At a time when blatant anti-Semitism (not always disguised as "anti-Zionism") is sadly on the increase in Britain, it is good to know that an imaginative program of events will be held there to mark six decades of our national independence.
During 2008, your correspondent reports, "Israeli and British educators" will tour the UK, visiting schools, universities and Jewish communities, and leading seminars "on a wide range of common experiences." Who will choose these educators and what kind of experiences will they impart to their audiences? It is an undeniable fact that, in the not so distant past, some of Israel's cultural ambassadors have given British listeners a decidedly negative picture of the Jewish state.
This issue will be of particular concern to ex-Merseysiders like myself, since "a large-scale event" is scheduled to take place in our home town, Liverpool, which has been designated "European City of Culture" for 2008.
Is it too much to hope that those organizing the celebrations, headed by Ambassador Zvi Heifetz and Zionist Federation chairman Andrew Balcombe, will for once ensure that Israeli speakers will include a few veteran British olim - the people who are best equipped and motivated to address Jews and non-Jews alike?
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