By Ido Aharoni
SAN DIEGO — I am a former Israeli career diplomat (1991-2016) whose entire diplomatic service was spent in the USA, on both coasts. I have been working with Jewish National Fund-USA for over 30 years now, supporting their strategic development and vibrant outlook of the communities in Israel’s North and South.
I am writing this article to share my special experience, recently addressing a JNF group in Aspen, Colorado. The event, attended by top leadership, was prompted by the events of 10/7 and its aftermath, and dealt largely with the current situation in Israel and the future of Zionism.
Since October 7th, Jewish National Fund–USA has been a key in bringing the community together and mobilizing it to benefit the people and land of Israel. JNF USA has intensified its efforts to rebuild the country’s periphery, working closely with dozens of communities along the border with Gaza, restoring housing, providing educational and recreational activities, bolstering first responder stations and so much more, all to make the communities even better and stronger.
Similarly, the organization is now even more committed to supporting Zionist education through its Alexander Muss High School in Israel — a college-prep study abroad adventure that engages teenagers to love Israel and prepares them to stand up for her when they get to college campuses — and with a $350-million-uudollar ambitious project I am personally connected to and excited about – the World Zionist Village.
The World Zionist Village is being built in historic Be’er Sheva, the fastest growing city in Israel. When built, the Village will be a global gathering place dedicated to educating and enhancing the connection to Zionism across cultures and generations, fostering a new conversation about shared values and common destiny. It will offer an oasis of thought, study, and innovation, with long and short-term educational programs, engaging forums, and research opportunities for people of all ages.
And the timing could not be more critical.
Never in our lifetimes has it been more important to stand up loud and proud in support of Israel and Zionism.
What you see on college campuses, and on the streets of major urban centers, is a gloomy picture of a predominantly young society triggered by a reactive emotional mechanism, lacking critical thinking and the ability to engage in a nuanced conversation. Those students (and some faculty) who, in the name of ‘universal values’, find themselves supporting a deadly organization such as Hamas, are not resilient nor enlightened. In fact, they are very ‘fragile’, to use a term coined by Lebanese-born intellectual Nassim Taleb. They are threatened by ideas, words, concepts and personalities, and view their own ‘feelings’ as hard evidence that real harm was actually done.
They are taught to view the world only through a binary prism, of oppressed vs. oppressor and black and white. Identity overrides substance. They are intimidated by anything they do not know and are not interested in hearing any other voice. They demand ‘trigger alerts’ and are obsessed with identifying ‘micro-aggressions’. No wonder that in such an academic climate, of social engineering rather than true learning, truth and facts have become ‘alternative narratives’.
As a result, many well-meaning folks (students, faculty, administration and even family-members), are unwilling and fearful of engaging in a conversation, not to say – a debate. Yet we all agree that conversation is the basic requirement for the exchange of information and knowledge creation. Debate is what we need as a society to make informed decisions.
The human fabric is made of diverse cultures with different views and opinions. It is what makes the world, and Israel specifically, a successful diverse nation that includes people of all cultures and religious affiliations.
That tension between different people and different spectrums of ideas and opinions creates the creative magic, and in Israel’s case – the “Creative Spirit’ of its people that is viewed as attractive and relevant worldwide. Think about the Beatles without the tension between McCartney and Lennon, or the NBA without the tension between Magic and Bird. Creative tension creates magic. We need more of that magic, and we need to celebrate our ability to argue and make sure that our students are resilient and comfortable enough to handle it.
The core purpose and mission of education is to introduce information and cultivate people who are critical thinkers to be willing to engage in a conversation. And that is what the World Zionist Village is all about.
Inviting people of all ages and cultures for a learning and living experience at a global campus. Reminding us of what Israel is all about and who we are through a Heritage Cultural Center. Celebrating the innovative pioneering spirit of Zionism through an Innovation Living Lab displaying world changing solutions in AgTech, DeserTech and ClimaTech. Engaging students, educators, scholars, and community leaders in crucial conversations about our past, present and future. And offering short- and long-term immersive programs for all ages, cultures, and religious affiliations – bringing the world together in one place for a shared destiny.
The Village will stand as a beacon of light to the world at this crucial time in history and will provide the global Jewish community with an “Educational Iron Dome” it desperately needs to help combat antisemitism.
And we still have hope.
In every major pluralistic society, there are around 10% who will not like us, 20% that like us and love Israel, and around 70% who are uninterested and/or uninformed.
We need to provide the 70% with the immune system to be able to deal with the toxic messages of the 10% and make sure they understand what Israel is all about and they know who we are.
In our efforts to support Israel, we need to give that 70% intimate knowledge of Israel and foster conversation and a real connection to our land and people.
I believe in us. I believe in our future. And I look forward to having a conversation soon, at the Village. Until then, see you at the World Zionist Village Pavilion at JNF-USA Global Conference in Dallas this coming November.
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Ido Aharoni is a Global Distinguished Professor of Business at Touro University, lecturer at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University and the Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative visiting lecturer at University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU). He has been Israel’s longest-serving Consul-General in New York (2010-2016).