August 21, 2025 • 41 mins
Former IDF Brigadier General Orit Adato spent 25 years in the military before becoming Israel's first female prison commissioner. What she discovered there changed everything: Israel's greatest security threat wasn't external enemies, but the divisions within Israeli society itself. Now chairperson of Gesher, Adato has dedicated her post-military career to something unprecedented—bringing together religious, secular, and ultra-Orthodox Israelis who have never sat in the same room.
In this candid conversation, Adato shares why she believes "social cohesion is our most important national security component," how the October 7th war has both deepened divisions and created new opportunities for unity, and why her organization tackles the 20% of conflicts most others avoid. A rare glimpse into the quiet work of healing a fractured society—one conversation at a time.
For more information about Gesher's programs or to participate in their leadership initiatives, visit their website or contact their offices throughout Israel.
In this candid conversation, Adato shares why she believes "social cohesion is our most important national security component," how the October 7th war has both deepened divisions and created new opportunities for unity, and why her organization tackles the 20% of conflicts most others avoid. A rare glimpse into the quiet work of healing a fractured society—one conversation at a time.
For more information about Gesher's programs or to participate in their leadership initiatives, visit their website or contact their offices throughout Israel.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Japim sits down one and today we sit
down with a Riadacel, the CASA Leadership instituteair person.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
So the idea is deal with the conflict, but stay together.
And we gave them another point of view by visiting
Jewish communities around the world so to get to know
how it works outside of Israel. We always think that
we are the center of the world. And I is
(00:41):
a seventh generation born. Until I was a colonel in
the military, I've never met face to face foreign community
outside of Israel.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So welcome or to the show. Really excited to sit
down with you and have this conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Before we get started said I just want to hear
a little bit about you and also how you became
to be the chap Ason of Gaessa and what Gaessa is.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
My name is Rita Datto. I'm a seventh generation born
in Israel from both sides. I've been serving my country
for about thirty years, twenty five out of it in
the military in the IDEAF up to a rank of
a brigadier general. I've been the head of the Women's Core,
(01:30):
my last position. Then I was called to the flag
by the Minister of Public Security and became the first
woman as the commissioner of the Israeli Prison Service. And
we are talking about twenty five years ago, not nowadays.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was really a breakthrough.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I've seen there what I haven't seen in my entire
career in the military, meaning I've met face to face
the backyard of the Israeli society.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
So I realized that.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The most important thing, even though we need power, we
need the military, we need all the security organization, but
the most important component of our national security is the
social cohesion and the social resilience that leads into national resilience.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
That was something that I've.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Really got to know and to be able to think
about it as a national mission. Mission for me again,
another national mission. Therefore, after I retired, even though I
opened my private company and I worked worldwide in.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Issues like.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I would say, consultancy in terrorists in prison, terror intelligence
and all of these very nice things. Besides that, aside
to that, I was always involved in community positions, in
public positions, various, but always I had something to do
(03:26):
with the Israeli society. I also realized that the NGOs,
the non governmental agencies, are filling the gaps that the
government misses. And when we are talking about cohesion, about unity,
(03:47):
about society, it's a very diversal society. Israel has been
from the very first day and will be so when
people thought about the Israeli I would say Israel as
a country, the idea as a military like a melting pot.
(04:11):
I was always saying, No, it's a mistake because melting
point pot melt your identity, mailt your personality and bring up,
you know, the same figures. No, it's not the right
way to look at it. And I was I have
children then they were young enough to know what they
(04:34):
are playing with. And one of the games that I
think is the best metaphor for it is the puzzle,
because the puzzle, you don't find two components that are
exactly the same. You can find similar but it could be,
you know, a puzzle of ten components or thousands components,
(04:58):
all every each one of these components keep its own figure, identity,
and the leadership is the ability to build from that components.
These components a cohesion a picture, a cohesive picture, and
(05:19):
when you go two steps backward, you don't see the differences,
but you keep their identity, their personality, their traditions, their
whatever they came with into that mission, so it was
obvious for me to find.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The way today.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Sure, I was the chairperson of futal time with the
agency Jewish Agency of Shoham, the place that I live
with the Jewry in Venezuela, which was different from other
colleagues of mine in American communities.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Very different, Yeah, totally different.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And then I finished that position and there was a
vacant and then I met Ilan Galdoor, the see of.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Geesher, and he asked me do you know about us?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I said, yeah, I know that you are dealing with
kids and you are also dealing a little with the
cadets in the military. And he said, come visit us,
and I came. And since I came, I stayed for
many years, changing my position, but for many years.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So let's go into a little bit about what Gasher does.
I mean, you kind of touched on it slightly just now,
but I guess if you could describe it to people
who are listening you, maybe you don't know, they haven't
heard of it. What would you say that Gasha's day
today is like I.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Would say that Geesher has been established more than you
believe before fifty years buy a newcomer, doctor Daniel Trooper,
who believed then that then the urgent need is to
develop and Jewish and Israeli identity among youth, among teenagers.
