The GA Comes to Town

November 16, 2008 - 11:54 AM by DavidS · 1 Comment
Filed under: General

The “Feds” are in town this week, and they’re holding a conference. Not the FBI, of course, but the Jewish Federation folk, meeting at the United Jewish Community General Assembly, being held in Jerusalem this week. A combination tour/ networking/ policy-setting convocation, the GA is the premier annual event for the organized Jewish community in the U.S., with every Israeli politician worth his or her salt speaking there about their vision of the future, hoping to impress visitors, Israelis (and themselves) with ideas, thoughts and plans they would implement in Israel, if only given the chance.

For Israelis – especially olim from the U.S. – the GA means a chance to hook up with folks from the old country, a little more of a wait at local restaurants, and a chance to test the English language skills of potential Prime and other ministers in future governments, since they all speak before the GA. The program consists of sessions and discussions on issues important to the country and the Jewish world, with experts sorting out security, social, and economic issues. And, of course, there are the cultural events, such as Israeli dance performances, an Israeli food fair, etc. I’ve never been to a GA myself, but the program looks enough like those sponsored by the local Jewish federations that I used to attend back in the States.

The obvious question comes to mind here. GA: Good thing or no big deal? I say, good thing. For our North American guests, the GA is a great way to get an inside view on what is really going on in Israeli society, if you attend all the sessions and listen to all the speeches. In my travels back to the U.S., I find that the large majority of American Jews really don’t “get” a lot of the issues we face here.

As Americans, they can’t really be blamed for looking at things from an American perspective, but Israel really is a separate, independent entity with a destiny of its own. And while the solutions for those problems that appear valid from “over there” sometimes are, they often aren’t – and unless you get a chance to walk a mile (or a kilometer!) in Israel’s shoes, you might not realize that. Not that a week in Israel will necessarily bring that perspective to GA visitors – but if they make sure to attend the session with Bank of Israel Chairman Stanley Fischer, for example, they might just learn something. And all the money they spent on getting to and attending the GA will have been well invested.

Share with others