WE’RE MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANY MORE!

CRISES OF CONVERSION AND KOTEL

Rabbi Lawrence A. Englander

Chair, ARZENU, International Reform Zionist Orgsnization 

I was driving with my Israeli friend through a Jerusalem neighbourhood.  As we passed by houses and gardens, mothers pushing strollers and kids cruising on skateboards, he said to me: “This is such a beautiful country, with such beautiful people, beautiful landscapes — and such a horrible government!”  The recent actions of the Netanyahu government to support a Conversion Bill that would disqualify any Jew by Choice converted in Israel by anything other than an “authorized” Bet Din, coupled with their “freezing” the agreement to build an egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel, simply reinforce my friend’s sad remark.

On the one hand, we shouldn’t be surprised.  We know by now that Bibi’s main ambition is to remain in power.  Rather than pursuing any ethical ideal or communal vision, he has repeatedly sought to appease the right-wing parties in order to shore up his self-serving  coalition.

 On the other hand, it seems that, this time, Netanyahu has gone too far.  Even the centrist newspaper Yediot Acharonot labels these decisions a “tactical error” that will cause a greater rift within the Jewish People.  The Jewish Agency Board of Governors, whose meetings I'm attending this week, was scheduled to have a dinner at the Knesset with Prime Minister Netanyahu as guest speaker.  When the news broke about his two recent decisions, we cancelled the dinner. We met the next day with Members of Knesset, both from Likud and opposition parties. I got the impression that several were sincere in their opposition to these measures, while others tailored their remarks to what they thought we wanted to hear.

 

When such about-faces have occurred before, we have often felt helpless. However, many of us believe that, this time, we have reached a turning-point.  In the days and weeks ahead, we shall have important work to do. Our Israel Reform team is organizing a campaign to galvanize the Israeli public. The slogan will be something like “The Netanyahu government is dividing the Jewish People.”

 

We can and should convey the same message in our Diaspora communities. These issues go far beyond our Movement and our striving for religious pluralism. We now must raise our voices to help preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.  We have allies in this struggle throughout the world: from federations, other liberal Zionist organizations and many Rabbis and Jewish leaders across the religious spectrum.

In the days ahead, you will receive the call to assemble at Israeli consulates, to flood the email boxes of Israeli MK’s with letters of protest and other civil actions that are still under discussion. The Israeli flag will be, for us, the banner to preserve the unity of the Jewish People and will show our love for the miracle that is Israel.

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                  The Canadian Affiliate of the World Zionist Organization

 

Sunday was not a good day for Zionism. Two issues that were very important to Diaspora Jews were dealt with in a cowardly and illogical manner by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government. The Prime Minister put party politics over reason so that he can placate a small segment of his coalition.

The Kotel Agreement was negotiated in good faith over many years and was accepted by the government in January 2016. It allowed for a reasonable compromise so that all Jews would feel comfortable praying at the Kotel. The Prime Minister caved in to the demand by the ultra orthodox minority and cancelled the agreement. In doing so, a clear message was sent that the majority of Jews in the Diaspora are not welcome in Israel and their views should not be taken into consideration. His slogan “One wall for one people” really was not what he had in mind.

In addition, to demonstrate that his government is totally controlled by the ultra orthodox, the government is pressing ahead with the Conversion Bill which will put conversions in Israel solely in the hands of the Chief Rabbinate. This will immediately affect the Jewish status of hundreds of thousands of Israelis, including those converted by orthodox rabbis, who are not acceptable to the very radical Chief Rabbinate. The message to all non ultra orthodox Jews is clear.

The Jerusalem Program is the official platform of the World Zionist Organization and the basis of modern day Zionism. Part of its key foundation is:  Strengthening Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state and shaping it as an  exemplary society with a unique moral and spiritual character, marked by mutual respect for the   multi-faceted Jewish people...

With his actions the Prime Minister has rejected the basis of this Zionism and has closed himself off from world Jewry.

