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One People, One Destiny: The 2006 United Jewish Communities General Assembly

[Jerusalem Post] Michael C. Kotzin - The 2006 General Assembly (GA) convening this week in Los Angeles could be a watershed event for American Jews and Israelis alike. After this summer's war with Hizballah, the GA was refocused around the theme "Together on the Front Line: One People, One Destiny." Prompting this transformation was a recognition that Israel's war with Hizballah was far more than a military flare-up. With Israel's civilian population under attack; with Iran developing a nuclear capability and its president declaring that the Holocaust never happened and that the State of Israel - founded to ensure Jewish survival - should itself be wiped off the map; and with Islamic radicalism and a new anti-Semitism on the rise globally, there was a heightened sense that we are in this together. The conflict had a visceral impact on American Jews, who responded with local rallies and solidarity missions, and who have contributed $350 million to UJC's Israel Emergency Campaign. At the same time, in a world where they are increasingly isolated and vulnerable, many Israelis have been touched to realize that there is someone standing with them at a time of trial and need, someone with whom they have ties of kinship. The writer is Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
2006-11-14 01:00:00
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