A Test for Israel-Diaspora-Relations

Ever since the first steps of Zionism, Israel-Diaspora relations have been a bone of contention. Since the creation of the state, the debate has evolved to focus on the question of Israel’s centrality in the Jewish world. Some scholars follow the positions of politicians and grant the State of Israel an undisputed leading role in contemporary Jewry. Others combat this position on behalf of the autonomy of diasporic centers of Jewish life. At the same time, one observes in practice a high degree of “permeability” of the line separating Israeli Jewry and today’s Jewish Diaspora, promoted by (Jewish) transnationalism, Israeli “enclaves” in Western metropolitan towns, and – of course – new waves of Alya. The crucial question arising in this context asks if Israel and the Jewish Diaspora tend today to gradually diverge from each other, still converge toward each other or just keep to a balance? This presentation discusses here how far academic debates, where intervene leading academic figures, constitute in themselves a test for future Israel-Diaspora-relations.