Press Release: IPF Atid Launches #OurFutureIsrael Campaign
Friday, June 12, 2020
For Immediate Release:
“As millennials stepping into mantles of leadership now and for decades to come, we are compelled to raise our voice at this time of great uncertainty in global Jewish affairs and amidst the coronavirus pandemic.” – #OurFutureIsrael Campaign
The Israeli government is set to proceed with formal deliberations on annexation beginning July 1; with that date fast approaching, IPF Atid, the young professionals community of Israel Policy Forum, launched its new #OurFutureIsrael campaign yesterday with a large kickoff event. The program featured nearly 100 IPF Atid national leaders in conversation with former Member of Knesset Stav Shaffir, exploring shared challenges, opportunities, and uncertainties ahead of annexation.
“The collaboration with Israel Policy Forum and its young generation is so important, because you are our partners in order to try to win in this so incredibly important fight, and I feel we have to do it together, and that’s exactly the kind of work I know you’re working on right now,” Shaffir said during yesterday’s call.
In addition to a series of educational programs and salons, culminating in “The Road Ahead: Leading Responsibly for Israel’s Future” on June 23, #OurFutureIsrael aims to mobilize a wide range of North American Zionists to raise their voices in calls for responsible leadership against an Israeli decision to unilaterally declare sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. The campaign states:
“In moments like these, when extreme voices seek to dominate the conversation, we return to our values and each other. #OurFutureIsrael envisions and works towards the strengthening of a Jewish and democratic Israel, one whose borders are defensible and secure for generations to come. #OurFutureIsrael embodies Zionism, binding Jews worldwide with the one Jewish state. Far from giving up, we choose to recommit to our values and call for more responsible leadership from decision-makers in Washington, the Jewish community, and in the region.”
Leaders and members of the community interested in joining the campaign are encouraged to use #OurFutureIsrael across social media and to add their name with this action form.
“We’re demonstrating to the public and communal leadership where the rising generation of pro-Israel leaders are in our community. Among many things threatened such as Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination, annexation risks the entire Zionist project and its future, and this deeply concerns us,” reflected IPF Atid’s new chair, Jonathan Kamel.
IPF Atid Los Angeles Chair Alexandra Stabler adds, “Annexation not only dims the possibility that we’ll ever live to see peace by way of a two-state solution, but also puts me and my peers in both Israel and America at odds with our values, at a time that is calling upon us to recommit to them and commanding us to do the right thing.”
*Click here to watch the full campaign kickoff program from Thursday, June 11, featuring IPF Atid leadership and former MK Stav Shaffir. Israel Policy Forum young professionals were also joined by leading scholars Dr. Shira Efron and Aaron David Miller earlier this week to explore “What’s At Stake? Annexation and an Uncertain Future.”
For inquiries about the campaign and to be connected with community leaders affiliated with it, please contact IPF Atid National Director Adam Basciano at abasciano@ipforum.org (973-738-3251)
IPF Atid is the young professionals network of Israel Policy Forum, an organization dedicated to advancing support for a viable two-state solution. IPF Atid educates, empowers, and connects the rising generation of Jewish and foreign policy professionals in support of a Jewish, democratic, and secure Israel. It engages leaders across North America communities and has volunteer-led chapters in Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
