I wanted to draw people's attention to what I believe to be an important op-ed in Haaretz, on developing a global policy for the Jewish People. The author of the op-ed is Yehezkel Dror, the founding President of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI), professor of political science at Hebrew University, and formerly at RAND. JPPPI, which was established by the Jewish Agency for Israel, has a mission that includes a "deep commitment to the future of the Jewish people with Israel as its core state."
...And here is why I think this article deserves to be noticed: In it, Dror makes a small number of recommendations for a Jewish people policy and for Israel-Diaspora relations, and here is the one that caught my eye.
'Explicit and declared recognition of the right of Jews in the Diaspora to criticize Israeli policies.'
So here is the head of the most important Jewish Institute in the world to deal with these issues explicitly saying that blind Jewish support for any Israeli action or policy is an unhealthy thing and needs to be rethought. Ok ok, it sounds obvious, but for many organizations and leaders it has been a red line and Yehezkel Dror is both honest and courageous enough to blow the whistle on this nonsense. Much of the rest of the article has some interesting ideas on education, dialogue between the Diaspora and Israel, and rethinking the concept of aliyah (immigration to Israel). I hope this JPPPI recommendation will be listened to, especially in the US.
I was also struck by the Haaretz article and posted it to the blog below.
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