The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), in response to this action, passed a unanimous motion condemning the government and calling on the Knesset to reverse these very dangerous decisions.

The Canadian Zionist Federation fully supports this call as well as the call to build a broad coalition of Israelis, together with partners from around the world, who care passionately about keeping our people united and who are committed to the unity of the Jewish people.

Canadians are strong supporters of the Zionist enterprise that ensures Israel is a homeland for all Jews. We are disheartened that this view does not seem to be shared by the Israeli government.

 

Les Rothschild
President
Canadian Zionist Federation
416 873 3413

The Canadian Zionist Federation is the Canadian affiliate of the World Zionist Organization. It is an umbrella body made up of major Canadian Zionist organizations.

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Progressive Jews taken hostage

The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) and the South African Association of Progressive Rabbis (SAAPR) strongly condemn the decision by the Government of Israel to suspend the implementation of its own decision to establish a dignified space for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. The Progressive Movement in South Africa joins in protest against this decision. 

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union of Reform Judaism in America says, “We are all too familiar with pluralism being held hostage to coalition politics, and to the rights of non-Orthodox Jews being subjugated to those of the ultra-Orthodox.”

The establishment of a dignified and secure space for egalitarian progressive prayer at the Kotel was the result of years of intense negotiations, led by Natan Sharansky, Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel. In 2016 he reached a solution that was accepted by all major denominations and was then adopted by the government and embraced by the world's Jewish communities.

Monica Solomon, Chair of the SAUPJ: “South African Progressive Jews are proud and committed Jews with strong ties to Israel and our common Jewish heritage. Instead of allowing us to pray with dignity at the Western Wall we are now faced with an uphill struggle to bring Israel and the Jewish world closer together.  Millions of Jews around the world will take this decision to be a statement that we are, indeed, second class Jews.”

Netanyahu’s decision is both short-sighted and fraught with long-term danger. The Progressive Movement is far from a call to divorce from Israel, and it is our belief that the damage is not yet irrevocable, but it is certainly the sign of a marriage in deep trouble.   Israel needs all the friends it can get and it should be doing everything it can to avoid alienating its core supporters, its own flesh and blood. Non-Orthodox Jews, in Israel and abroad, may not agree with everything that the Jewish state does, but the arguments and our passion reflect the connectedness of the global Jewish family.

 

MONICA SOLOMON                                                   RABBI GREG ALEXANDER

NATIONAL CHAIR, SAUPJ                                            NATIONAL CHAIR, SAAPR

 

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ARZA Canada

Rarely are we speechless with regards to Israel, but as the news of cancellation of the Kotel compromise and the subsequent conversion bill emerged, we were. As the Canadian Reform Jewish community with a deep love of Israel we recognize the importance of diversity and religious pluralism. I will continue to share news as I receive it. ARZA CANADA is working with our many Zionist and other Jewish organizations. I will inform you of unified steps going forward as best as possible. Please read the statement below from our partners WUPJ, World Union for Progressive Judaism, and ARZENU, World Reform Zionist Associations.

 

l'Shalom

 

Miriam Pearlman

President

ARZA CANADA

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Statement on Kotel and Conversion decisions Jerusalem,  June 26, 2017 We mourn the decision of the Government of Israel to deny the Jewishness of Israeli citizens not converted under the authority of the chief rabbinate, and its refusual to honor its commitment to uphold the right of non-Hareidi Jews to pray at the Kotel as they do in their own synagogues. These decisions deliver a divisive and insulting blow to the millions of Jews who passionately believe in Jewish pluralism. By implementing its agreement, relations between Diaspora Jews and the State of Israel would have improved.  Sadly, the Government has chosen to add insult to injury by further weakening the relationship by changing the rules of conversion.   We are currently in Jerusalem attending the board meeting of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) as Progressive Judaism’s international representatives.  This morning the board passed a resolution calling on Knesset members to reverse these decisions of the Cabinet.  They also cancelled our scheduled dinner with Prime Minister Netanyahu in protest of these actions. The sacred civil right “to live as free people in our land” has been sold to maintain a weak political coalition.  The unity of the Jewish people, a central pillar of Zionism has been harmed by yesterday’s decision.    With our movement partners in Israel, we must commit ourselves anew to defend religious rights in Eretz Yisrael.  We urge you to contact your local Israel representatives, Ambassadors or Counsel General to express your outrage.  We will not allow others to tell us how to live as Jews.     Rabbi Daniel Freelander, President, WUPJ Rabbi Lawrence Englander,  Chairman, ARZEIN

