New Jewish Agency head Herzog says government ministers damaging relations with Diaspora

24 June 2018, 6:47 pm

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Freshly elected Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog criticized government ministers for damaging Israel’s ties with Diaspora Jewry.

“The relations between Israel and the Diaspora have been severely damaged in recent years. Everything must be done to fix them,” the outgoing opposition chairman tells the Ynet news site.

After being asked whether the current government is working to ruin its relationship with Jews abroad, Herzog says that is not the case; however, he points out that when ministers have claimed that members of the Reform movement are not Jews, “it causes terrible damage in the hearts of millions of people overseas.”

“The entire perception that the Jewish people will disappear within a few generations, with the exception of a select group, is a bitter, unproven and mistake. By any means, there is spiritual wealth in everyone,” he said, referring to the non-Orthodox movements of Judaism.