500 individuals are currently engaged in the online conversation, with participants hailing from Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a range of other countries. A group of professionals are analyzing the insights generated during the jam session and will integrate them into the recommendations set to be presented to the government for approval. Due to overwhelming demand, the session—which had been set to end on Tuesday 18 Adar I 5774, will be extended through Wednesday.

Visiting the Jerusalem headquarters of the jam session, Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett said: “This initiative is about hearing new ideas and empowering Jews from around the world to take part in the debate over which direction Israeli-Diaspora relations should take in the years to come.”

Visiting the site with Minister Bennett, Jewish Agency Chairman of the Executive Natan Sharansky said: “This is our mutual effort to secure our mutual future. The Government of Israel and the Jewish world are working together, as equal partners, to explore how we might inspire the younger generation to celebrate its Jewish identity. We look forward to hearing as many voices as possible in order to ensure that the vibrancy and the diversity of the global Jewish community are reflected in this historic process.”

The online jam session, which commenced Sunday, 16 Adar I, will conclude Wednesday evening, 19 Adar I.

To participate in the global conversation, please click HERE.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)