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Arzenou France 

COMMUNIQUE

 The Israeli government’s decision to freeze implementation of the Kotel agreement is a threat to the unity of the Jewish People and for Zionism.  Israel is built of multiple commitments and many bold ideas, from ancient texts to today’s prayers, from Theodore Herzl to the Balfour Declaration and the Law of Return, from David Ben Gurion to the Six Day War, from Kibbutz and Moshav to the Hi-Tech Start-up Nation.   No single group has a monopoly of Jewish legitimacy and only a pluralist society that recognises the diversity of religious feelings can hope to build a flourishing Jewish future.

Progressive Jews worldwide have contributed massively to the physical security, economic dynamism and cultural creativity of the modern state of Israel.   Diaspora Jews today, regardless of their religious affiliation, are exposed to dangerous new forms of anti-Semitism and find themselves in the front line fighting for Israel against BDS and efforts to delegitimize the State.   Reform synagogues in France enthusiastically transmit traditional Jewish values, teaching the principles of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and promoting Herzl’s dream of an exemplary society.

The French Assemblée du Judaisme Libérale and Arzenou France join with the leaders of the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Organisation (WZO), the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and Arzenou Olami in challenging Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government to respect his commitment to the Kotel agreement or, better still, to adopt a bold new approach that opens the Kotel to all men and women without distinction, as applied before 1948.

 Stephane Beder, President, Assemblée du Judaïsme Libérale

 Robert Ley, President, Arzenou France  

 

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Arzenu Argentina rechaza la decisión del gobierno israelí

 

Arzenu Argentina, apoya de manera incondicional las declaraciones de Arzenu Israel, la World Union for Progressive Judaism y el Consejo Rabínico Reformista de Amércia Latina, rechazando la decisión del gobierno israelí de anular el derecho de todos los judíos a rezar en el Kotel de manera conjunta e igualitaria (hombres y mujeres).

Esta decisión demuestra claramente que el actual gobierno prioriza sus ansias de permanencia en el poder antes que el respeto por los acuerdos firmados y el derecho de cada judío de rezar en el Kotel tal como lo hace en su sinagoga. 

Este paso es un retroceso en las relaciones de Medinat Israel con Am Israel y niega la naturaleza pluralista del judaísmo que ha sido y seguirá siendo, una de sus características primordiales.

No podemos permitir que la visión cortoplacista de este gobierno eche por tierra los derechos conseguidos gracias al esfuerzo y la dedicación de quienes creemos en un Kotel que debe ser para todos y no para unos pocos que se erigen en voceros exclusivos (y excluyentes) de la Voluntad Divina.

Como referentes del judaísmo reformista y junto a todos los miembros de nuestro pueblo que abogan por un kotel plural e inclusivo, hacemos llegar nuestra oposición a esta decisión política que defrauda la confianza de quienes creemos en la ética y el respeto por los compromisos asumidos.

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What It Means to Be Religious Zionists

BY RABBI JOSH WEINBERG ,  ARZA president - 4/26/2017

Only in Israel and nowhere else is the injunction to remember felt as a religious imperative to an entire people.
-- Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi

On May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel into being. The short ceremony as Shabbat ensued changed Jewish history forever, returning Jewish sovereignty to the Land of Israel and giving the Jewish people a nation-state.

