The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs () is a government ministry in Israel. As a ministerial post in the

Israeli cabinet The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

, it has gone under several different names and was combined with the Jerusalem portfolio between 2013 and 2015. Between June and November 2005 there was also a Deputy Minister.

History

The department was created under the as a deputy ministry called the Ministry of Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community in 1999, with a budget of approximately $2 million. Rabbi

Michael Melchior Michael Melchior (; born January 31, 1954) is a Jewish leader, Orthodox rabbi, thinker, and activist. He is a former Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a former member of Knesset for Meimad ...

was the inaugural minister, with the goal to improve Israel-

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...

relations, combat antisemitism, and create education and Israel experience programs. The ministry was temporarily closed in February 2007, with responsibilities moved to the Department for Policy and Implementation in the Prime Minister's Office. In 2023, the ministry organized three delegations of security personnel from the Baltic states, Brazil, and Belgium to visit Israel and provide tools to handle antisemitic attacks in their respective countries. Amid the global rise of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, the ministry allocated $2.2 million for protecting Jewish institutions and programs in Jewish schools. In January 2024, the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

called in a report for the Israeli government to shut down the ministry, stating that it was "established for political reasons, lacked vision and substance, and had promoted few initiatives. The center recommended the ministry's duties be divided between the

Israeli Foreign Ministry The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other c ...

and the Prime Minister's Office. The report's conclusions mirrored the beliefs of some Israeli diplomats that the ministry lacked purpose and did not have the personnel to fight antisemitism abroad.

List of portfolio holders

Deputy ministers

References

External links

* {{Current government of Israel Israel based opposition to antisemitism Government of Israel

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

Diaspora ministries Jewish diaspora Israeli diaspora 1999 establishments in Israel