(07:08):
And for many years it was meeting with religious and
secular youth, dealing with each other, getting to know each other,
realizing that the stereotypes are not as they thought.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Before, etc. Etc.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And a little bit in the military as well as
giving the young commanders, potential commanders cadets the tools how
to deal with such kind of issues and society or
subordinates that are going to lead. But during the years
(07:43):
it has changed. I can tell you that I stepped
in and I said, okay, we are dealing with down
top a little bit. But if you want to make
a change, and you want these meeting to influence, you
need influence.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
People as well. Don't leave that.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Of course, that's for the thousands, but we need champions
as well. So we opened the Leadership Institute, which has
now over five hundred Alumnis colleagues that are amazing positions
and they are amazing people. Of course, the main idea
(08:26):
was to engage secular, national, religious and altra Orthodox haaridi
of all kinds, men and women, from the public security,
from the private security, from the third security and not security,
oh I missed it, from the public service, from the business,
(08:53):
and also from the NGOs all around Israel and periphery
and central and ever.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And with these people we can influence.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
These people are spread out all over the country and
we are we haven't finished with that, you know. We
are maintaining that we gave them the opportunity not only
to meet which with each other and to realize that
they didn't have any opportunity to do it before. They
(09:27):
are discussing disputes. They are discussing our conflicts, but they
stay together. So the idea is deal with the conflicts,
but stay together. That's the most important idea. And we
(09:47):
gave them another point of view by visiting Jewish communities
around the world, so to get to know how it
works outside of Israel. We all think that we are
the center of the world. And I, as a seventh
generation born until I was a colonel in the military,
(10:07):
I've never met face to face a foreign community outside
of Israel. When I met for the first time, it
was the US with a group of Israelis.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
None of them was a military person.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I was the only one. Then I realized what it
really means. And that's what I've told you before. I
knew that whenever whatever I will be doing, that will
be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Dealing with the Jewish people.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
With the diasporas we say, so after giving them the
opportunity to know, to visit, to feel how leadership, Jewish leadership,
various Jewish leadership is, dealing with being a Jew, being
a supporter of Israel or not unaffiliated, all the range
(11:04):
of them. When they come back they realize this is
something more than just looking at our corners just what
we are doing here. So the Institute of leadership.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Has grown very much.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And for the last I would say that the DNA
of Gesher is the ability to identify trends or changes
at the very first moment or even a little bit before,
and update your activity to that to these challenges. For example,
(11:46):
at the Corona, the Corona we are meeting.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Our main issue is meeting you couldn't meet.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So we were one of the first organizations that went
to the Zoom and began with doing.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Meetings all around the world through the Zoom.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Also, you know, giving families uh, the ability families had
ad families and secular families to discuss among ourselves in
a zoom meeting. How they manage is the situation, what's
going on around that was you know, one option.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
The war. When the war started, we realized that there
are different needs, much different needs.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
So we first helped the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Ministry of the of the Aspora to deal with delegation.
We are so used to send delegation to the world.
We have a lot of connection here and then so
we assistem them in sending delegation of families who have
(12:59):
lost their beloved families who are their beloved our in
custody survivors to speak all around the world at the
first time. We are the first to assist them with.
Afterwards they manage to do it by themselves, so it's okay.
We don't have to be in places that others can
do our I would say relevantly. Advantage is that we
(13:23):
are dealing with the twenty percent of conflicts, while most
of our of the civil organization are dealing with the
eighty percent of agreement and things that are agreed and
they believe that it will influence on the twenty percent
(13:44):
of conflict. No, we are dealing deep down into the conflict,
but making the atmosphere around it to keep the people together.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
They will not spread out, they will not hate each other.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
They will understand they are not You don't have to accept,
but understand contain the diversity. That's the I would say,
the relatively advantage that we are having.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
On a personal level, I can really relate to that
because I am not. I am first generation like coming
to Israel.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I'm an immigrant.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I moved to sixteen years ago, and when I came here,
it was so clear to me how different my Jewish
community was versus the community I came into. I still
even now, you know, almost two decades later, still figuring
it out, and I'm I still meet people and I
still try to say, hey, like, this is how it
looks somewhere else. This It's really interesting to me because
(14:42):
I think a lot of the times, also we focus
on conflicts that are happening between Jews or Israelis and
other people.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
We don't always look deep within and say, okay, but
what about amongst ourselves? What can we do? Yeah? Exactly,
which is why it's so great.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
I think that question isn't asked enough, and then you're
kind of filling the gas of okay, how do we
how do we do this? Especially because you have like
the experience of being in the presence and kind of
seeing I guess, just like what happens in society, not
necessarily when people aren't coming together, but just the outcomes
of specific situations and how to kind of take that
and move it, I guess into something more positive.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Sometimes it reflects you like a mirror to what we
are doing wrong right not right. In one of the
climax situations in visiting other countries in the US or England,
mostly in the US, meeting with three kinds of rabbis
at the same meeting, the Orthodox, the Conservative, and the reformer.
(15:45):
And sometimes it's it's a ray by or a rabbi.
And the most I would say glorifying thing is to
see them sitting among themselves, speaking with each other and
also giving, you know, the other the other person, not
(16:09):
only accepting that he is different from me. For example,
the Orthodox rayby says, I'm working according to the Allaha.
I will not stay take a step here or step there,
But I'm so happy for what they are doing because
they are keeping the community together, even if it's not
(16:31):
really by the allaha other way, if they will not
accept them, they will spread out and we will not
have them anymore. So the idea of being able to
contain differences, even though it's not my way, and I
believe totally in my way, but I can see the
(16:51):
advantage of others doing things in a different way and
keeping us together. And that's what women. We are dealing
with the conflict, but keeping us together. I spoke before
about the Corona a little bit about the war. The war,
it's not also that, only that we went very fast
(17:15):
to the hotels when the evacuates have been there and
dealing not with giving them, you know, the needs, the
first needs because other people has done it. No dealing
with the youth that were in a crisis. They didn't
want to leave their rooms, they were shocked from what
has happened. So working with them, with our facilitators, with
(17:38):
our guides, that was giving them some stability. That's something
that was very important. Not speaking about what we are
doing in the military, getting two units also.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Reserve unit to process what they have been through.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
For example, giving tools in seminars to officers in different levels.
How to deal with not only diverse company or platoon
or whatever they have, but also with the situation of
stress of what is really life nowadays, how you deal
(18:21):
with them. And when I'm talking about reserve for example, reserves,
we were used to that that someone goes to reserve
for thirty.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Days, maybe sixty days a year, but now.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It became like a military service, so they need something
to deal with. So that's something that really bring the
point that Gesher has the DNA and the ability of
flexibility on one hand and initiative on the other hand.
