Minister of Diaspora Affairs Tzipi Hotovely met in Jerusalem Wednesday evening with a group of 30 Chabad on Campus rabbis and rebbetzins in her first official meeting since assuming her new role the day before.
Following a closed-door meeting led by Rabbi Yossy Gordon, CEO of Chabad on Campus International, Minister Hotovely spoke with the group about their activities on campus, asking questions as the emissaries related their experiences interacting students, and suggesting strategies for expanding their success.
“I see you as part of a think-tank,” Hotovely told the emissaries. “I want to hear from you: What are the issues that those students are interested in? What are the issues that are opening their hearts to Jewish identity?
“The State of Israel can learn from Chabad and I want to hear from you about what works. How do you do this magic?”
A spokesperson for the group said “the response from the emissaries mostly underlined the individual love they give their students, and the fact that “shlichus” – outreach — is a lifetime mission.”
Members of the group hail from universities around the world including Melbourne, Dartmouth, Vienna, Princeton, and York University. They are in Jerusalem for an eight-day training session specially designed by Yad Vashem to provide tools to teach students about the Holocaust at universities.