Ministers decline to condemn Kor
Education Minister Rafi Peretz and Diaspora Affairs Minister Tzipi Hotovely declined to criticize the host of the International Bible Quiz for youth, Dr. Avshalom Kor, for comments he made disparaging life outside of Israel for Diaspora Jews.
Kor, a longtime host of the competition which is held under the auspices of the Education Ministry, described Jews living outside of Israel as living “in exile,” a phrase which is not well looked upon by many Jews outside of the Jewish state.
In addition, Kor said of one of the international contestants who had a rather sombre expression on his face: “What does he have to smile about? He lives in exile.”
Regarding a delay in the video connection with a contestant, Kor said “everything goes slower in the exile, not like here.”
The Ruderman Family Foundation which works to bridge between Israel and the Jewish world, described Kor’s remarks as “hurtful and dismissive to Jews living in the Diaspora.”
The foundation accused Kor of using the quiz platform “to speak in a condescending manner to the teenagers representing different [Jewish] communities from around the world.”
It called on Peretz to make clear that Kor’s comments “do not reflect the position of the Education Ministry” or his own personal opinion.
“It is rhetoric like that which distances Israelis from Jews around the world rather than bringing them closer together. These statements are not only offensive to the participants and their families, but also to the millions of Jews who celebrated Israel’s 72nd Independence Day, out of love of the land, the country and the people,” said the foundation.