From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Damning report urges Diaspora Ministry be shuttered
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
One of the world’s leading centers for the study of antisemitism is calling on Jerusalem to mothball the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, asserting that it is superfluous and does little to actually fight hatred of Jews.
In a report released today, Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry argues that the ministry was established for “petty political reasons,” “lacks vision and substance” and has “promoted few initiatives.”
“Larger, existing ministries could have equally promoted these” initiatives, it says. The report notes that the ministry’s attempt to track antisemitic incidents consists of a broken link on its website — “an extremely lazy way of targeting the issue.”
The ministry should be broken up and its duties divided between the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office — which should handle relations with Jewish communities and security issues, respectively, says the report, released annually ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“To make an actual difference in the fight against antisemitism, the Israeli government should set long-term objectives and plans, preferably in a non-partisan way and with advice from an independent panel of relevant experts,” it says.
The report’s conclusions dovetail with the beliefs of some Israeli diplomats, who believe that “on the ground” personnel are needed to deal with antisemitism abroad, something lacked by the Diaspora Ministry, long considered a government backwater with no clear purpose.
While he declined to comment on the performance of its current leadership, former Diaspora minister Nachman Shai told The Times of Israel despite whatever complaints there may be, it is “important for there to be a senior position in the government” dedicated to representing Diaspora interests.
The Diaspora Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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