How to deal with that, how to manage, how to
(18:55):
find the next challenge that we're facing. Speaking about the
next challenge, we realized that we have alumnits leaders and
we send them to meet others all over, but now
we are in a time of a huge someone would
(19:15):
say crisis, I would say challenge. Maybe we should say
crisis and hill at the same time of anti Semitism,
of maybe the youths are not anymore looking at Israel,
the Jewish youth as they did in the past.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
So we realized that there is a need to.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Go one step forward and to bring together leaders from
Israel and from the diaspora to go through a seminar
and to be a well to first of all, to
meet each other, not for a meeting, but the whole
year seminar, some here, some in Zoom, some over there,
(19:56):
some time they come here and then to bring out something.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
That we all are responsible for.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And for the next We have done it with care
and fear a little bit. And now SIMPS Foundation has
come in into the into the idea of how have
how you make it an impact with these leaders that
we have, and I think that the next time it.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Would be.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Educational leaders, maybe communication leaders, network leaders, whatever, but it
might be on professional level because that it would be
more interesting and maybe at the end, not maybe I'm leading,
I'm thinking about it, they will have some kind of
(20:47):
what the Jewish people should do from now on, what
our mutual challenges, how we deal with it, we deal
with it, and how we I would say.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
It's soove, it's oof, it's oof.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Can design design? How we design our mutual future? That's
more important for us to look again a step more forward.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I'm really curious about the facilitation aspect. How do people
train to be, you know, facilitators in this especially because
it sounds like you know, it's not just one group
of people, one age range of people. You're kind of
going into every kind of aspect you mentioned, you know,
young people, leaders, alumni, people in the army, people it reserves.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
How are people.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Equipped to kind of make these changes. I'm really interested
in it because I think it's not easy and it's
not a one size fits all.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
No, never one size fits all. Uh.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
The organization is built from various levels of people of professionals.
You have the management manager of the departments for education
for example, and for the leadership for example, and they
have their own stuff. And the staff that is.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Being qualified and trained to deal with the military.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
They are being professional trained to work with the military
with the IDEF.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Others are the olders and mature one.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Not older mature one are dealing with the group of
the leaders or for example, one of the outcomes of
our Leadership Institute is now we are leading groups of
hundreds of officers majors in the IDEF that we try
(22:52):
to give them tools for identity, for cohesion and for
mission how they would look forward the military the IDEA
needs it, and it's an outcome of the participation of
two one after the other. Of the head of the
educational core in our leadership uh mission or leadership course,
(23:19):
and the head of the education division in in in
there in the educational court. Meaning when you touch the
right people and they realize what it is, what the
options to to enhance things or or values and needs
(23:41):
that they do have, they know that they can have it.
On the level of school members, we have, you know, facilitators.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Every year we recruit.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Dozens of new facilitators. Some of them are students, some
of them have finished their their bachelor or master or whatever.
Some of them are working, you know, part time. It's
not the only things that they are doing. So as
I said, if you are looking at various people, you
(24:14):
need various tutors experts to deal with it.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It's very true.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I'm wondering if you can kind of tell me a
little bit about the impact that you've seen these kinds
of programs have, also the leadership program, but also just
in general. What are some examples maybe of things that
you've seen where guesser has really come and had a
huge impact on either somebody's life or a group's life.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I think what I told you just now is one
of the huge impacts because of the fact that the
head of the educational core has been experienced with the
course and with the mission. When he got back, he
realized that there is something that they are missing now,
(25:00):
and not only him, you know, it's with with me,
with the Ministry of the Aspera, with other foundations like
my monety is and David. We are not you know,
by our own of course, but when he and his subordinate,
the first one that has been and his.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Not predecessor, have seen that.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
The outcome is hundreds of majors that are being now
going through a course, a seminar and a visit and
when they when they come back, they feel different and
you know, it influenced.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
All their behavior. They are going to be. There are professionals.
Majors are professionals.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
You want to keep the best of the best in
the military in the ideas. So it's one of the
tools to identify and to assist them with keeping the
best in the military. That's for example, another example that
I can tell you. We had a hakat on a
few months ago in the house of the President of
(26:12):
Israel and there are several ideas over there. One of
them was the manager. I don't know how to say
she is at the head of the kibutim, the religious kibutzim,
and she came with an idea, with an initiative to.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Meet with the.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Secular kibutim management and to deal with giving some reasons
for meeting and mutual interests and mutual challenges of the
kibutzim from the secular and from the religious. This is
something that has never been before or in the Ministry
of Education for example, you know that about I think
(26:58):
twenty five of the supervisors of the Haridis section in
the Ministry of Education, after the head of the Haridi
Education has been in our program, twenty five of them
have gone through a five day seminar deep down into
(27:22):
the Jewish people the aspora, getting to know what it
really means. They have never touched it before. As I
said before the auto autodox in Israel think about the
other sects of Judaism. It's a non starter. But they
have done meeting with people, going to the museum with
(27:46):
Israel to realize that that's what I can say, a
kind of an impact, even though it doesn't mean that
tomorrow there will be different, but it is in the
back of their mind and the way that they will
deal with it later on will be different a little bit.
(28:07):
And the last example I can tell you is the
Unity Day, the last Unity Day. The Ministry of Education
has spread out a kit of unity importance or whatever
based on the five rules of discourse that we have published,
(28:30):
have published about a year more than a year ago
at the beginning of the war, based on five different
families who have lost their beloved ones. Some of them
has been murdered, some of were competent and died during competing.
And each of them said one thing, and this became
(28:53):
a kind of video that any kind of activity that
we are doing begins with it or is including it.
Like you know, speak, don't generalize things. Speak on the
subject and not on the person, and et cetera, et cetera.
(29:13):
And it has been spread by the Ministry of Education
into more than twenty thousands teachers, meaning one million.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Children has gone through that.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
As to my feeling, it's an impact, a very good one.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I can see that. I mean, there's big numbers.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
It's not just you know, one or two people, which
also you know can have an impact. But it sounds
like it's spreading in a way that it should. I
think that also this whole topic is relevant for now
as we're recording this more than ay, because you know
we're coming out to tish Abab. I feel like a
lot of times, you know, we learn about I guess,
(29:56):
the discourse between Jewish people in general, and we learn
about as something that's in history, we sometimes forget that
it's really prevalent now.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
There are so many.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Conflicts that we have between each other that I think
that sometimes we don't even realize that there's places where
you can sit down and have that conversation with somebody.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
You can be brought face to face.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
You can look people in the eyes and kind of say, okay,
like I want to hear about the difficulty you're having
and I'd like you to hear about mine. And I've
always thought that those are just really really important ways
to kind of actually make change, especially also because you know,
the country itself is divided, and I mean, I can't
imagine what kind of how the work has probably changed
(30:38):
for you since the war began, because I think the
divides are just much larger than they ever were.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Before, deeper.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, as I said, we always look at the situation
and decide what what can we contribute to that and
when you're talking about the unity day that build on
based on the five rules of discourse that are really
derives from what has happened here at the war. And
(31:08):
there are different some of them. It's religious, some not.
