The following is the beginning of an address given by Isi Leibler on receiving his honorary doctorate from Bar Ilan University…
The Jewish world, both in Israel and the Diaspora, is undergoing dramatic demographic and ideological changes. The past decades have witnessed a steep decline in the power and influence of Diaspora Jews. Israel’s centrality to Jewish life and the ties which link Jews in the Diaspora to Israel are facing considerable stress.
I
Yet Israel has clearly emerged as the guarantor of the continuity of Jewish life.
It has empowered the Jewish people. It has absorbed Jews from all corners of the world – ranging from Holocaust survivors to Jews from Arab countries, from Soviet Jews to Ethiopian Jews – and miraculously molded them into a resilient nation. The Jewish state has also now evolved into an extraordinary economic power house outperforming most economies throughout the world as well as becoming a major military force.
Despite the media sensationalising major rifts in Israeli society, there is today a greater consensus throughout the nation in relation to peace with our neighbors than has been the case since the country became bitterly divided over the Oslo Accords. The overwhelming majority seek separation from the Palestinians but recognizes that this cannot be achieved in the absence of security and a peace partner. This is the approach of all Zionist parties.
Aside from the Joint Arab party, those opposed to this approach comprise of a dwindling, now almost fringe group of deluded leftists who attract disproportionate attention with their extremist views publicized by the post-Zionist Haaretz, and right-wing radicals seeking to annex the territories, despite the fact that this would transform Israel into a bi-national state – another Lebanon.
In contrast to the accelerating alienation from Judaism amongst Diaspora Jews, Israel, over the past few decades, has – aside from the ultra-orthodox upsurge – undergone a revolutionary revival of spiritual awakening accompanied by increased religious observance. The Sephardi respect for tradition has led to a greater appreciation of religion and Jewish heritage throughout all streams of society. The aggressive secularism and polarization between the religious and secular streams of the early State has abated and there is even somewhat of a renaissance of traditional and religious observance amongst young Israelis.
Read the full address delivered by Isi Leibler on JWire
Read other story on JWire about the award of an honorary doctorate to Isi Leibler, world statesman and fervent advocate of the State of Israel.