Leaders and leadership: Is something missing?

It's become an energizing habit of mine to attend the annual Summer University organized by the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS). Hundreds of young people from across Europe gather in a picturesque spot for a week of studying and socializing.

This year, I addressed the students on the subject of leadership. When I asked them to identify individuals currently in the public arena - elected officials, moral voices, persons of conscience - whom they admired, there was a moment's silence. Then came a torrent of names. But when put to a vote, only four people enjoyed any widespread support. Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama ranked at the top, followed by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy.

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Are we one people?

How naïve I've been all these years!

I actually thought that Jews meant it when they spoke of "one people" and repeated the injunction, "All Jews are responsible one for the other."

It helped that this is the spirit in which I was raised. I was surrounded by all kinds of Jews - unbelieving and observant, knowledgeable and unschooled, native and foreign-born, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, engaged and apathetic. I always assumed that, in spite of our differences, or perhaps because of them, we were all one community.

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A Cri de Coeur from two Jewish generations

I've never visualized myself as a matchmaker, but in this particular case, I'm more than happy to give it a try.

Last week, AJC held its 102nd Annual Meeting. Among the more than 1,200 registrants, we had large contingents of Jewish leaders from literally dozens of countries. Similarly, we were blessed by the presence of young Jewish leaders, many representing student and youth groups from around the world.

In the interstices of the five-day meeting, I met privately with as many of these individuals and groups as possible. It's important to know what's on their minds and to see where, if at all, we might be in a position to help.

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