Tamar Uriel-Beeri, managing editor of Jpost.com, speaks with Noa Tishby, Israel’s Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization, about the importance of the Jewish Future Pledge and the Jewish Youth Pledge, two unique initiatives designed to help sustain the future of the Jewish people.
“I think that Jewish Future Pledge is one of the most exciting and spot-on endeavors that exist right now in the Jewish world,” says Tishby, “because it puts your legacy front and center.”
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The Jewish Future Pledge ensures the future of the Jewish people by having members of the Jewish community sign the pledge, earmarking half of the charitable funds that they leave at their passing to support the Jewish people and/or the State of Israel, while the Jewish Youth Pledge asks Jewish teenagers and young adults – ages 13 to 24 – to commit to being active, contributing members of the Jewish community throughout their lives.
Tishby explains that the Jewish Future Pledge and the Jewish Youth Pledge can help create a better Jewish society. “Because the Jewish Future Pledge is about investing in the Jewish future and the State of Israel, this helps Zionism by default, because you are putting your effort into continuing Jewish life around the world and continuing Israel as the sovereign state for the Jewish people.”
"The Jewish Future Pledge [together with the Jewish Youth Pledge], says Tishby, can help raise a generation of young Jewish leaders on campus to combat college antisemitism. The Jewish Future Pledge is doing an amazing job in connecting the younger generation to Jewish continuity – to this link in the chain that we all are. Most young people don’t want to be activists, but the younger you do it, the more aware you are of the importance and responsibility you have.”
"Reach out to your community, talk to people and educate them about Jewish life and Jewish people.”
Noa Tishby
The Jewish Youth Pledge engages teens with their Jewish heritage and role in the Jewish community through a pre-planned lesson, including videos and discussion prompts. Participants write a letter on their smartphone or tablet to their future selves, answering questions such as, “If you could meet yourself in the future, what would you hope to hear that you had accomplished or contributed?” The letter is stored in a secure Digital Time Capsule and shared with participants at key junctures throughout the next two decades of their lives.
Tishby says that young Jews today should ignore anti-Israel or antisemitic messages on social media. “You cannot control the amount of antisemitism and hate that may come at you,” she says. “Don’t think that every opinion matters. It doesn’t matter. Reach out to your community, talk to people and educate them about Jewish life and Jewish people.”