Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah flight on the runway at Ben Gurion airport Aug. 14. Photo: Nefesh B'Nefesh.

The Israeli Jewish Congress (IJC), a new organization working to strengthen ties between Israel and the Diaspora, opened its inaugural conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Russian-Jewish businessman and community activist Vladimir Moshe Sloutsker, who founded the group, told attendees that anti-Semitism “is not disappearing, unfortunately it’s increasing, and so it’s important that all Jews know they have their own country.”

“Israel is at the heart of the Jewish world and it is our duty to deliver this message,” Sloutsker told the attendees, which included Israeli Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein and Vice Premier and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom, according to the Jerusalem Post.

IJC hopes to address a variety of issues, including Holocaust denial in Europe, the building of a stronger relationship between Diaspora Jews and Israel, and the “strengthening of Israel’s Jewish and democratic foundations.”