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March 19, 2004/Adar 26 5764, Vol. 56, No. 26
Jewish young and elite meet
DINA KRAFT
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - University students from across the country debated and ex-changed ideas last week with top diplomats at a new Israeli public-policy research center in Jerusalem.
Dubbed a "master class" with leading Jewish figures, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute borrows a page from master classes with music greats and promising students, said the institute's director, Avinoam Bar-Yosef.
Bar-Yosef said he hopes his new institute, modeled after an American-style think tank and funded in part by the Jewish Agency for Israel, would bring together the best Jewish minds in public policy with the younger generation of Jewish people.
The group of some 30 students met first with Benjamin Netanyahu - Israel's finance minister and a former prime minister - to discuss the economic reforms he is introducing in Israel.
Then they had an animated session with former U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.
Ross advocated a two-state solution to the Israeli-Pale-stinian conflict, arguing that "the only way Israel can stay Jewish and democratic is if it has borders" separating Israelis and Palestinians.
Eitan Lashevsky, a history student from Berl College, sparked fierce debate when he suggested that historically Jews thrived when dispersed around the world. Shouldn't Israelis consider returning to the Diaspora, he asked.
Leora Sidi, a public-policy student at Hebrew Uni-versity, took issue with the suggestion.
"What Israelis take for granted is a sense of belonging," she said, noting that exists only in Israel, despite all their dreams of better lives abroad.
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