Itzik Speaks

This afternoon, MK Dalia Itzik, who was Israel's first female Knesset speaker, talked to us, a rich full voice in richly accented English. She praised the Conservative movement, including of course its Masorti branch in Israel, as a deeply necessary bridge over the chasm that separates haredim from secular Jews in Israel. She praised the movement in ways that were specific and therefore seemed entirely real. But, she said, neither we nor the Reform movement have political power in Israel, and therefore we will continue to be powerless.

"If Israel wants to remain a lighthouse and anchor for the Jewish world, we must find a way for all the major streams in Jewish life to be represented," she said. "I fully believe that we must find a way to mend the rift and unite the Jewish world, as we have done in the past."

The main threat to Israel's continued existence, she said, is Iran, which has been responsible for arming Israel's enemies and feeding its terrorists the poison on which they thrive. Israel must find moderates among the Palestinians, in Jordan and in Egypt, with whom they can make common cause against the danger Iran poses to everyone, in the region and outside it. "You must find a way to raise your voices against Iran," she said. "The biggest threat to us is Iran, Iran, and again Iran."

To add to the inherent gloom of her description was how closely it echoed what we were told by Sallai Meridor, then Israel's ambassador to the United States, at our 2007 convention.

Still, she said, "I remain optimistic. Israel is a true miracle, a Jewish democratic island in a sea of Arab lands, a country rich in achivement, in high tech, biotech, medicine, science, agriculture, industrial research, and so many other fields. All this has been built with your help and your support. Thank you so much for this, for all of us who created this amazing living Zionist dream."

Joanne Palmer