Israel

Rabbi Rick Jacobs' Open Letter to President-Elect Reuven Rivlin

[Editor's Note: This letter from Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform, Judaism, to Reuven Rivlin, Israel's president-elect, originally ran in Haaretz.] Dear President-elect Rivlin, I want to offer my warm congratulations to you upon your election as the 10th president of Israel. What a tremendous opportunity you have to serve our beloved Jewish State at this critical time! In your acceptance speech, you immediately signaled that you are resigning from the Likud party to become the president of all Israelis: “Jews, Arabs, Druze, rich, poor, those who are more observant and those who are less.” I was very pleased to read these words which herald a new breadth and depth to your leadership. I would be less than candid, however, if I did not admit to some concern about your ability and willingness to work with the largest denomination in North American Jewish life, the Reform Movement, and our Israeli counterpart, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. In 1989, you visited Temple Emanu-El, a Reform synagogue in New Jersey. In an interview after your visit you told a reporter from Yedioth Aharonot about your experience, where you disparaged, with stunning insensitivity, the dominant religiosity of North American Jewry, our Reform Movement.
Israel

Shalom from Israel! URJ Board Trip is Underway

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner

Shalom from Eretz Yisrael! I’m thrilled to be here in Jerusalem as part of the first URJ Board of Trustees Mission to Israel, led by Rabbi Rick Jacobs. This is a critical, working trip to advance the goals of our movement. We just arrived Tuesday night, but here’s a rundown of some of the highlights so far. We met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit at the Prime Minister’s office. The PM was visibly moved by Rabbi Jacobs' introduction and reiterated his support of the Reform Movement in Israel and throughout the world. Rabbi Jacobs has developed a strong, working relationship with his office, and it was an honor for our board to continue to further that relationship through an in-person visit.

Israel
Israel

"Every Day Feels Like International Women's Day"

Anat Hoffman
Every day feels like women's day at the Israel Religious Action Center.  Yes, this is because 20 of our 24 staff members are women and there seems to be a never-ending line to our bathroom.  But mainly because the work we do is intrinsically linked to the status of women in Israel.  IRAC's issues are women's issues. The only organization in Israel that empowers Haredi and Reform Jews alike, we have changed the social fabric of Israeli society since last year's International Women's Day.  What has happened to women's rights in these past 12 months?  Let us take stock of some of these accomplishments.

NFTY at Women of the Wall

By Sarah Rosemont This past November, I traveled to Israel as part of a NFTY delegation team in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Women of the Wall. Today, more than two months later, I still don’t know how to describe the trip in a way that will do it justice. How can I talk about the most impactful week of my life in just five minutes or 500 words? Although I can’t capture the whole trip in one sitting, I can describe the small but powerful moments that caused me to feel immense pride — and question my beliefs — in the hope that listeners will learn from my experiences and pass it on to educate others. I felt extreme pride during Rosh Chodesh t’filah (prayer) at the Western Wall (Kotel). I was standing with hundreds of women, singing in unity, making a statement for equality through prayer, when I heard an uproar of protest from the Orthodox men on their side of the wall. I stood on tiptoe to see the Orthodox men who were attempting to push their way closer to the mechitzah (the wall separating the two sides of the Kotel). I noticed that other men, seemingly Reform and Conservative Jews, were forming a barrier to stop them. Seeing the men standing on chairs praying along with us from their side gave me a whole new perspective of the Wall. I realized that this issue resonates with more people than just the women who were around me, and that others — including men — also want to see gender equality at the Wall.
Israel

The Politics of Exclusion – An Open Letter to MKs David Rotem and Uri Maklev

By Joshua Weinberg
Ben Zoma was wont to say: "Who is deserving of honor? He who honors other people." Rabbi Eliezer urged: "Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own." Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa declared: "He who pleases the spirit of man, will also please the spirit of God; and he who does not please the spirit of his fellowman, will not please the spirit of God either." Pirkei Avot 1:15, 4:1, 2:15, 3:1
Dear MKs David Rotem and Uri Maklev, I am writing to you today to share my thoughts and feelings on your latest parliamentary outbursts. I know you have been inundated with letters recently, as the shockwave of your recent statement has thoroughly angered many in the Jewish world, not to speak of the masses of those from our movement who are proudly Jewish, Reform, and Zionist. Speaking from the Knesset floor, your verbal condemnation of Reform Judaism and libelous defaming attacks are going to only hurt you in the end.
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