Some ultra auto one, ultra auto dog, secular, the families unfortunately,
all around. So it gives you an example that, wow,
it is possible we are all at the same you
know pool. That's one thing I would say that. Unfortunately
(31:33):
when the government or our I'll say it in a
polite way, Okay. I always looked at you know, the
public services or servers as leaders. I don't see them leaders.
I can look at them now as a management not
(31:55):
more than that, because they don't contribute to the strength,
to the resilience of the society that are doing.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
They quite the opposite.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Maybe it gives them some you know, calls and calls
and mandates and whatever.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Because at the end of the day, we stay here together.
We need to maintain together. There is no other option.
I always said when I was in the military speaking
about women because but a very huge part of my
career was dealing with women and integrating women into combat position,
(32:44):
into high ranking officer position or whatever. And my starting
point was not only equality, but what.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Do we have here in Israel?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
The relatively advantage that we have here is the human resource.
We don't have land, very small, we don't have you know,
oil or whatever. Yes we have gas, we have found them.
But you understand what I mean. That's the relatively advantage.
We don't have the privilege not to fully utilize it.
(33:20):
And when you say no, these are not going or
they will not take part in the main goal that
we are facing now, it means that you will miss people,
you will have legs, you will have gaps, not only
mental gaps. We will have gaps in work place, in
(33:43):
the military, in the idea, in other places everywhere. So
fully utilizing the human resource is leadership. And when they
are dealing just always who is not available, who is
not relevant, They're not leaders, as to my opinion, And
(34:07):
that's why the civil society has come forward.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And we are trying to lead these processes.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
We are trying to assist society to be led in
a way not forgetting our you know, it's it's it's
a privileged no, no, just be there.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
When I was a general in the idea. I always say,
I don't have to invent the will. Even if I
have invented it, let him think that he has done it.
As long as the will is here and going on,
I don't care.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
I don't need you know, the all the gratitude and
what it's done. Good?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Next, what are we going to do? And this day,
I think the the.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Public is very tired. It's very stressed.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
The range of problems that you are facing on a
daily basis, on an our basis. You know, in a
way it makes the people, you know, I don't have enough,
I can't hear anymore, I can't do anything. I I'm tired.
I'm exhausted. Not tired, I'm exhausted. So we are here
(35:32):
to get to you people and say no, it is
our responsibility.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
We have to do that.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
That's why when we realize that the South has been,
of course injured badly, we decide to get into the
South and to work with youth, with teenagers Leaders Leader
program for years or whole year.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
We have celebrated a year there, but.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Not you know, a crisis is sometimes an opportunity for.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
It's an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
And we realized that they didn't have enough connection between
you know, off a kim in the world.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Where is the kibusim and mushavim.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
No, they are all together now, the youth, the young
leaders are from various places. So we got the variety variety,
We got them all together and we invest them in
tools because we are looking at them at the next leaders.
They will be the leaders within ten years that will
(36:41):
be there ten fifteen, whatever. So that's the way to
look at the challenges that we are facing and always
look two, three, four steps ahead. I always said it
in my professional life that in tell gens is being
(37:01):
able to look for the fifth step that your enemy
is planning. It's the same maybe for the intelligence as well,
but for life as well. Always look at the fifth
step that will be the challenge, not enemy, the challenge
that you're facing, the community is facing, that the society
(37:26):
is facing.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
And do what is needed to be done now.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
So it would be the outcomes will be also over
there on the way all the way.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
But then as we're looking forwards, what would you say
or kind of the next goals forgetsha, You can't touch
on it. A lot of it. It's kind of building
the leaders of the future. But maybe in the last
broad sense, what would you say, I think.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That what I told you before about the international or
global Jewish leadership is something that is the next challenge.
That's the level of the leaders over at the high level, okay.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
And for.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
For the what we said, the thousands, these are the champions, okay.
And for the thousands that we are dealing with, I
think to get into I would say the level of
the high school at sixteen or at seventeen, to be
able to get into about fifty percent of them with
(38:35):
programs for that will give you the ability to influence
for a wide range of students. You know that sometimes
when we meet places here, like people say, you know,
I've been when I was seventeen or sixteen, I've been
(38:59):
in the seminar of Gesher, I remember it. Meaning that
we have the I would say, it's not a talent,
it's the DNA that enable you to influence people. If
someone remembers that he has been in his fifth grade
(39:19):
or sixth grade when now he's forty two, it means
that something has been there different from other experience that
they have been through. Not speaking about the facilitators, the
facilitators that go some of them are for years, some
of them are for more than some of them finish
(39:41):
there and go, you know, maintain with their lives. And
then after ten years comes and say, I want to
do maybe not facilitator, but to be a manager of
a subject here.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
And so we need to work with the.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Champions and with thousands, and I think we should be.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
A kind and we are working on it now to
be kind.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Of core of knowledge that will be available, accessible to
whoever wants to know. How you deal with a question,
with the question of cohesion, How you deal with a
(40:28):
group of teenagers that you need for the unity day?
Speaker 3 (40:32):
How do you know the keys of training? All of
them should be open.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
So you will be the core of knowledge, and you
will be generous. We will be generous to spread it
and to give it to anyone who wants to do it.
