How do you explain the Jewish People to diplomats representing countries from around the world? That is what JUF’s Jewish Community Relations Council set out to do Thursday, Oct. 24.

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland and Taipei all sent representatives to the tour, which was also attended by JCRC Vice Chairs Joyce Rabinowitz and Jason Secore.

“Our goal was to help them understand the Jewish People as we understand ourselves,” said Steven Dishler, JUF’s Assistant VP for Global Affairs.

The tour began with a visit to Mount Sinai Hospital, a century-old hospital in North Lawndale, and a JUF beneficiary agency. The diplomats heard from Sinai’s dedicated medical professionals about the crucial services delivered to some of the most underserved neighborhoods of Chicago and they toured the hospital’s Emergency Department, one of the busiest in Chicago.

“As Jews, we have a responsibility to care for those less fortunate, to help new immigrants, since we were once immigrants, to help improve the world,” explained Scott Aaron, Associate VP, JUF Education.

The group then visited Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, where they learned from Rabbi Leonard Matanky, Dean of the Orthodox Jewish high school, and from Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, JUF’s Rabbinic Scholar, how to understand the Jewish People, Chicago’s Orthodox community, and our relationship with Israel.

The next stop was at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Lake View, where the diplomats learned from Gary Weisserman, Head of School, and history teacher Dr. Jeff Ellison, about the school’s approach to pluralistic Jewish education and how they use a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching the Holocaust.

The mission ended with a visit to Anshe Emet Synagogue’s century-old sanctuary, where the diplomats learned from Rabbi Michael Siegel about the evolution of American Judaism, and from Rabbi Poupko about the Jewish community’s focus on interfaith work.

“To have productive relationships, there needs to be a level of mutual understanding,” remarked JCRC Vice Chair Jason Secore. “These foreign diplomats now have a greater understanding of the Jewish People and our community’s priorities, which will benefit our dialogue with them in the future.”