Several weeks ago a conference was held at the Barkai Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs on the future of the Jewish People. The goal of the conference was to educate the rabbis about the state of the Jewish people in the Diaspora and to discuss whether Israeli community rabbis have any responsibility towards the Diaspora community. Haggai Elitzur, a senior official in the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, spoke on "The Meaning of the Concept of the Nation State of the Jewish People.". Shmuel Rosner, noted columnist and Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute spoke on "The Character of the Jewish People in the Diaspora". Rabbi Shai Finkelstein, Rav of Congregation Nitzanim in Jerusalem (and former Rabbi of Baron Hirsch Congregation in Memphis, TN) spoke about "The Place of Diaspora Jewry and Their Congregations in the State of Israel. Finally Rabbi Aharon Baskin the Secretary of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe spoke about the challenges facing the Jewish People in Europe.
