Jewish Portal of Teacher Education

Source:  Facing Tomorrow – The Israeli Presidential Conference, 2008

As part of the celebration of the 60th year of the existence of the State of Israel, the Honorable President of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres convened, in Jerusalem, an international conference of political and religious leaders, thinkers and prominent professionals to discuss and propose ways to help the Jewish People in Israel and abroad prepare for the future.

In preparation for Facing Tomorrow - The Israeli Presidential Conference May, 2008, The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) published a volume of background and policy documents which were meant to provide the participants with the primary tools for making the conference deliberations as efficient, productive and inspired as possible.

The volume is prefaced with a section containing the summaries of The Conference for the Future of the Jewish People held by the JPPPI in the summer of 2007 in Jerusalem. Facing Tomorrow was convened to push forward the work and momentum of that conference.

Part One

The first part contains the papers dealing with geopolitics: mega-trends impacting world Jewry and Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Islamist challenge, the Jewish civilization and rise and decline theory, and the urgent issue of global leadership in the 21st century. Part one also includes papers relating to Jewish identity, Jerusalem as the civilizational capital of the Jewish People, world Jewish demography, and Tikkun Olam.
Contents:

Geopolitics:

Mega-Trends in the Next Five Years which will Impact on World Jewry and Israel
Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat

The Annapolis Process
Ambassador Avi Gil

The Islamist Challenge
Prof. Emmanuel Sivan

Jewish Civilization at the Crossroads: Rise and Decline in the Historic Perspective
Dr. Shalom Solomon Wald

Global Leadership in the 21st Century: The New Ruler
Prof. Yehezkel Dror

Jewish Identity:

Jerusalem as the Civilizational Capital of the Jewish People
Prof. Yehezkel Dror

Jewish Identity and Identification of America’s Young Jews
Prof. Chaim I. Waxman

Jewish Identity and Identification of Israel’s Young Generation
Dr. Shlomit Levy and Dr. Hagit Hacohen Wolf

Jewish People Leadership for the 21st Century
Prof. Yehezkel Dror

Tikkun Olam: Basic Questions and Policy Directions
Dr. Yehudah Mirsky

Jewish Demography and Peoplehood: 2008
Prof. Sergio DellaPergola

Part Two

Part two provides overviews of topics which are meant to add a deeper value to the agenda of Facing Tomorrow, and which impact the Jewish future. It includes papers on the frontiers of scientific and medical research, technology and economic trends.

Contents:

Tomorrow’s Crises Today: Frontiers of Scientific Research and Technology in the Coming Decade
Prof. Hermona Soreq

Medicine Tomorrow: Trends in 21st Century Medicine
Yaakov Naparstek

Israel 2028 – Social Economic Vision and Strategy in a Global World
David Brodet

The articles included in this volume help to attain a vivid up-to-date picture of the challenges facing the Jewish People at the beginning of the 21st Century and some possible directions for meeting those challenges. This volume should serve as an important basis for future discussion of development of Jewish education around the world.

Reviewed by JTEC Portal Team