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Netanyahu to Jewish Journalists: “Israel Will Overcome Odds Now and in the Future”

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This is MK Naftali Bennett of the Bayit Yehudi party. Speaking to over 140 newspaper correspondents, editors, bureau chiefs, publishers as well as radio, television and Internet reporters who gathered in Jerusalem for the first ever Jewish Media Summit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Jewish media must help address three major problems – the rise of anti-Semitism, rampant assimilation amongst Jewish youth and keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of radical Islamists – placing a particular emphasis on Iran.

Representatives of 25 countries attended the global confab at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel which ran from June 22-25. The four day event was the brainchild of the Israeli Government Press Office, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, JNF-KKL and the Jewish Agency who worked in conjunction to organize the seminal enterprise.

Addressing the issue that has gripped the nation and Jews around the world – the abduction of three Israeli yeshiva students by Hamas terrorists on June 12th, Netanyahu intoned on Sunday evening, June 22nd, “We are doing everything in our power to get them back safely to their homes,” adding that, “We don’t like challenges. Israel is the most challenged nation on earth.”

Netanyahu also spoke of the inherent resilience of the Jewish people and their ability to overcome adversity and build “a remarkable nation.” He exhorted the international gathering of Jewish journalists to “tell our story to the world, but first of all to our world, to our people.”

In an apparent attempt to stem the tide of tendentious reporting on Israel that has become synonymous with the mainstream media, the summit was organized to offer Jewish journalists the ability to see Israel firsthand and share experiences on the multitude of issues and challenges they experience in their professional capacities.

Recalling Israel’s profound achievements in technology, medicine and agriculture, Netanyahu told the assemblage, “Your cellphones have a piece of Israel; the medicines that save lives, there’s a piece of Israel in them; the salad you eat, there’s a piece of Israel in them as well.”

Prior to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address, the Jewish Media Summit opened with a semi-formal press conference with outgoing Israeli President Shimon Peres. Fielding an array of questions that touched upon his illustrious career as a politician and statesman to his positions on current matters pertaining to Israel and the now moribund peace process, President Peres said that the Jewish nation cannot remain stagnant and must always be moving in positive directions in the future.”

Concerning the recent revelations of his meetings with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his recent trip to Rome at the invitation of Pope Francis I, Peres said, “Abbas is the best partner that Israel has and the best we have had. I’ve known him for 20 years and he’s a man of his words and courage. What he did in Saudi Arabia, he was clear on peace and clear in his opposition to terror. He expressed an understanding of our problems. It is not a simple position to take and I don’t know of anyone else who would do it.”

Taking a question from this reporter on whether he had any advice for President Obama on his last visit to the White House in his formal capacity as president of Israel and whether he would ask the American president for the release of Jonathan Pollard, Peres said that he would try his best on Pollard’s behalf and discussed the escalating threat of Islamic domination in Iraq.

On Monday morning, the summit attendees gathered in the main auditorium at Mishkenot Sha’ananim in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem for several enlightening plenary sessions including, “The Role of Jewish Media in Maintaining Jewish Life” that was moderated by Shmuel Rosner, a writer and editor for The New York Times. The panel included such journalistic luminaries as Henrique Cymerman, Middle East and International Affairs expert, Gary Rosenblatt, Editor and Publisher of The Jewish Week, Jennifer Frazer, Comments Editor at The Jewish Chronicle of London and Marshall Weiss of Dayton, Ohio who is the President of the American Jewish Press Association.

On the issue of how the foreign press reports on topics related to Israel, Mr. Cymerman noted, “We have 1500 foreign correspondents living in the Ramat Rachel neighborhood in Jerusalem. This effects the way Israel is seen abroad. These reporters were too busy to report on the abduction of the three boys. They have been hijacked by political correctness. We must remember that the TV camera can be more lethal than a gun or a tank.”

Also addressing the summit on the topic of “Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism or Paranoia?” was Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Concerning the recent study of global anti-Semitism that was conducted by the ADL in 102 countries, Mr. Foxman said, “Measuring anti-Semitism is not an exact science and it is not a perfect instrument but we did this study because we only had anecdotal evidence.”

He went on to inform the summit participants that the results of the exhaustive study indicated that one out of four adults in the world harbor anti-Semitic feelings and beliefs but that the “good news” is that 74 percent are not anti-Semitic. He added the highest rates of bit-Semitism could be found in such regions of the world as North Africa and the Middle East.

Former Soviet dissidents MK Yuli Edelstein and Jewish Agency Chairman in Israel, Natan Sharansky recalled their horrific memories of being imprisoned in the former Soviet Union for their desire to immigrate to Israel to fulfill their dream of living a truly Jewish life in a plenary session called, “From Prisoner of Zion to the Leadership of Israel”.

Later that day, the summit participants toured the City of David in Jerusalem and enjoyed a lively address by MK Naftali Bennett of the Bayit Yehudi party.

On Tuesday, the conference participants took tours of the Gush Etzion region and others went to the Gaza border for a military briefing.

“So far, this summit has been exceptionally informative.  Besides the high minded issues that we Jews in the media deal with on a routine basis, this is an outstanding opportunity to connect with others and network and that is essential to our success,” said a South American attendee who chose to remain anonymous.

The summit concludes on Wednesday, June 25th.

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