However, Ben Gurion did much more than create a Jewish state. He also seized this rare opportunity to invent a new Jewish holiday, which hadn’t been done since the rabbis codified Hanukkah, Purim, and Tu BiSh’vat ages ago.

Ben Gurion envisioned that Israel’s Independence Day would be celebrated like biblical festival holidays such as Pesach and Sukkot, including a festive meal, readings from a holy text (in this case, the Megilat HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Declaration of Independence), and new liturgy designed specifically for this day. Israel’s chief rabbinate went to work right away to create a machzor for the occasion. A new edition, the first-ever English-Hebrew machzor for Israel’s national holidays, has recently been published.

With the advent of Israeli Independence Day (Yom HaAtzmaut), three important debates ensued:

1. Should Jews recite Hallel (psalms of praise recited on certain Jewish holidays and Rosh Chodesh) on Yom HaAtzmaut?

2. Should we add the Al HaNisim prayer (giving thanks for God’s miracles) on Yom HaAtzmaut as we do on Hanukkah and Purim?

3. Can we express our religious conviction even if we don’t agree with every Israeli policy?

These questions touch the core of defining how we view this day and how we view ourselves as Zionists: Do we celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as a day with religious significance or do we treat it as a purely secular anniversary event?

I would strongly suggest that we should welcome Ben Gurion’s vision and embrace the anniversary as a chance to reinvent Judaism, including Jewish practice, ritual, and religious observance. As religious Jews, it is fitting that we mark this moment in modern Jewish history with prayers and liturgy. Doing so, we join the ranks of those who see religious significance in the State of Israel and identify our movement as one that understands the importance of prayer, liturgy, and ritual in people’s lives.

I would like our relationship with Israel to be like our relationship with Torah and God – we can bless the Torah even if we take issue with some of its content, and we maintain a relationship with God that involves not only praise and gratitude, but also anger and disappointment.

Yet we must be careful to integrate aspiration and celebration, not only saying Hallel, but also studying texts and history to better understand what we are celebrating, as well as praying that Israel fulfills its goals as laid out in its Declaration of Independence. Our movement has made it clear that Yom HaAtzmaut is to be observed as a day of religious significance. Our prayer books contain liturgy for the holiday, and we consider it a mitzvah (commandment) for Jews to mark Yom HaAtzmaut by participating in public worship and celebrating the bond between Jews in Israel and those living elsewhere. One of the responsum (a written response to a matter of Jewish law) issued by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the professional association of Reform rabbis in North America, states “services and celebrations have become the norm, the accepted minhag (custom) in our congregations and communities.”

As religious Zionists, we continually reinvent what it means to be Jewish in the Jewish State. For example, we have created two new versions of the Al HaNisim prayer (showing gratitude for miracles) that maintain the liturgy’s traditional framework, but suggest alternate language and narrative for our day.

Day in and day out our Israeli Reform rabbis, lay leaders, and educators continue Ben Gurion’s work: to build the Jewish State even as they and everyone they reach are built by it. The Reform Movement in Israel leads the way in reinventing an Israeli Judaism that is authentic, inclusive, and ever-adapting to our evolving religious civilization. In every congregation and every beit midrash (house of study) from Kiryat Shmona to Beer Sheva we are finding new meaning in our modern Hebrew creativity and wrestling with the religious implications of our sovereignty.

On this Yom HaAtzmaut, may we recite Hallel, the ancient words of praise; give thanks for the modern miracles of our time; and together, build for our future.

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Interview with Natan Sharansky by Prof. Anthony Arkin 

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ARZENU, the global voice of Reform & Progressive Zionists, is concerned and disappointed that the government and the parliamentary representatives of the people of Israel, the Knesset, have approved the so-called "Regularization Bill." This legislation is a clear threat to both Israel’s democracy and to the achievement of an eventual peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.

 

The “Regularization Bill” retroactively legalizes 16 controversial settlements and outposts established on privately owned Palestinian land. The bill states that the properties are to be expropriated as “State-owned land” whilst at the same time offering the Palestinian owners financial compensation – a clear recognition that the land is not, in fact, ownerless.