As long as it's being used we want.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Well, that's really powerful.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
As we start to wrap up, I'm just wondering, you know,
for people who are listening, you maybe have never been
to a seminar. Maybe they're interested after hearing this, what
is sort of one thing, if you could kind of
give it one or two sentences, what do you try
to instill in the people that take the seminars, What
is something that you want them to get up after
(41:20):
they finish and leave the room with. What is the
idea that you want them to live with.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
First of all, I want them, I want them to
get back dealing with themselves about their identity as Jews
Israelis in the wider way that they have done it before, families,
the community, whatever. And the second is what I'm going
(41:45):
to do with this. It's not only what happened to me,
it's the way that what I will bring to society
after going through this program.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Okay, well, thank you so much for coming on the
show and for giving us your expertise.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
And your insights on this.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
And I will put all the information that's relevant for
Getser in the description of the episodes. If people want
to reach out, they want to join the seminars, they
can Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
This episode was hosted by Shipper Jacobs. Editing and production
were done by Ship for Jacobs and Uvar Barnau.
This is Japim sits down one and today we sit
down with a Riadacel, the CASA Leadership instituteair person.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
So the idea is deal with the conflict, but stay together.
And we gave them another point of view by visiting
Jewish communities around the world so to get to know
how it works outside of Israel. We always think that
we are the center of the world. And I is
(00:41):
a seventh generation born. Until I was a colonel in
the military, I've never met face to face foreign community
outside of Israel.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So welcome or to the show. Really excited to sit
down with you and have this conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Before we get started said I just want to hear
a little bit about you and also how you became
to be the chap Ason of Gaessa and what Gaessa is.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
My name is Rita Datto. I'm a seventh generation born
in Israel from both sides. I've been serving my country
for about thirty years, twenty five out of it in
the military in the IDEAF up to a rank of
a brigadier general. I've been the head of the Women's Core,
(01:30):
my last position. Then I was called to the flag
by the Minister of Public Security and became the first
woman as the commissioner of the Israeli Prison Service. And
we are talking about twenty five years ago, not nowadays.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was really a breakthrough.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I've seen there what I haven't seen in my entire
career in the military, meaning I've met face to face
the backyard of the Israeli society.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
So I realized that.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The most important thing, even though we need power, we
need the military, we need all the security organization, but
the most important component of our national security is the
social cohesion and the social resilience that leads into national resilience.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
That was something that I've.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Really got to know and to be able to think
about it as a national mission. Mission for me again,
another national mission. Therefore, after I retired, even though I
opened my private company and I worked worldwide in.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Issues like.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I would say, consultancy in terrorists in prison, terror intelligence
and all of these very nice things. Besides that, aside
to that, I was always involved in community positions, in
public positions, various, but always I had something to do
(03:26):
with the Israeli society. I also realized that the NGOs,
the non governmental agencies, are filling the gaps that the
government misses. And when we are talking about cohesion, about unity,
(03:47):
about society, it's a very diversal society. Israel has been
from the very first day and will be so when
people thought about the Israeli I would say Israel as
a country, the idea as a military like a melting pot.
(04:11):
I was always saying, No, it's a mistake because melting
point pot melt your identity, mailt your personality and bring up,
you know, the same figures. No, it's not the right
way to look at it. And I was I have
children then they were young enough to know what they
(04:34):
are playing with. And one of the games that I
think is the best metaphor for it is the puzzle,
because the puzzle, you don't find two components that are
exactly the same. You can find similar but it could be,
you know, a puzzle of ten components or thousands components,
(04:58):
all every each one of these components keep its own figure, identity,
and the leadership is the ability to build from that components.
These components a cohesion a picture, a cohesive picture, and
(05:19):
when you go two steps backward, you don't see the differences,
but you keep their identity, their personality, their traditions, their
whatever they came with into that mission, so it was
obvious for me to find.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The way today.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Sure, I was the chairperson of futal time with the
agency Jewish Agency of Shoham, the place that I live
with the Jewry in Venezuela, which was different from other
colleagues of mine in American communities.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Very different, Yeah, totally different.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And then I finished that position and there was a
vacant and then I met Ilan Galdoor, the see of.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Geesher, and he asked me do you know about us?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I said, yeah, I know that you are dealing with
kids and you are also dealing a little with the
cadets in the military. And he said, come visit us,
and I came. And since I came, I stayed for
many years, changing my position, but for many years.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So let's go into a little bit about what Gasher does.
I mean, you kind of touched on it slightly just now,
but I guess if you could describe it to people
who are listening you, maybe you don't know, they haven't
heard of it. What would you say that Gasha's day
today is like I.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Would say that Geesher has been established more than you
believe before fifty years buy a newcomer, doctor Daniel Trooper,
who believed then that then the urgent need is to
develop and Jewish and Israeli identity among youth, among teenagers.
(07:08):
And for many years it was meeting with religious and
secular youth, dealing with each other, getting to know each other,
realizing that the stereotypes are not as they thought.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Before, etc. Etc.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And a little bit in the military as well as
giving the young commanders, potential commanders cadets the tools how
to deal with such kind of issues and society or
subordinates that are going to lead. But during the years
(07:43):
it has changed. I can tell you that I stepped
in and I said, okay, we are dealing with down
top a little bit. But if you want to make
a change, and you want these meeting to influence, you
need influence.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
People as well. Don't leave that.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Of course, that's for the thousands, but we need champions
as well. So we opened the Leadership Institute, which has
now over five hundred Alumnis colleagues that are amazing positions
and they are amazing people. Of course, the main idea
(08:26):
was to engage secular, national, religious and altra Orthodox haaridi
of all kinds, men and women, from the public security,
from the private security, from the third security and not security,
oh I missed it, from the public service, from the business,
(08:53):
and also from the NGOs all around Israel and periphery
and central and ever.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And with these people we can influence.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
These people are spread out all over the country and
we are we haven't finished with that, you know. We
are maintaining that we gave them the opportunity not only
to meet which with each other and to realize that
they didn't have any opportunity to do it before. They
(09:27):
are discussing disputes. They are discussing our conflicts, but they
stay together. So the idea is deal with the conflicts,
but stay together. That's the most important idea. And we
(09:47):
gave them another point of view by visiting Jewish communities
around the world, so to get to know how it
works outside of Israel. We all think that we are
the center of the world. And I, as a seventh
generation born until I was a colonel in the military,
(10:07):
I've never met face to face a foreign community outside
of Israel. When I met for the first time, it
was the US with a group of Israelis.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
None of them was a military person.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I was the only one. Then I realized what it
really means. And that's what I've told you before. I
knew that whenever whatever I will be doing, that will
be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Dealing with the Jewish people.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
With the diasporas we say, so after giving them the
opportunity to know, to visit, to feel how leadership, Jewish leadership,
various Jewish leadership is, dealing with being a Jew, being
a supporter of Israel or not unaffiliated, all the range
(11:04):
of them. When they come back they realize this is
something more than just looking at our corners just what
we are doing here. So the Institute of leadership.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Has grown very much.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And for the last I would say that the DNA
of Gesher is the ability to identify trends or changes
at the very first moment or even a little bit before,
and update your activity to that to these challenges. For example,
(11:46):
at the Corona, the Corona we are meeting.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Our main issue is meeting you couldn't meet.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So we were one of the first organizations that went
to the Zoom and began with doing.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Meetings all around the world through the Zoom.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Also, you know, giving families uh, the ability families had
ad families and secular families to discuss among ourselves in
a zoom meeting. How they manage is the situation, what's
going on around that was you know, one option.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
The war. When the war started, we realized that there
are different needs, much different needs.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
So we first helped the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Ministry of the of the Aspora to deal with delegation.
