President Rivlin adopts ‘Declaration of Our Common Destiny’
“I call upon all of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world to respond to this call for unity, for dialogue, for mutual responsibility.”
By ALAN ROSENBAUMUpdated: DECEMBER 17, 2020 22:26Sivan Aloni project director, Dorit Golender, vice president for community relations, Genesis Philanthropy Group, President Rivlin, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Omer Yankelevitch, and Dvir Kahana, Director General of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs(photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin endorsed on Thursday the ‘Declaration of Our Common Destiny,’ a document that he has called a “roadmap for the Jewish future.” The endorsement was part of “Illuminate: A Global Jewish Unity Event” – a virtual celebration of the completion of the Declaration, featuring Israeli musical icon Idan Raichel and British-Jewish Grammy winner Jess Glynne. Shira Haas, star of “Shtisel,” “Unorthodox,” and other hits, emceed the show.“I call upon all of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world to respond to this call for unity, for dialogue, for mutual responsibility,” said President Rivlin. “I call upon you to join us in this dialogue that’s based upon mutual respect, goodwill and the search for common ground and common destiny, to do good for the Jewish people and the whole world.”Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelevitch reinforced the president’s call. “Our Common Destiny represents a framework and language for the Jewish people based on our shared future,” she said. “I invite everyone, everyone who feels this beating, Jewish heart, to join us in turning this declaration into a plan of action.”The Declaration focuses on five deeply held values shared by all Jews that bind the Jewish people together despite differing religious practices, nationalities, cultural identities, and political affiliations. Thirty of the world’s most prominent Jewish thinkers and scholars, representing the diverse ideologies, genders, ages, and languages of Jews worldwide, initially drafted and presented the Declaration to President Rivlin in September 2019, at the Our Common Destiny Forum in Jerusalem.Genesis Philanthropy Group launched Our Common Destiny in partnership with the Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry, under the auspices of the Office of the President of Israel. The project aims to help global Jewry celebrate its diversity and act upon its shared values by working together to build a brighter future for the Jewish people and all humanity. Our Common Destiny crowdsourced the Declaration and invited Jews everywhere to help shape it by prioritizing a set of values, with more than 130,000 Jews from every continent taking part.Our Common Destiny CEO Sanford Cardin said, “We are confident that the Declaration of Our Common Destiny will shape how the Jewish people relate, empower, and engage with one another now and for generations to come. We also believe it will enable us to accomplish great things together.”
