Source: The Forward
http://www.forward.com/articles/3063
On April 22, 2005 The Forward reported, "Israeli President Moshe Katsav is taking the first concrete steps toward forming a new forum of Jewish leaders from across the globe to tackle what he calls the 'crisis situation' facing the Jewish world. Katsav's earlier proposal for a global Jewish parliament has been shelved, primarily because of the difficulty of holding worldwide elections. Instead, Katsav has called a preparatory meeting this June to begin planning what has been referred to as a 'Jewish Davos' — a conference that will bring together some 300 Jewish intellectuals, politicians and communal leaders. While the specifics will only be hammered out at the June meeting, Katsav's aides envision the forum taking on issues that Jewish communal organizations have struggled to confront, such as assimilation and the declining identification of Diaspora Jewry with Israel. The engagement of the Israeli president suggests a growing frustration with the response of communal structures in other countries, said sources familiar with the initiative."