Global Israeli Leadership

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Global Israeli Leadership logo, uploaded to the GIL Facebook page on 12 January 2020.

Global Israeli Leadership (GIL) is a network of Israelis living outside Israel ("the Israeli diaspora") which lobbies for their recognition by the Israeli state and by Jewish communities abroad. It grew out of a meeting of Israeli lay leaders in Toronto in 2011 and held its first conference in London in March 2014. The conference was co-initiated by the London publisher Anat Koren, opened by the Israeli ambassador Daniel Taub, and sponsored by Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption and the Jewish Agency for Israel.[1][2] Its later conferences were welcomed by President Reuven Rivlin and partly hosted by Israel's Foreign Ministry (Jerusalem, 2017). In 2018 it registered as a non-profit association (amuta) in Israel on the advice of a Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.[2]

Background

According to the Times of Israel, "The roots of the GIL initiative date back to 2011 when independent Israeli lay leaders from around the world met in Toronto to address challenges faced by their countrymen living abroad... a core group of devoted volunteers took form and initiated the first official GIL conference in 2014, in London. Since then, there's been an annual gathering in a different city, including two in Israel."[2] The London conference was initiated by Anat Koren (London), Oren Heiman (New York), Ran Mesterman (Toronto) and Eitan Drori (Melbourne).[1] Drori, who moved from Jerusalem to Australia in 1998, has been described as "one of the founders" and "the driving force behind the Paris gathering" of 2018.[2]

GIL's stated aims include lobbying for Israelis abroad; promoting Hebrew culture and Hebrew education "with support from the Israeli government"; promoting Israeli culture abroad; better relations between Israeli and Jewish communities; and "lobbying for creating an Israeli Diaspora governmental office".[2] Its London co-founder, Anat Koren, also led the Israeli Forum Task Force and the Alliance of Israelis in Great Britain (AGIV). In 2015 she was described as "Agiv chair and GIL co-chair".[3]

Links to the Israeli state

  • Israeli Embassy, London: Ambassador Daniel Taub was announced to open the March 2014 London conference,[1] and the Embassy of Israel was listed among its partners.[4]
  • Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption: the London conference was held "with the sponsorship and active participation of representatives of the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption via the Israeli House in London".[1]
  • Jewish Agency for Israel: a co-sponsor of the London conference.[1] Rael Goodman, head of the Jewish Agency's UK office, spoke there.[4]
  • Knesset: on 30 October 2014 Oren Heiman "initiated and produced the first discussion in the Knesset about the status and relationship with the Israeli diaspora".[5] Yehiel Bar (Hilik Bar), then Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, told Drori in 2017: "If you don't register as an official organization in Israel, almost no one in the political realm will take you seriously."[2]
  • President of Israel: in 2017 President Reuven Rivlin "welcomed a 40-person GIL delegation at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem" and called Israelis abroad "the fifth tribe of Israel".[2]
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem lent its support and legitimacy by hosting much of the [2017] conference at its Jerusalem headquarters".[2] At the 2018 Paris conference the Cultural Attaché of the Israeli Embassy in Paris, Elinor Agam Ben-David, gave a presentation.[2]

Personnel

GIL's website listed the following committee members (names transliterated from Hebrew):[6]

Board

Audit committee

The Times of Israel also named Vered Glickman, Nitza Levy (Mexico City) and Galya Sarner (Toronto) as board members in 2018. Galya Sarner is married to the article's author.[2]

Funding and sponsors

Rami Rosengarten, a GIL board member, is "a top executive at DavidShield, which provides health insurance to Israelis living abroad". The Times of Israel called him "a major supporter" of the 2018 conference.[2] DavidShield was also listed as a partner of the 2014 conference.[7] The partners listed for the London conference were the UJIA, DavidShield, Alondon, the Embassy of Israel, the Jewish Agency and Danubius Hotels.[4] Attendees of the 2018 conference travelled "at their own expense".[2] Before the 2018 conference Koren posted that "AGIV – The roof organization of the Israeli in the UK is ready to fund participation fees for Israeli activists from the UK".[8]