We are so used to send delegation to the world.
We have a lot of connection here and then so
we assistem them in sending delegation of families who have
(12:59):
lost their beloved families who are their beloved our in
custody survivors to speak all around the world at the
first time. We are the first to assist them with.
Afterwards they manage to do it by themselves, so it's okay.
We don't have to be in places that others can
do our I would say relevantly. Advantage is that we
(13:23):
are dealing with the twenty percent of conflicts, while most
of our of the civil organization are dealing with the
eighty percent of agreement and things that are agreed and
they believe that it will influence on the twenty percent
(13:44):
of conflict. No, we are dealing deep down into the conflict,
but making the atmosphere around it to keep the people together.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
They will not spread out, they will not hate each other.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
They will understand they are not You don't have to accept,
but understand contain the diversity. That's the I would say,
the relatively advantage that we are having.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
On a personal level, I can really relate to that
because I am not. I am first generation like coming
to Israel.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I'm an immigrant.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I moved to sixteen years ago, and when I came here,
it was so clear to me how different my Jewish
community was versus the community I came into. I still
even now, you know, almost two decades later, still figuring
it out, and I'm I still meet people and I
still try to say, hey, like, this is how it
looks somewhere else. This It's really interesting to me because
(14:42):
I think a lot of the times, also we focus
on conflicts that are happening between Jews or Israelis and
other people.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
We don't always look deep within and say, okay, but
what about amongst ourselves? What can we do? Yeah? Exactly,
which is why it's so great.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
I think that question isn't asked enough, and then you're
kind of filling the gas of okay, how do we
how do we do this? Especially because you have like
the experience of being in the presence and kind of
seeing I guess, just like what happens in society, not
necessarily when people aren't coming together, but just the outcomes
of specific situations and how to kind of take that
and move it, I guess into something more positive.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Sometimes it reflects you like a mirror to what we
are doing wrong right not right. In one of the
climax situations in visiting other countries in the US or England,
mostly in the US, meeting with three kinds of rabbis
at the same meeting, the Orthodox, the Conservative, and the reformer.
(15:45):
And sometimes it's it's a ray by or a rabbi.
And the most I would say glorifying thing is to
see them sitting among themselves, speaking with each other and
also giving, you know, the other the other person, not
(16:09):
only accepting that he is different from me. For example,
the Orthodox rayby says, I'm working according to the Allaha.
I will not stay take a step here or step there,
But I'm so happy for what they are doing because
they are keeping the community together, even if it's not
(16:31):
really by the allaha other way, if they will not
accept them, they will spread out and we will not
have them anymore. So the idea of being able to
contain differences, even though it's not my way, and I
believe totally in my way, but I can see the
(16:51):
advantage of others doing things in a different way and
keeping us together. And that's what women. We are dealing
with the conflict, but keeping us together. I spoke before
about the Corona a little bit about the war. The war,
it's not also that, only that we went very fast
(17:15):
to the hotels when the evacuates have been there and
dealing not with giving them, you know, the needs, the
first needs because other people has done it. No dealing
with the youth that were in a crisis. They didn't
want to leave their rooms, they were shocked from what
has happened. So working with them, with our facilitators, with
(17:38):
our guides, that was giving them some stability. That's something
that was very important. Not speaking about what we are
doing in the military, getting two units also.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Reserve unit to process what they have been through.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
For example, giving tools in seminars to officers in different levels.
How to deal with not only diverse company or platoon
or whatever they have, but also with the situation of
stress of what is really life nowadays, how you deal
(18:21):
with them. And when I'm talking about reserve for example, reserves,
we were used to that that someone goes to reserve
for thirty.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Days, maybe sixty days a year, but now.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It became like a military service, so they need something
to deal with. So that's something that really bring the
point that Gesher has the DNA and the ability of
flexibility on one hand and initiative on the other hand.
How to deal with that, how to manage, how to
(18:55):
find the next challenge that we're facing. Speaking about the
next challenge, we realized that we have alumnits leaders and
we send them to meet others all over, but now
we are in a time of a huge someone would
(19:15):
say crisis, I would say challenge. Maybe we should say
crisis and hill at the same time of anti Semitism,
of maybe the youths are not anymore looking at Israel,
the Jewish youth as they did in the past.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
So we realized that there is a need to.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Go one step forward and to bring together leaders from
Israel and from the diaspora to go through a seminar
and to be a well to first of all, to
meet each other, not for a meeting, but the whole
year seminar, some here, some in Zoom, some over there,
(19:56):
some time they come here and then to bring out something.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
That we all are responsible for.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
And for the next We have done it with care
and fear a little bit. And now SIMPS Foundation has
come in into the into the idea of how have
how you make it an impact with these leaders that
we have, and I think that the next time it.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Would be.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Educational leaders, maybe communication leaders, network leaders, whatever, but it
might be on professional level because that it would be
more interesting and maybe at the end, not maybe I'm leading,
I'm thinking about it, they will have some kind of
(20:47):
what the Jewish people should do from now on, what
our mutual challenges, how we deal with it, we deal
with it, and how we I would say.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
It's soove, it's oof, it's oof.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Can design design? How we design our mutual future? That's
more important for us to look again a step more forward.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I'm really curious about the facilitation aspect. How do people
train to be, you know, facilitators in this especially because
it sounds like you know, it's not just one group
of people, one age range of people. You're kind of
going into every kind of aspect you mentioned, you know,
young people, leaders, alumni, people in the army, people it reserves.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
How are people.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Equipped to kind of make these changes. I'm really interested
in it because I think it's not easy and it's
not a one size fits all.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
No, never one size fits all. Uh.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
The organization is built from various levels of people of professionals.