 

Unlike the recent dismantling of the Amona settlement - a difficult but legal action that highlighted the fact that Israel has civil law - and the courage to enforce it - this bill clearly seeks to avoid similar situations in much more densely populated areas by appropriating the contested land to the state, and then purchasing it from the owners ... clearly implying that there is prior ownership.

 

“ARZENU endorses the views of people around the world, including Israel’s Attorney-General, Avichai Mandelblit, who see this legislation as dangerous and reckless, and in violation of international law regarding property rights” said ARZENU Chair, Rabbi Lawrence Englander.

 “Not only does it further alienate Israel from the international community” says Englander “even more importantly it undermines Israel’s proud commitment to democracy and the rule of law as stated in the Declaration of Independence and as demonstrated throughout the State’s seven decades as a beacon of democracy and justice in a region full of darkness and tyranny.”

 

“We can only hope and pray that future members of the Knesset will revisit this, and other, legislation and will seek and adopt legislation that is consistent with international law - and with the Jewish values that inspire and guide us.”

 

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We wanted to share the following correspondence with you as a demonstration of love and partnership in these challenging times.

 

Dear Friends,

For many years, you have stood by our side. In the struggle to have the State of Israel recognize our Reform rabbis, in the struggle over equal recognition of non-Orthodox conversation, in the struggle to establish an egalitarian platform at the Kotel, in the struggle for freedom of religion and conscience, in the struggle for the basic idea that there is more than one way to be Jewish. In recent years, you have been standing by our side also in the effort to ensure Israel’s democratic character and the values inscribed in Israel's Declaration of Independence.

No less, and perhaps even more important, you have been with us in moments of crisis and national distress. During the Second Lebanon War, during the operations in Gaza, during the fire in the Carmel and in numerous other moments of mutual responsibility and solidarity. More than once did you ask us about Israeli politics and about worrisome deeper trends that are shaping our political discourse. This did not prevent you from continuing to educate children, youth and congregational members towards the love of Israel and a deep commitment to the relationship between the diaspora and the State of Israel. This did not prevent you from coming in the thousands to visit Israel every year, to place the Israeli flag on top of the bima at your synagogues and to recite the Prayer for Peace for the State of Israel.

 

In recent days, you are beginning your own struggle over what you see as a serious questioning of part of America’s basic values. Loyal to the legacy of Reform Judaism, you do not hesitate to speak up and act. The Reform Movement in the United States, was one of the first religious organizations to speak up against President Trump’s recent executive orders, with an emphasis on the order regarding immigration and refugee absorption and the order impacting organizations and agencies promoting women’s health and family planning. 

 

Like the Israel Reform Movement, the Reform Movement in the United States does not affiliate with any particular party and leaves its synagogues’ doors open to all Jews. Yet your movement is based on values, beliefs, deeds and a deep commitment to the idea of Tikkun Olam. Just as the Reform Movement was one of the first Jewish movements to sound a clear Jewish voice in the 1960’s as part of the civil rights movement, so you do not hesitate to sound a clear Jewish and universal voice this time around. The vision of the Prophets mentioned in the Israel Declaration of Independence is also the vision which stands before YOU, our friends in the United States. 

 

We know you, our friends across the ocean. You did not hesitate in the past to take out the Torah Scroll into the city streets and to march with it alongside Dr. Martin Luther King. You did not hesitate to walk with us and the Torah scrolls a few months ago at the Kotel. You will not hesitate to take it out this time as well, if doing so becomes necessary.

 

Now it is our turn to say to you: “Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed” (Joshua 1; 9)

 

Together we stand stronger in promoting justice, equality, inclusion and tolerance. 

