Israel and Peoplehood Committee hold their first meeting. Credit: Iris Bartov

By Rachel Stern

Shalom Austin recently formed a new committee as a direct result of the organization’s new strategic plan which outlines four focus areas for the next few years. Israel and peoplehood  (global Jewry) is one of those four pillars of focus for Shalom Austin. “We strived to gather a variety of people and perspectives whose common thread was a commitment to Israel and other global Jewish communities,” said Iris Bartov, arts and adults director at Shalom Austin.

The Israel and Peoplehood Committee, which is co-chaired by Debbie Rudy and Ilana Nesher, convened this group which includes community members Amy Martisan, Mike Sankari, Carol Silverberg, Ben Kogut, Renee Lafair, Sandra Hoffman, Nora Lieberman, Sarah Jew, Robin Davis, Stuart Wallock and Rabbi Alan Freedman. The defined goal of the committee is to build and sustain meaningful connections between the Central Austin Jewish community, Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. The committee’s work will focus on promoting and launching education, engagement and philanthropy.

While the Israel and Peoplehood Committee is still in its beginning stages and is in the process of identifying next steps and tangible outcomes, its impact is already evident. An initiative already in the works is to curate content of Israel-based experience and resources so that the community can easily be “in the know” and can connect to what interests them. With the growing Israeli community and Israel-focused organizations, the timing for this work is now.

“When I was asked to co-chair this committee with Ilana Nesher, Shalom Austin was pushing on an open door. As a child of Holocaust survivors, no one is more aware than I am that being born an American Jew is like winning the lottery,” said Rudy. “The incredible freedoms we enjoy need to be appreciated by all of us and can’t be taken for granted. Our brothers and sisters in Israel protect our birthright to a Jewish homeland every day. We also need to honor our connection to our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world, many of whom still don’t enjoy the freedoms that we do. Ilana and I come from different generations, backgrounds and have different points of view. But we are of one mind when it comes to the mission of our committee: appreciating Israel and Jewish peoplehood, learning about it and teaching it to our community, children and grandchildren is a sacred obligation.”

“As an Israeli now living in the U.S., who is a daughter of an Israeli father and as an American mother, I live and breathe both communities and it has always been a passion of mine to strengthen the bonds between them. The Jewish people living in Israel, the U.S. and worldwide share a past, a present and should be working together on a shared future. I am excited to now be working on this in Central Texas and especially with a partner like Debbie Rudy,” said Nesher.

For more information about the committee, contact Iris Bartov at (512) 735-8086 or iris.bartov@shalomaustin.org.