The CER Prize Conference of European Rabbis, which took place this year on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean, is an event promoting innovation in the name of “Tikun Olam”, Hebrew for “healing the world”.
Adrian Seid, CEO of the governmental companies in Malta and one of the organizers of the conference explains the main goal of the conference: "We want to create stronger ties with the businesses of the Jewish communities all over the world. Contacts with key Jewish personalities living in Europe as well as with Israelis help us build business opportunities here in Malta and also strengthen ties in general."
Wow! Incredible few days in beautiful Malta 🇲🇹 for the @CERprize learning about this fantastic destination for tourism, business & investment. Kudos to @europeanrabbis @PinchasRabbi @SilvioSchembri @MaltaGov for a fantastic event & Mazal Tov to winners @EnlightAID & @memidoapp! pic.twitter.com/5mkCZdSbw6
— Philip Rosenberg (@PhilR_R) November 23, 2022
"What pushed us to hold this conference," says Seid, "is the realization that even though Israel is so close to us geographically, the economic potential has never been realized. Malta has progressed in many areas since gaining its independence in 1964.”
“In the first years we focused on military development, joining the EU in 2004 and now we want to strengthen ties with our neighbors, there was no rivalry or misunderstanding between Israel and Malta, yet time passed and things did not progress. We are here to try and bridge the lost time."
The connection between Malta and the rabbis of Europe began with Adrian Seid's random meeting with Gadi Gronich, CEO of the Conference of European Rabbis, at a conference in Davos. "Three years ago I met with Seid at the World Economic Conference in Davos, when the rabbis of Europe, together with the government of the Emirates, established the Arab Jewish Home. During the economic conference, Seid wanted to taste kosher food served at the event. A month after that dinner, I received a call from him and an offer to host the next conference of Rabbis in Malta."
During a conference of #EuropeanRabbis organised by #MIMCOL, I had the opportunity to speak about close collaboration between #Malta & #Israel in #technological field. #AI & other innovative technology sectors are expected to grow, attracting more foreign investment to Malta pic.twitter.com/Be9Dxo8pWe
— Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) November 22, 2022
Grunich told reporters about the prize that was distributed at the conference that focuses on innovation and the role Rabbis play in technology and business: "We are giving out a prize to young entrepreneurs from around the world who have developed new technologies under the concept of a better world. We are trying to promote this issue and we have already seen winners in conferences held in the past who were able to provide solutions for the blind and those with other disabilities.”
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Rabbinical Conference of Europe, who left Russia after 30 years following the war in Ukraine, spoke about the connection between Europe's rabbis and high-tech: "There are two reasons: one, is the understanding that media and technology are changing the world. In Europe, revolutions took place following the introduction of the printing press and freedom of information. Today, the information of a million books passes through the Internet in one hour, and this certainly changes reality. We want this power to be channeled in a positive way. To build the world and not to destroy it.
“A second reason is the halachic challenge that innovation faces. There are many moral questions that arise as a result of innovation. We believe that every person in the world is a whole world and we work to fix the world, among other things, through innovation."
