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November 21, 2003
Assembly offers respite
Meeting in Jerusalem draws 4,000 North Americans.
NECHEMIA MEYERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The organizers of the General Assembly (GA) of the United Jewish
Communities of North America, held in Jerusalem this week, were
lucky. Their meeting attracted an estimated 4,000 Americans and
Canadians, a record for the GA. But if the car bombs that exploded
just beforehand in Istanbul had exploded in Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem
instead, there probably wouldn't have been more than 400, or, in
all likelihood, the gathering would have been postponed.
This is not to say that security was not uppermost in the minds
of the organizers. Participants were checked every time they entered
the International Convention Centre and they had to wear their identification
tag everywhere in the building. There were also several hundred
security personal, most of them fully armed, in and around the area.
The delegates from some 150 North American Jewish communities, plus
some 2,000 Israeli guests, did not seem disturbed by the security
precautions. Indeed, there was a carnival atmosphere in the centre,
augmented by groups of musicians playing in various corners of the
building and by the free food and beverages handed out by Israeli
companies anxious to pick up overseas customers. Sometimes the link
was obvious, as was the case with Elite chocolates. It was less
clear in regard to Bank Hapoalim, which offered passersby cups of
freshly squeezed orange juice. Altogether there were more than 100
booths in the auditorium.
Lively discussions took place in the various halls, mostly on subjects
that are taken up at every GA. People pondered over, among other
things, how to enhance the Jewishness of North American Jews, how
to improve fund-raising techniques, how to fight anti-Semitism and
how to strengthen the bonds between Israeli and Diaspora Jews.
More unusual was the first ever GA panel on how to bridge the gap
between Jewish leadership and Jews who are gays, lesbians, bisexuals
and transgenders. The only "straight" member of the panel
was Conservative Rabbi Brad Artson, who is trying to persuade his
movement to be more accepting of these groups.
Another departure from tradition was the evening party for younger
delegates at Jerusalem's leading discothèque, Haoman 17.
High points of the proceedings were the events featuring speeches
by the leaders of Israel, among them Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
He emphasized Israel's ability to withstand Arab pressure but, for
whatever reason, didn't say a word about the possibility of an agreement
with the Arabs. He and President Moshe Katzav both dwelt upon the
importance of aliyah from the West, and the audience responded with
rousing cheers, as they did later when two young American olim now
serving in the Israel Defence Forces were presented to them. I found
the enthusiasm for aliyah rather disconcerting since very few of
the cheering Americans and Canadians would seriously contemplate
moving to Israel. Unfortunately, in fact, many are now concentrating
on the absorption of former Israelis into their Jewish communities.
Whatever the future plans of the 4,000 Americans and Canadians,
their presence in Jerusalem this week was a Godsend for the economically
hard-pressed shops, hotels, taxis and restaurants of the Holy City.
They hope this is the beginning of a new wave of tourism, but that
depends primarily on where the car bombs go off next time.
Nechemia Meyers is a writer living in Rehovot, Israel.
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