President, ministers discuss pandemic challenges with US Jewish leaders

President Reuven Rivlin and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi hold a Zoom meeting with US Jewish leaders to discuss the challenges facing American Jews amid the pandemic.

“These are days when we are all facing the challenges of the coronavirus and, more than ever, it is most important to deepen the bonds between us. It is time for us to be there for each other,” says Rivlin, according to a statement from his office.

“For many years, the American Jewish community has stood with Israel. Today, we are here to hear you, and to see how we can help in any way. Because despite the distance between us, we feel closer today than ever before,” he says.

Ashkenazi says: “The sense of mutual obligation between the State of Israel and the global Jewish community is a cornerstone of Israeli diplomacy around the world and for me personally as foreign minister. I salute the leaders of the American Jewish community for their leadership as they confront the coronavirus pandemic. We share the same fate and we must work together to get through this crisis.”

A spokesperson for Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelevich says she pre-recorded a message that was displayed at the meeting but could not attend alongside Rivlin and Ashkenazi due to time constraints.

היה לי לכבוד להשתתף היום בשיחת הזום שערך הנשיא @ruvirivlin בנוכחות שר החוץ @Gabi_Ashkenazi עם נציגי יהדות התפוצות. אמשיך לפעול למען החיבור בין מדינת ישראל לכל יהדות העולם, בייחוד בתקופה מאתגרת זו הדורשת אחדות יהודית עולמית. pic.twitter.com/mBUNmquDIN

— עומר ינקלביץ' – Omer Yankelevitch (@omeryankelevitc) June 10, 2020