Meir Azari

My friend Elan and I, and probably many of you, do not like the situation and the spirit that characterizes much of Jerusalem for the last three decades. And yes, this situation can be changed, but we have to take responsibility and take part in that change. Reform Jews did not put Jerusalem and Israel as a central issue of our agenda many years ago, and today we are suffering the consequences of that omission. We need the voice, spirit, and presence of Reform Jewry from all over the world in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. With the participation of all of us, we can make Jerusalem a pluralistic and tolerant city, and we make the Israel that we dream of a reality. So let’s admit that our movement has not done enough, and let’s begin our journey of increasing our support and our presence.

Before the Biennial two years ago, in an interview for Haaretz Magazine, I put forth a call to all 1.5 million Reform Jews worldwide to become more involved and do more to support Israel and the future of Jerusalem. We need to create a Reform Movement initiative to ensure that more Reform Jews visit Israel and strengthen their connection to the country. An Israel trip, even only for ten days, needs to be a priority for every congregation; each one needs to send a delegation to Israel at least every few years. We need to encourage congregations from around the world to adopt programs and education initiatives that reflect the vision and values of the Progressive Jewish Movement. We must endorse those who are building progressive and liberal voices that can change the direction of Jerusalem today. These are just the first measures we can take to promote change. Here in Israel, we need your love, your support, and your presence to stop the coercion and religious intolerance that is flooding Jerusalem.

Almost every week I get calls from Jerusalemites who they explain to me, time and time again, that they are simply fed up with the complexities of Jerusalem and have decided to move to the “Merkaz” or the Tel Aviv central region of Israel. As a rabbi from Tel Aviv, I welcome them with open arms, but as a Jew I am saddened by their desertion.

We have to understand that in the battle for Jerusalem we must also strengthen our movement in the rest of Israel. The “mountain people”-the people of Jerusalem-have brought about the destruction of Jerusalem at least twice throughout history through extreme views and lack of tolerance. We have to be very careful and try to bring back a state of normalcy. I would like to share with you the vision and perspective of Eyal Meged, a symbol of the Jerusalem secular community.

There is a gaping abyss between Tel Aviv and me. The more Tel Aviv is alive the more I’m dead. When I come to it from my Moshav it initially seems to ruin me. I feel as if I were thrown into a flaming, moist Middle-Eastern inferno. It’s foreign, like some kind of afterlife. It is a world where everyone seems to be doing well, except for me. It’s as if people here have been through everything and managed to come out thriving whereas I was somehow left behind, abandoned and crushed. I then go to the beach, and I’m suffocated by the crowdedness. Ping pong balls are whistling in my ears and hitting my head. One Friday afternoon I was at a restaurant in Gordon beach drinking bottle after bottle of Coke, as if it were some kind of tranquilizer. A girl I used to know sat next to me. She noticed that I was alone now and started coming on to me… Then, suddenly, Tel Aviv started cheering me up, because it seemed so sane. Tel Aviv is the symbol of normalcy. Tel Aviv is the enemy of madness; it is its enemy and therefore my ally.

We have to work together and share in our efforts to fight for Jerusalem while strengthening the modern Yavne, Tel Aviv and the Israeli shoreline. We should consider the battle for Jerusalem as a holistic journey. It is not just Jerusalem that is at stake, but also the entire spirit of the Jewish State. We need to work so that our country becomes more tolerant, pluralistic, and liberal, and spreads optimism and love throughout our unique region. I hope to see you all soon in Israel.

Elan Ezrachi

The ambivalence toward Jerusalem goes back to the early days of modern Zionism. If Zionism is an ideology that broke away from traditional Judaism, then returning to Jerusalem was not consistent with secular Zionist imagination. Zionist activists were more attracted from the start to creating new innovations, such as the kibbutz and the new city of Tel Aviv. My grandparents, secularists from Odessa, settled in Jerusalem in 1911 and instilled within me an unconditional love for the city.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have been rival cities for the past 100 years, representing two competing narratives. Jerusalem represented continuity, restoration of Jewish sovereignty, and spirituality. Tel Aviv stood for normalcy, individuality, art, and culture. This distinction is somewhat simplistic and when we look at these two narratives from the perspective of 100 years I would argue that Israel needs both. Moreover, in each of the two cities there is an element of the competing narrative. This allows my friend Rabbi Meir Azari to promote spiritual values in the heart of (secular) Tel Aviv, while at the same time I can easily point out some very secular "Tel Aviv-like" cultural activities in the heart of Jerusalem.

Still, throughout the years there have been numerous "attacks" on Jerusalem by leading Israeli intellectuals such as the writers Amos Oz and Yehonatan Geffen, Neri Livne (a journalist for Haaretz), Avraham Burg, and now, Meir Azari. This approach of either mourning Jerusalem or saying that it does not represent the "real" Israel is ill-thought and counterproductive. Instead of self-fulfilling judgments put forth from the outside, there needs to be a mobilization of forces to fix what is wrong or simply to celebrate the notion that there is more than one way to be urban. (To borrow from a slogan used by the Reform Movement in Israel: “there is more than one way to be Jewish.”.)

Now that Israel is 62 years old, an established multicultural society with a variety of voices and trends, we cannot close our eyes to one narrative and embrace the other. While Tel Aviv represents modernity, tolerance, and the ease of being on the Mediterranean, it also celebrates nihilism, individual alienation, vulgar capitalism, and extreme secularism. Is this our desired image of Israel?

And Jerusalem, on the other hand, is not only about Ultra-Orthodox fanatics. Yes, there is a growing sense that the Ultra-Orthodox are gaining momentum, but at the same time, there are many pluralistic expressions of culture, religion, robust civic society, and lifestyle choices that do not fit this image. As a matter of fact, Jerusalemites recently elected a secular mayor, and the current city council is much more diverse and liberal than the previous one.

I would argue that all of us-Jerusalemites, Tel Avivians, and Jews around the world-need to realize that the fate of Jerusalem is not a "domestic" issue. What happens in Jerusalem has a direct impact on Jews all over the world, and perhaps, on the entire international community. Whether it is the code of conduct at the Kotel, segregation in public transportation, poverty, or the conditions in East Jerusalem, all of us need to work on keeping the city open, vibrant, and tolerant.

I believe that Reform Judaism has a lot to offer. Reform Judaism is actually thriving in Jerusalem, with the synagogues, the magnificent campus of Hebrew Union College, first-rate cultural activities at Beit Shmuel, TALI schools, an active youth movement, and many social action projects. The Reform Movement has been in Jerusalem for a long time and can do more, with Diaspora support, to shape the future of Jerusalem.

I invite you all to come and see me next time, and I will take you around to the "other" Jerusalem, the Jerusalem you don't get to see. This invitation is also extended to Meir. Together, we will meet artists, thinkers, social entrepreneurs, and just simple folk who will tell you why they can't get Jerusalem out of their system.