Meeting with Gidi Greenstein of the Reut Institute

Tonight, on the evening before the start of the Convention, a small group of CCAR Board members, Convention Committee volunteers, and CCAR staff had the opportunity to hear from Gidi Greenstein, the founder and President of the Reut Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan Israeli policy think tank.

Greenstein’s thoughts were interesting and thought-provoking, and I wanted to share them with you. The notes on this meeting, on which this recap is based, were taken by Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, for which I am grateful.

Greenstein spoke about Israel as one of top ten most sophisticated societies, and also one of the top ten in terms of technological sophistication. At the same time, it has a massively underperforming public sector. Thus there is a significant gap and waste that must be addressed.

He spoke about Israel as one of the world’s greatest exporter of talent. Where once people stayed in Israel despite economic challenges because of Zionism, but that is no longer a compelling enough reason for many. As he sees it, catching up economically with the first world is crucial to keep creative, educated, and talented young in the country, where they will contribute to Israel’s ongoing sophistication and growth.

To do so, Israel needs ambitious growth objectives. It needs to be in the top 15 of wealthy countries. But to do so is a leap. He asked how Israel can break away from the pack. This is something that only 13 countries have done. One important goal is to have a minimum of 6 % growth, with takes into account the rapid population increase in Israel. He also argued that to achieve this leap, there must be productive government intervention. But in order to see that vision be a reality, what is needed is the capacity to create transformations.

When asked where Israel’s Arabs fit into this vision, he answered that Arab Israelis are the engine of the leap because they are 20 % of the population but only 8 % of the GNP. He differentiated between Christian Arabs, who overall are highly educated and successful, and the two most generally uneducated Arab groups, Moslem women, and the Beduoin.

He also spoke about the changing relationship to Judaism in Israel happening today. He argued that an unintended consequence of Zionism is a community that is passionateabout Jewish issues, yet ignorant of Jewish culture and texts. He claimed that the intifada of 2001 caused young Israelis to consider that the conflict is not a territorial issue but a cultural/religious conflict.

This has led to the creation of many different resources for Israelis wanting to engage with Judaism outside the parameters of Orthodox Judaism. He explained that there is massive experimentation with the development of communities, with the very idea of community being front and center for many at this time. This push allows for massive creativity.

He also talked about American Jews and Israel. Where we used to have many barriers between us and Israel, with third parties like Federation or the Jewish Agency to go through, now we have direct “kissing points,” direct areas of connection.

There was much, much more, including some interesting thoughts about Israelis living in the States and the ways in which they now contribute to their communities (admittedly a subject close to my heart). Hopefully this short digest gives you a taste of the conversation. For more, please go the Reut website and learn about their work.http://reut-institute.org/

Lilah tov,
Hara