The Jewish Agency and the Death of 'the Diaspora'

This past week, the Jewish Agency for Israel officially undertook what has been seen by some as a radical shift in the organization's agenda. Instead of focusing on pushing aliyah (immigration of Jews to Israel), they are now re-branding with the goal of fostering a global Jewish identity centered on connection to Israel. The entire "strategic vision", tiresome ambiguous language and all,  is available to read on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Fundermentalist blog (despite the kitschy name, the blog is firmly ideologically Zionist; Islamic and Christian fundamentalists beware, your Jewish equivalents are winning on the pun front). You can also connect via their hip new online presences on Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook (possibly the only Facebook group listed as being founded in 1929).

While the Anti-Defamation League condemns the blaming and targeting of 'diaspora' Jews for the crimes of the Israeli state, the Jewish Agency is fanning the flames of anti-Semitism by telling the world that yes, Jews and Israel are basically one and the same. With agencies like this, who needs racist skinheads? Indeed, instead of offering inclusive 'Jewish Education', they offer "Jewish-Zionist education" (and yet, the Agency is against hyphenation when it comes to mixed marriages). In actuality, not only does this betray the diverse beliefs and practices of the worldwide Jewry they claim to represent, but their organization's own history. Originally founded to represent Jews under the British Mandate, the then-named Jewish Agency for Palestine brought together both Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, the latter of whom advocated for unity rather than partition from the indiginous Arab population. Historical mistakes give way to historical revisions, and thousands of years of Jewish history is now reduced to serving a hundred year old nationalist ideology.