Conference for Diaspora educators to be held in Israel
Principals of Jewish schools and Jewish educational leaders are set to convene in Israel this summer for a first-of-its-kind conference, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced on Monday.
The ministry will host the event in cooperation with the Education Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Pincus Fund for Jewish Education. Participants have been invited from the United States, Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Africa. The ministries expect some 200 educators will attend.
The conference will take place on July 8-12 with the aim of creating an infrastructure for a worldwide Jewish education network and encouraging cooperation among educators in the Diaspora.
As part of the conference, lectures, workshops and tours will be held throughout Israel. Participants will work to create connections, peer learning and shared thinking on issues of Jewish identity and connection to Israel among the younger generation in the Diaspora.
Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement released on Monday: “The government of Israel is proud to be a partner, together with our brothers in the Diaspora, in the shared challenge of the future of the Jewish people”
“In my view, one of the most important and pressing tasks of the State of Israel is to strengthen ties with Diaspora Jewry,” he added. “The focus is on education. Therefore, for the first time ever, I have invited school principals and educators from all over the world to think together and formulate a strategy regarding the connection of the Jewish communities with the State of Israel. We are grateful to the educators for the tremendous mission they have taken upon themselves – building bridges between themselves and us. Precisely when outside antisemitism is rising, among ourselves we will [share] warm ties and strengthen our ranks. One people, one heart.”