“Whilst I do not believe that the on-going existence of the Jewish people will be determined by the existence of the State of Israel, I do believe that the destiny of both the Jewish people in Israel and the diaspora are closely inter-linked.”
The Interviewee – Rob Berg (Born 1971), President of the Zionist Federation of New Zealand. Born in London, made Aliyah in 1995 and served one year in the IDF. Moved to New Zealand in 2009 and have been President of the ZFNZ since March 2015.
In your opinion, what importance, if any, does the existence of a Jewish state have to you personally and to Jewish people in general?
“The existence of a Jewish State is core to Jewish identity both to me personally and the Jewish community at large. By and large it is a unifying aspect of Jewish identity which crosses the religious-secular divide as well as intra-religious divide. Rarely a day goes by where Israel is not in my thoughts.
“Whilst I do not believe that the on-going existence of the Jewish people will be determined by the existence of the State of Israel, I do believe that the destiny of both the Jewish people in Israel and the diaspora are closely inter-linked.”
Do you feel committed in some way to defend the future existence of Israel?
“I feel totally committed to defend the continuing and future existence of Israel. I am proud of my service in the IDF, and whilst I no longer living in Israel, I would defend Israel’s existence to (G-d forbid) the bitter end in the best way I could. The are a core group of Israel advocates in New Zealand, of which I include myself, working tirelessly to counteract the anti-Israel narrative we sometimes see in New Zealand, as well as trying to lobby central government.”
Do you affiliate yourself with a specific denomination in Judaism? What is your view regarding the dominance of the Orthodox denomination in Israel religious establishment?
“I affiliate with Orthodox Judaism, although am not totally ‘shomrei mitzvot’. However, Orthodoxy’s, and specifically Haredi dominance in all aspects of state religious life in Israel is a big concern to me. When Oslo was in full swing and peace was being made with Jordan, there was a sense (albeit in hindsight misplaced) of optimism on the peace front from mainstream Israel. Unfortunately this same period saw increasing tensions in the secular-religious divide which came close to tearing the country apart. Whilst I pray for peace, I would not want to see the country torn apart again by the Orthodox dominance of the religious establishment.”
Do you feel morally responsible for Israel’s actions (such as its management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)?
“No, but I feel that I am often pushed into a place where I have to defend Israel’s actions, even if I may not necessarily agree with or have reservations about them.“
In your opinion, what is the main thing Israelis fail to understand about the reality of being Jewish outside of Israel?
“The impact the actions of Israel has on the diaspora community. This can be military action or statements made by Israeli public and military figures. Many Israelis I meet on ‘shlichut’ or who are new to living in the diaspora, are often surprised at the impact it has, and start to get a better understanding of the knock-on effect to the diaspora community.
“The other area I would suggest is that for Israeli Jews, being Jewish is part and parcel of being Israeli. It is not something Israeli Jews generally think about consciously on a regular basis. However, for diaspora Jewry, irrespective of religious belief or observance, being Jewish is a major part of our identity and who we are, and often what separate’s us the community we live in. This is not meant in a negative or superior way, but rather in how we define and view ourselves amongst the general population.”
How would you describe Israel’s policy (formally and in practice) regarding its relationship with the Diaspora?
“Unfortunately, I do not feel that Israel pays much attention to small communities who do not have the financial backing behind them to either be a large influencer of government or a large contributor of funds to Israel. In a country such as New Zealand, where we fortunately do not need to be rescued, but are also not in a position as a community to be large financial benefactors to Israel, we are often ignored or forgotten about, especially when it comes to diaspora and shlichut funding.“
In your opinion, does Israel have an obligation to defend and help Jewish communities in need?
“Without a doubt. Israel has a moral and ethical obligation to defend Jewish communities in need. It has an obligation to make sure nothing even remotely close to the Shoah ever happens again.”
Have you ever been to Israel? If you have, can you summarize your impressions from Israel?
“Yes, I have been to Israel several times on holiday, on shnat and I also lived there for 2 years. My overwhelming sense of Israel is ‘home!’“
What was your best experience of Israeli culture in the past year (book, music, TV, movie, theater etc.)?
“Israeli food at community events.”
Can you tell us a bit about the Jewish community in your hometown?
“I was born in London, but now live in Auckland, New Zealand. The Jewish community here is mostly secular and, unlike other major diaspora communities, is very dispersed around the city, so there is no one area with a high concentration of Jews. This makes building a community infrastructure very difficult and gives a dissipated feeling.
The Auckland community generally centres around three buildings, the Auckland Hebrew Congregation (Orthodox) which also houses the only Jewish school in the country, Beth Shalom (Progressive), and a non-denominational community building. There is one Kosher shop linked to the orthodox synagogue, which also houses a deli. New Zealand does have its own Kashrut Authority.
Apart from the synagogues congregation’s and the Jewish school, there is also B’nei Brith, Zionist Federation of New Zealand, Jewish Federation of New Zealand, The Jewish Council of New Zealand, Habonim Dror, B’nei Akivah, Hadassa, as well as a few Trust Funds and other groups.”
