YITZHAK NAVON CENTER FOR A SHARED SOCIETY

Addressing the most pressing needs within Israel "May we build a society rooted in compassion, a society that has the power to end poverty, violence, political radicalism, and social polarization. A moral, ethical society that will bring us pride, inspire worldwide admiration… and, above all else, wholeheartedly strive for peace." Yitzhak Navon Israel. A pulsating society comprised of Jews of distinct ethnicities and varied traditions, living alongside Arab, Druze, Moslem and Christian neighbors – equally diverse. Vital, vibrant and vivacious. But also precarious. This multiplicity of identities and beliefs presents an enormous challenge to Israel’s social resilience. Disparate viewpoints engender contrasting visions and spawn divisive discourse, such that the divisions extant in the country today – evenwithin its Jewishmajority - pose a clear andpresent danger, potentially as much a threat to Israel’s future as any posed by its enemies from without. It is a threat to be taken seriously. In its recent report “Challenges to Societal Resilience,” Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies highlighted “an accelerated trend of weakening social solidarity within social groups, between social groups and the state, and between the individual and the state.” Duly concerned by this phenomenon, the Government of Israel has formally resolved to combat it, taking upon itself to assist in the creation of the YNC and committing an initial NIS 16,000,000 ($5,000,000) to the project. Its decision to do so acknowledges that “Israel is comprised of various communities and diverse ethnic groups [resulting in] rifts that have existed for many decades accompanied by cultural and economic gaps,” and refers to Yitzhak Navon as “an outstanding symbol of unity, mutual responsibility, and social cohesion.” This endorsement of the undertaking, in word and deed, is both an expression of the seriousness with which the State of Israel views the pressing need for fulfilling Navon’s vision of a shared society and the faith it has in the YNC to further that objective.

-04