Activities

London conference, March 2014

The first conference was held in London on 28–30 March 2014, at the Danubius Hotel Regents Park.[1][4] Speakers included Eitan Drori, Ambassador Daniel Taub and Rael Goodman of the Jewish Agency.[4] The Jewish News reported that it drew about 70 participants from 13 countries and was opened by Avraham Wortzman MK, Israel's deputy Education Minister.[9] GIL's press release for the summit described Anat Koren's involvement with the Israeli Forum Task Force.[10]

Israeli Diaspora Day in the Knesset, October 2014

On 30 October 2014 the Knesset held what Oren Heiman described as its first discussion of "the status and relationship with the Israeli diaspora".[11] GIL's Facebook page listed Eitan Drori and Amit Marom among the participants.[4]

Jerusalem conference, 2017

A 40-person GIL delegation was received by President Rivlin, and much of the conference was hosted at the Foreign Ministry's headquarters in Jerusalem. GIL organisers were photographed with Rivlin and the Deputy Speaker, MK Yehiel Bar.[2]

Paris conference, October 2018

The fifth annual conference was held in Paris from 19 to 21 October 2018, at a Jewish community centre, with 35 attendees.[2] GIL's Facebook page listed speakers including Marc Attali, Israel's deputy ambassador in France (Minister Plenipotentiary), the author Shuki Stauber, the novelist Mira Magen and Orly Carmon.[8][12] In the Times of Israel report, Anat Koren said:

"British Jews have to start treating us with more interest and respect... The Board of Deputies of British Jews is supposed to represent all segments of the Jewish community and yet there's not even one Israeli on it... I think British Jews are a bit lost... more Jews in the UK are talking about that because of rising anti-Semitism and the prospect of [Labor Party Leader Jeremy] Corbyn as prime minister."[2]

The same report said that "GIL leaders last week completed the legal steps to create an official not-for-profit organization [amuta] in Israel... to facilitate fundraising and engaging with politicians, government bodies and official institutions".[2] Koren's statement that there was "not even one Israeli" on the Board of Deputies contrasts with her own earlier descriptions as the representative of the Israeli community on the Board.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Dalit Halevi, "כנס בינלאומי של הישראלים בתפוצות" (International conference of Israelis in the diaspora), Arutz Sheva, 19 February 2014 (Hebrew).
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Robert Sarner, "At Paris conference, expat Israelis strategize how to empower growing 'diaspora'", Times of Israel, 4 November 2018 (archived copy: archive.ph/lbSB2; author's copy: robertsarner.com).
  3. ↑ Josh Jackman, "Vigil planned in London for Israeli victims of terror attacks", The Jewish Chronicle, 8 October 2015 (archived copy: archive.ph/Jik1M).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Global Israeli Leadership, Facebook post on the London 2014 conference (Hebrew; archived copy).
  5. ↑ Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law, "Adv. Oren Heiman", viewed 2 November 2026.
  6. ↑ Global Israeli Leadership, "Chairman and Members of the Committee" (Hebrew; archived copy, retrieved via Archive.today on 8 February 2022).
  7. ↑ DavidShield, page on Global Israeli Leadership (archived copy).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Global Israeli Leadership / Anat Koren, Facebook post on the 2018 conference (Hebrew; archived copy, retrieved via Archive.today on 18 March 2022).
  9. ↑ "Community news roundup", Jewish News, 28 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Global Israeli Leadership, "Global Israeli Leadership Summit Press Release" (archived copy, retrieved via Archive.today on 9 February 2022).
  11. ↑ Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law, "Adv. Oren Heiman", viewed 2 November 2026.
  12. ↑ "Marc Attali: «Jérusalem n'a jamais été la capitale d'un Etat arabe»", Invité du matin, RFI, 14 May 2018 (for his post as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Israeli embassy in France).
  13. ↑ "Israelis in the UK and their relationship with the local Jewish community", Limmud Conference 2013: "Anat represents the Israeli community on the Board of Deputies".
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