You have the management manager of the departments for education
for example, and for the leadership for example, and they
have their own stuff. And the staff that is.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Being qualified and trained to deal with the military.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
They are being professional trained to work with the military
with the IDEF.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Others are the olders and mature one.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Not older mature one are dealing with the group of
the leaders or for example, one of the outcomes of
our Leadership Institute is now we are leading groups of
hundreds of officers majors in the IDEF that we try
(22:52):
to give them tools for identity, for cohesion and for
mission how they would look forward the military the IDEA
needs it, and it's an outcome of the participation of
two one after the other. Of the head of the
educational core in our leadership uh mission or leadership course,
(23:19):
and the head of the education division in in in
there in the educational court. Meaning when you touch the
right people and they realize what it is, what the
options to to enhance things or or values and needs
(23:41):
that they do have, they know that they can have it.
On the level of school members, we have, you know, facilitators.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Every year we recruit.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Dozens of new facilitators. Some of them are students, some
of them have finished their their bachelor or master or whatever.
Some of them are working, you know, part time. It's
not the only things that they are doing. So as
I said, if you are looking at various people, you
(24:14):
need various tutors experts to deal with it.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It's very true.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I'm wondering if you can kind of tell me a
little bit about the impact that you've seen these kinds
of programs have, also the leadership program, but also just
in general. What are some examples maybe of things that
you've seen where guesser has really come and had a
huge impact on either somebody's life or a group's life.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I think what I told you just now is one
of the huge impacts because of the fact that the
head of the educational core has been experienced with the
course and with the mission. When he got back, he
realized that there is something that they are missing now,
(25:00):
and not only him, you know, it's with with me,
with the Ministry of the Aspera, with other foundations like
my monety is and David. We are not you know,
by our own of course, but when he and his subordinate,
the first one that has been and his.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Not predecessor, have seen that.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
The outcome is hundreds of majors that are being now
going through a course, a seminar and a visit and
when they when they come back, they feel different and
you know, it influenced.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
All their behavior. They are going to be. There are professionals.
Majors are professionals.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
You want to keep the best of the best in
the military in the ideas. So it's one of the
tools to identify and to assist them with keeping the
best in the military. That's for example, another example that
I can tell you. We had a hakat on a
few months ago in the house of the President of
(26:12):
Israel and there are several ideas over there. One of
them was the manager. I don't know how to say
she is at the head of the kibutim, the religious kibutzim,
and she came with an idea, with an initiative to.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Meet with the.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Secular kibutim management and to deal with giving some reasons
for meeting and mutual interests and mutual challenges of the
kibutzim from the secular and from the religious. This is
something that has never been before or in the Ministry
of Education for example, you know that about I think
(26:58):
twenty five of the supervisors of the Haridis section in
the Ministry of Education, after the head of the Haridi
Education has been in our program, twenty five of them
have gone through a five day seminar deep down into
(27:22):
the Jewish people the aspora, getting to know what it
really means. They have never touched it before. As I
said before the auto autodox in Israel think about the
other sects of Judaism. It's a non starter. But they
have done meeting with people, going to the museum with
(27:46):
Israel to realize that that's what I can say, a
kind of an impact, even though it doesn't mean that
tomorrow there will be different, but it is in the
back of their mind and the way that they will
deal with it later on will be different a little bit.
(28:07):
And the last example I can tell you is the
Unity Day, the last Unity Day. The Ministry of Education
has spread out a kit of unity importance or whatever
based on the five rules of discourse that we have published,
(28:30):
have published about a year more than a year ago
at the beginning of the war, based on five different
families who have lost their beloved ones. Some of them
has been murdered, some of were competent and died during competing.
And each of them said one thing, and this became
(28:53):
a kind of video that any kind of activity that
we are doing begins with it or is including it.
Like you know, speak, don't generalize things. Speak on the
subject and not on the person, and et cetera, et cetera.
(29:13):
And it has been spread by the Ministry of Education
into more than twenty thousands teachers, meaning one million.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
Children has gone through that.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
As to my feeling, it's an impact, a very good one.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I can see that. I mean, there's big numbers.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
It's not just you know, one or two people, which
also you know can have an impact. But it sounds
like it's spreading in a way that it should. I
think that also this whole topic is relevant for now
as we're recording this more than ay, because you know
we're coming out to tish Abab. I feel like a
lot of times, you know, we learn about I guess,
(29:56):
the discourse between Jewish people in general, and we learn
about as something that's in history, we sometimes forget that
it's really prevalent now.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
There are so many.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Conflicts that we have between each other that I think
that sometimes we don't even realize that there's places where
you can sit down and have that conversation with somebody.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
You can be brought face to face.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
You can look people in the eyes and kind of say, okay,
like I want to hear about the difficulty you're having
and I'd like you to hear about mine. And I've
always thought that those are just really really important ways
to kind of actually make change, especially also because you know,
the country itself is divided, and I mean, I can't
imagine what kind of how the work has probably changed
(30:38):
for you since the war began, because I think the
divides are just much larger than they ever were.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Before, deeper.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, as I said, we always look at the situation
and decide what what can we contribute to that and
when you're talking about the unity day that build on
based on the five rules of discourse that are really
derives from what has happened here at the war. And
(31:08):
there are different some of them. It's religious, some not.
