We have reestablished our state to give us both the political and military means to protect ourselves, and led by American Jewry, diaspora Jewries have come to engage in collective political activity on a level unprecedented since the early days of the Roman Empire. The return to the political arena has brought with it a certain intoxication with politics on the part of many Jewish activists, leading in turn to the need to seriously consider the responsible use of political and military power. The Jerusalem Center is committed to politics, but is aware that politics, like fire, is useful only if controlled and used responsibly. In our exploration and teaching about the responsible use of power we draw heavily upon the Jewish political tradition, a tradition which combines both a messianic vision and a prudential concern for political realities. Unity The Jerusalem Center, beginning from the covenantal basis of the edah , works to foster an understanding of Jewish unity as federal unity, a unity that is based upon multiple versions of the covenantal vision within a common consensus and bound by a common constitution.
Federalism is the operational application of the covenant idea.
We Jews have recognized this in our political and communal organization since the days of the ancient Israelite federation of the twelve tribes. Today this kind of federal unity is embodied in the Jewish federation movement in the United States and in the emerging institutional framework for Israel-diaspora relations through the Jewish Agency and its network. The Jerusalem Center prides itself on its contribution to understanding and fostering both and other examples of federal unity in the contemporary Jewish world, and in exploring their roots in the Jewish political tradition. Federalism is more than simple pluralism. First of all, pluralism alone is not enough to protect diversity.