A quartet of four distinguished Jewish professionals – Rebecca Caspi, Director General of the Jewish Federation’s Israel Office and SVP for Israel and Global Jewry; Terry Newman, CEO of the MCC Group and Chairman of Bina Public Board of Directors; Chaya Yosovich, CEO of the Yael Foundation and Meir Holtz, CEO of Mosaic United – pondered the delicate balance of Jewish education in the post-October 7 world in a wide-ranging panel discussion at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Monday.
Rebeca Caspi explained that Jewish life has fundamentally changed since October 7. She said one ray of light amidst the gloomy reports is that “We’re seeing an absolute surge in the desire and the need to gather and be together Jewishly and communally. Everyone wants to be together as Jews in the wake of the awful events of October 7.” Caspi said that 38% of Jewish parents of children in private schools are seriously thinking of transferring their children to Jewish schools since October 7.
Meir Holtz of Mosaic United, which is a partnership between the State of Israel and the global Jewish community dedicated to strengthening Jewish identity and connection to Israel of young Jews, said, “It’s our responsibility as a partnership with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs in Israel to look out for Jews all around the world.” Holtz detailed a unique summer camp project for Ukrainian Jewish refugees, which has helped make lives more normal for children in the war-torn country.
He echoed Caspi’s words, stating that after October 7, “The way we educate for Jewish identity, the way we educate for Israel, the connection to Israel – everything is changing worldwide.”
Terry Newman, author of the soon-to-be-published book “The Jewish Century,” termed the 20th century the “Israeli Century,” in which the State of Israel became the focal point through which people defined their Jewishness. The Hebrew language was revived, millions made aliyah, and the country was built. He suggested that the 21st century will become known as a period in which more and more Israelis will return to their Jewish identity, not necessarily as the religious institutions in Israel would like, but in a more individualized fashion.
“Mainstream Israelis are standing up and saying, ‘We want to take our Judaism back.’ If that is going to be what is going to define Israel going forward, we want to be a part of that story.” Bina, the home for Israeli Judaism, is working with Jews in Israel and around the world to help them connect with the Jewish world by focusing on three areas – Jewish life cycle events, the Jewish holiday cycle, and the Jewish bookshelf.
The organizations listed in this article sponsored a portion of the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference. www.jpost.com/AC24