Israeli consul visits
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Visiting Salt Lake City and Church headquarters is a singular experience for Jacob Dayan, Israel's general consul for the southwestern United States.
"It's the only place where I'm called a gentile," he said with a smile.
The Israeli diplomat has visited the Beehive State several times and counts many members as good friends. He returned again Jan. 20 to meet with civic and Church leaders and to speak at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. His afternoon visit to Church headquarters included a discussion with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve.
In between meetings, Mr. Dayan spoke with the Church News and shared feelings of admiration and kinship with the Church.
"As Jews, we see so many things that we share with Mormons," he said. "I love and admire the sense of mission [Church members] have. At the age of 19, the Church sends people on missions. In Israel, you go in the army, serve your country and leave with a sense of mission. [Both] teach you to live for something bigger than yourself."
Mr. Dayan made his first visit to Utah three years ago and toured the Church's Humanitarian Center. He left impressed by the Church's commitment to serving those in need. Such a commitment, he said, is shared by his government and people. He noted that the Israeli government has demonstrated its own commitment to humanitarian service by providing timely relief in places in need such as Haiti and Africa. "Repairing the world," he added, is a value shared by both Jews and Mormons.
"It's about making sure you are not only helping yourself, your family and your neighbor — but really going beyond that and helping any human being because he is a human being."
During his tour of the center, Mr. Dayan learned of the Church's humanitarian assistance not only to Israelis but also to Palestinians and others. "I told them, 'We are willing to assist with any help that you need because that is exactly what we believe in.'"
He noted there are roughly the same number of Jews and Mormons living in the world today. Members of both religions are "minorities who know how to stand for other minorities." Both faiths must also deal with misconceptions and misunderstandings.
"Israel is a high-tech country — there are more Israeli companies listed in NASDAQ than any other country with the exception of the United States," he said. "But the news is always about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel is so much more. It's a vibrant economy and a vibrant society."
The consul general said he feels a deep responsibility to share with others "what we are about."
He added he is a frequent visitor to Brigham Young University's "beautiful" Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. Many students at the center, he said, have returned to the United States as lifelong "ambassadors" for Israel because of their rewarding experience studying in Jerusalem. BYU's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies remains a standing symbol of the mutual respect and trust shared by the Israeli government and the Church. He hopes more students and rank-and-file members experience Israel in the future.
"We invite them all," he said.
