Olami Campus Ambassadors Inspiring Jewish Greatness with Israeli Minister Naftali Bennett

we are now so honored to hear mr. Bennett my name is most uneven and Minister of they ask for a fair and history education mr. task for affairs means I'm the Minister of the Jews oh I'm your Minister see how many needs call me up you know my parents were raised in they grew up in San Francisco in the 50s 60s totally unconnected to Judaism and they married I believe in 66 or 67 and then this country you know over the Atlantic on the other side called Israel the Arabs decided to destroy it so they there was this big you know the head of Egypt said we're gonna close the Straits of Tiran we're gonna strangle this little country and it was sort of common wisdom across the world that this nineteen year old little country is about to be wiped out and my parents at that moment sort of dropped everything they became obsessed they weren't in Massachusetts at that point turned out one of those big radios that size and said what's gonna happen and right after the miracle of the six-day war we are one they got on the first plane tis and volunteered on a kibbutz and and they didn't know anything about Judaism really nothing the first time my dad was called an alley on little WA anyway you speak a bit of Hebrew everyone so so they called him up in Israel and they said Masha my evolution they said Yaakov then she explained to each other so so and really we my family embarked on a very long journey to go to Judaism you know one of the folks are coming we have you heard of the rabbi's son of aging I want to tell you something we found that because he talks about he says there's two covenants there's two covenants of the Jews the basic one his covenant the fate were all born Jewish period with no one chose to be born - as she just are and once you're born Jewish it means that we care about each other so if a Jew and Morocco is hit then we should feel pain here in New York and that that's something that existed across all the generations and and he calls that the Covenant of Egypt because all the Jews were born slaves in Egypt no one chose to be a slave we just were but then he says there's a deeper covenant one that that we need to choose it's the Covenant of Destiny of meaning we don't have to know one personally has to decide to be - he calls us the covenant of Mount Sinai right because we're born in Egypt but they chose to go to Mount Sinai and acceptance are our mission and that's what really I think Judaism is about not only the fact that I happen to be born Jewish but there's a meaning and that that's the difference between Judaism and the rest is that we have a meaning doesn't mean we're always going to be happy Judaism is not about seeking happiness it's about seeking meaning when you do find meaning in many cases it brings happiness not always sometimes it brings a lot of hard work and but that's okay you know what I think what would have been had my parents not connected to Yahoo to Judaism and and sort of the the sort of life I would have had just drifting and I don't know just making money I made money but the money has meaning it actually does I'm so happy that we got that gift and there's so many dimensions to that gift I asked about the features of the iPhone we are right at the features in which it took me now I'm 45 years old as a kid growing up with Shabbat I hated Shabbat because he just can't you can't he can't do this you can't do that it's all about not but now when Steve Jobs meets Michelle a penguin you understand the brilliance because on Shabbat its 3,300 years so this is probably one of the best reasons to tap Shabbat to turn this thing go off and what a gift it is you know my kids are always in this and some there's Shabbat that's it's not a question and and and we get the freedom of this so the the no not allowed is actually huge freedom its freedom from being slaves to this and there's so many aspects when you walk around is really can see it's a Jewish country because everyone's out there to fix no one's ever satisfied choose aren't satisfied basically never Tess story I was a company commander and a commando unit here's a story that can only happen to in the Jewish army it's really similar one day I tell my come with my soldiers alright we're gonna conquer that they in an exercise conquer that mountain one of the raises his hand and says naphthalene that's how we call each other not commander and all that says why I think that would not happen in any other army in the world why get to it but but that's the fundamental being Jewish is is why now on a day-to-day basis it's a royal pain in the neck that to get all these wise just think we have six million wires in Israel and one poor Prime Minister a six million Prime Minister's and one guy who actually has to do the job and everyone else is what asking why he didn't this might do that but it lends itself well to people who want to fix the world and so Jews are always trying to fix things sometimes they get it wrong you know marks so but he tried and people asked me about a high I spent a decade of my life in the high tech world and it's ridiculous you've got you know we were four founders myself a guy that served with me a woman that was a doctor a PhD in NYU for law one more and we decided we're gonna fix all we're gonna secure online banking in the world you know you log into chase.com with a username and password they said it's insecure we're gonna secure and four of us none of us will anything about banks we never worked in a bank but we knew we're gonna fix that because we're you know we just are and and that's such a Jewish trait the clip spa to think that we're gonna be so you've got all these people wanting to fix the world Bheema Jewish is a is a big past it's a burden it's a mission life sometimes would be easier without a mission just to float around the NAP of a dime so again it's not the pursuit happiness it's the pursuit of meaning Wien Israel I'm mr. bast as I said that we've changed tact and in the past the State of Israel was sort of the project of the Jewish people right you know a small state who follows camels in the desert and we need to help them and we didn't need your help your parents help grandparents help 70 years ago so when Israelis came to America it was either to ask you to make a deal or to make a nice donation Israel is good we don't need donations you've got an extremely powerful economy high-tech second only to Silicon Valley it's remarkable what's going on almost no unemployment it's good it's just good in Israel Israel is a good place to live and of you've been to ten of you but now we're reversing the roles we the State of Israel has decided to invest a lot of resources and energy in in in the Jewish world even though we know that many of you are not going to make a Leone may comes I want all wait to make but I understand that it's not in many cases not gonna happen and that's okay but we have to connect and I'll tell you that when I'm asked what are my biggest concerns well what keeps me up at night I guess two things keeping Israel safe and secure and keeping the Jewish people going here and we're losing we're losing millions of Jews losing billions of Jews in our entire history we only have one or two case like this first of all about 3,500 years ago we lost ten tribes we were twelve and evaporated and two were left were called Jews because were descendants of the tribe of Judah or Benjamin were only in the sentences to have imagined have we not lost those 10 tribes would be it'd be a hundred million but not sixteen million all of us are going to be asked 50 years 100 years from now history will ask us you know that you're losing millions of Jews what did you do so we've decided together with good friends but we're going to do everything possible to connect Jews for themselves and to Israel we're not sure how we don't know that how we're trying out lots of stuff what allow me is fluent is remarkable but we're trying to you know birthright and and it will allow me and mossad of all sorts of things where a trial lots of stuff and we have to succeed we have to succeed because that's the future of the Jewish people so I know all of you are working on it I know that it's it's not only about free meals though that is a big deal I came here because they say so I just want to say thank you I cannot imagine a more important mission than to save the Jews [Music] you