By COLlive reporter
A new member of the Israeli Knesset parliament praised the Chabad outreach work in the Far East during an interview outlining her goals for her current tenure.
Tzipi Hotovely, 30, told the Israeli daily Yedioth Aharonot that she would like to be placed in the Knesset’s education committee.
“People at my age see themselves as ones who can choose to live here or not,” said the right-wing Likud politician, who considers emigrating from Israel a lack of Jewish morals.
“The source of that phenomenon is the castration of Jewish identity from the educational system. When I toured Nepal I saw secular folks whose first encounter with Judaism was in the Chabad House.
“Their years in high school didn’t even give them basic knowledge of basic concepts in Judaism. When they are in the synagogue, they don’t know how to act.”
Chabad of Kathmandu, headed by Rabbi Chezky and Chanie Lifshitz, is a popular meeting place for thousands of Israeli backpackers and Jewish tourists.
