Community members will unite for Jewish National Fund-USA’s “A New Conversation—Resilience in a Post-Oct. 7 World” event in Aspen on July 18. featuring guest speaker Ido Aharoni, a 25-year veteran of Israel’s foreign diplomatic service who oversaw the operations of Israel’s largest overseas mission from 2010 to 2016, and was the longest-serving consul-general in New York and the tri-state area.
Now serving as the Global Distinguished Professor for International Relations at New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science, Aharoni will share his expertise about the ongoing war started by Hamas on Oct. 7, as well as the growing issues with antisemitism both in the United States and internationally.
“In the Middle East, when you say ‘peace,’ it’s usually not the kind of relations that, let’s say, the United States and Canada have,” Aharoni said in a recent interview with IsraelCast podcast host Steven Shalowitz. “Peace is largely non-belligerency. But that is not enough. We have to have normal ties put in place, cultivated, and nurtured. That’s why we call our agreements ‘normalization.’”
The event will also feature Ira Green, CEO of Jewish National Fund-USA’s World Zionist Village, a 16-acre global gathering place for people of diverse backgrounds dedicated to educating and enhancing the connection and values in Zionism across cultures and generations.
The site will also serve as the second home for Jewish National Fund-USA’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel, a college-prep, study-abroad program in Israel for American teens.
Beautifully designed and situated in Beersheva—Israel’s fastest-growing city—the village will offer an oasis of thought, study and innovation, in addition to short-term educational programs, engaging forums, and research opportunities for people of all ages. More than that, it will spark a new and all-encompassing global conversation about the future of Zionism.
“I see the World Zionist Village as Jewish National Fund-USA’s ‘Living Lab’ for the future of Zionism and Israel,” stated Green. “I am seeking to develop the World Zionist Village to give expression to all the great technical and cultural developments in Israel, and to provide an opportunity for global engagement in the innovations in high-tech, agtech, food-tech and education that the organization has been philanthropically supporting.”
“The World Zionist Village is going to revolutionize how we talk about Zionism and how we prepare our next generation of leaders,” said Ron Werner, a resident of Colorado and president of Alexander Muss High School in Israel. “As protestors and students on college campuses are challenging Israel’s right to exist, and as Israel’s actual existence is threatened by terrorist networks including Hamas and Hezbollah, having a proper forum to discuss these global issues and develop our next generation has never been more important.”
Attendees will also be invited to attend the annual Jewish National Fund-USA’s Global Conference for Israel, which will take place this year in Dallas from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Sunday, Nov. 17 (jnf.org/gc).
For more information about Jewish National Fund-USA or to register, visit: www.jnf.org/movingforward or contact Boaz Meir, international development director, World Zionist Village at bmeir@jnf.org or 303.573.7095, Ext. 977.