Some ultra auto one, ultra auto dog, secular, the families unfortunately,
all around. So it gives you an example that, wow,
it is possible we are all at the same you
know pool. That's one thing I would say that. Unfortunately
(31:33):
when the government or our I'll say it in a
polite way, Okay. I always looked at you know, the
public services or servers as leaders. I don't see them leaders.
I can look at them now as a management not
(31:55):
more than that, because they don't contribute to the strength,
to the resilience of the society that are doing.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
They quite the opposite.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Maybe it gives them some you know, calls and calls
and mandates and whatever.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Because at the end of the day, we stay here together.
We need to maintain together. There is no other option.
I always said when I was in the military speaking
about women because but a very huge part of my
career was dealing with women and integrating women into combat position,
(32:44):
into high ranking officer position or whatever. And my starting
point was not only equality, but what.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Do we have here in Israel?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
The relatively advantage that we have here is the human resource.
We don't have land, very small, we don't have you know,
oil or whatever. Yes we have gas, we have found them.
But you understand what I mean. That's the relatively advantage.
We don't have the privilege not to fully utilize it.
(33:20):
And when you say no, these are not going or
they will not take part in the main goal that
we are facing now, it means that you will miss people,
you will have legs, you will have gaps, not only
mental gaps. We will have gaps in work place, in
(33:43):
the military, in the idea, in other places everywhere. So
fully utilizing the human resource is leadership. And when they
are dealing just always who is not available, who is
not relevant, They're not leaders, as to my opinion, And
(34:07):
that's why the civil society has come forward.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And we are trying to lead these processes.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
We are trying to assist society to be led in
a way not forgetting our you know, it's it's it's
a privileged no, no, just be there.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
When I was a general in the idea. I always say,
I don't have to invent the will. Even if I
have invented it, let him think that he has done it.
As long as the will is here and going on,
I don't care.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
I don't need you know, the all the gratitude and
what it's done. Good?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Next, what are we going to do? And this day,
I think the the.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Public is very tired. It's very stressed.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
The range of problems that you are facing on a
daily basis, on an our basis. You know, in a
way it makes the people, you know, I don't have enough,
I can't hear anymore, I can't do anything. I I'm tired.
I'm exhausted. Not tired, I'm exhausted. So we are here
(35:32):
to get to you people and say no, it is
our responsibility.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
We have to do that.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
That's why when we realize that the South has been,
of course injured badly, we decide to get into the
South and to work with youth, with teenagers Leaders Leader
program for years or whole year.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
We have celebrated a year there, but.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Not you know, a crisis is sometimes an opportunity for.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
It's an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
And we realized that they didn't have enough connection between
you know, off a kim in the world.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Where is the kibusim and mushavim.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
No, they are all together now, the youth, the young
leaders are from various places. So we got the variety variety,
We got them all together and we invest them in
tools because we are looking at them at the next leaders.
They will be the leaders within ten years that will
(36:41):
be there ten fifteen, whatever. So that's the way to
look at the challenges that we are facing and always
look two, three, four steps ahead. I always said it
in my professional life that in tell gens is being
(37:01):
able to look for the fifth step that your enemy
is planning. It's the same maybe for the intelligence as well,
but for life as well. Always look at the fifth
step that will be the challenge, not enemy, the challenge
that you're facing, the community is facing, that the society
(37:26):
is facing.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
And do what is needed to be done now.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
So it would be the outcomes will be also over
there on the way all the way.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
But then as we're looking forwards, what would you say
or kind of the next goals forgetsha, You can't touch
on it. A lot of it. It's kind of building
the leaders of the future. But maybe in the last
broad sense, what would you say, I think.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
That what I told you before about the international or
global Jewish leadership is something that is the next challenge.
That's the level of the leaders over at the high level, okay.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
And for.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
For the what we said, the thousands, these are the champions, okay.
And for the thousands that we are dealing with, I
think to get into I would say the level of
the high school at sixteen or at seventeen, to be
able to get into about fifty percent of them with
(38:35):
programs for that will give you the ability to influence
for a wide range of students. You know that sometimes
when we meet places here, like people say, you know,
I've been when I was seventeen or sixteen, I've been
(38:59):
in the seminar of Gesher, I remember it. Meaning that
we have the I would say, it's not a talent,
it's the DNA that enable you to influence people. If
someone remembers that he has been in his fifth grade
(39:19):
or sixth grade when now he's forty two, it means
that something has been there different from other experience that
they have been through. Not speaking about the facilitators, the
facilitators that go some of them are for years, some
of them are for more than some of them finish
(39:41):
there and go, you know, maintain with their lives. And
then after ten years comes and say, I want to
do maybe not facilitator, but to be a manager of
a subject here.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
And so we need to work with the.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Champions and with thousands, and I think we should be.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
A kind and we are working on it now to
be kind.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Of core of knowledge that will be available, accessible to
whoever wants to know. How you deal with a question,
with the question of cohesion, How you deal with a
(40:28):
group of teenagers that you need for the unity day?
Speaker 3 (40:32):
How do you know the keys of training? All of
them should be open.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
So you will be the core of knowledge, and you
will be generous. We will be generous to spread it
and to give it to anyone who wants to do it.
As long as it's being used we want.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Well, that's really powerful.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
As we start to wrap up, I'm just wondering, you know,
for people who are listening, you maybe have never been
to a seminar. Maybe they're interested after hearing this, what
is sort of one thing, if you could kind of
give it one or two sentences, what do you try
to instill in the people that take the seminars, What
is something that you want them to get up after
(41:20):
they finish and leave the room with. What is the
idea that you want them to live with.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
First of all, I want them, I want them to
get back dealing with themselves about their identity as Jews
Israelis in the wider way that they have done it before, families,
the community, whatever. And the second is what I'm going
(41:45):
to do with this. It's not only what happened to me,
it's the way that what I will bring to society
after going through this program.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Okay, well, thank you so much for coming on the
show and for giving us your expertise.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
And your insights on this.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
And I will put all the information that's relevant for
Getser in the description of the episodes. If people want
to reach out, they want to join the seminars, they
can Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
This episode was hosted by Shipper Jacobs. Editing and production
were done by Ship for Jacobs and Uvar Barnau.
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