ABSTRACT
The Yishuv and State of Israel have played the dominant role in establishing the agenda for world Jewry, certainly since World War II. The Yishuv leadership in the Jewish Agency and the rescue Committee based in Jerusalem assumed the active role, initiating and directing the work of the various emissaries, including those of the diaspora organizations. The chapter reviews Israel's role and responsibilities vis-a-vis the diaspora, and the perceptions underlying these, as they have developed over the past decades, from the period of the pre-state Yishuv assumption of primacy. Israel perceived itself as performing a (high-profile) international role as representative of the Jewish people, in a situation of anti-Semitism highlighting diaspora vulnerability and Israel as refuge and guardian. The corrosive effects on the diaspora and Jewish life in its communities have run parallel with not dissimilar developments in Israel. The elements of history, territory, distinctive language, and culture constitute together a Jewish life and culture "reformed on fundamentally secular terms".