 

Yours in friendship and solidarity,

Rabbi Gilad Kariv, IMPJ President and CEO

Reuven Marko, IMPJ Chairperson

Anat Hoffman – Executive Director, IRAC

Rabbi Na’amah Kelman – Dean, HUC-JIR Jerusalem campus

Rabbi Prof. Yehoyada Amir – Chair, MARAM-The Israel Council of Reform Rabbis

 

Rabbi John Rosove's ARZA president  Response

Dear Gilad, Reuven, Anat, Naamah, and Yehoyada:

Waking up to your remarkable, touching and moving letter of solidarity with us in the United States is something I will never forget. All I can say as one of the recipients of your letter is "Thank you!"

Your outreach was unexpected and so well received. Please know this.

...

Again - thank you. Your letter is like water on parched earth.

With love and gratitude,

John

ARZA Supports the State of Israel’s Dismantling of the Illegal West Bank Outpost Amona

ARZA strongly supports the Israeli government’s dismantling of the illegal outpost of Amona and the evacuation of its 40 families, a difficult endeavor that ultimately will strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law in Israel.

The Amona outpost was established in 1995 on privately owned Palestinian lands, and has come to represent the flagrant disregard of Israeli law by certain far-right radicals in the settler movement. On Tuesday, the Israeli Supreme Court gave Amona’s 200 residents 48 hours to leave in advance of a February 8 deadline for the outpost to be dismantled. Subsequently, radical voices have called upon border police and soldiers to disobey the Court’s decision and officers’ direct orders, and one far-right MK abhorrently compared Israel’s police to rapists. Statements like these are beyond the pale of decency and should be condemned by every responsible leader in Israel. 

ARZA congratulates the government on its willingness to adhere to the rule of law, a fundamental principle of civilized society to prevent descent into anarchy. At a time when we repeatedly have expressed concern about the government’s commitment to certain democratic institutions in Israel, this is a healthy sign.

As lovers of the Jewish people, we are distressed and upset to witness confrontations between Jews such as those that are occurring at Amona. However, it is not the border police who have invited conflict, but rather the occupants of the illegal outpost and their enraged supporters who promote disobedience to the rule of law and order. We wholeheartedly condemn those—including a handful of radical rabbis—who value illegally seized land over the authority of Israel’s democratic institutions, including the court and the military.

We also recall the failings of the government after the successful evacuation of Israeli settlements in Gush Katif in Gaza in 2005. We urge the government to anticipate and appropriately provide for those who are evacuated from Amona, especially those who agree to leave peacefully.

As we honor the government’s determination to see law and order carried out, we must likewise express our dismay about the Regulation Bill in the Knesset that would retroactively legalize and legitimate West Bank outposts (similar to, but not including, Amona). The bill has currently passed a second and third reading in the Knesset, and is due for a vote on Monday, February 6. ARZA vigorously supports a rejection of the Regulation Bill, which would be a huge step backwards in light of the endorsement of Israeli democracy at Amona.

Israel’s High Court requires a “good cause” argument why a woman cannot read Torah at the holiest site in Judaism

Wednesday  11 Jan 2017

In a landmark High Court decision Wednesday 11 Jan 2017, the State of Israel was given 30 days to find “good cause” why a woman may not read aloud from a Torah scroll as part of prayer services at the Western Wall.

A year ago the Israeli government coalition made an agreement with a wide range of Jews from around the world that included the Reform and Conservative movements, the North American Jewish Federations, and the Women of the Wall to create an egalitarian prayer space in the Southern Kotel Plaza under Robinson’s Arch that is equal in size and in access to the Northern Kotel Plaza that would be overseen by non-Orthodox Jewry and not the ultra-Orthodox.

This was a landmark decision that affirmed Israel as the great democracy that it is and that Jews around the world ought to have the right and freedom to pray according to their custom at the holiest site in Judaism.

The agreement was led by Prime Minister Netanyahu who had appointed Natan Sharansky, the Director of the Jewish Agency for Israel, to forge a consensus agreement that included the ultra-Orthodox administrator of the Wall and the non-Orthodox liberal streams of Judaism.

It took 3 years to reach a compromise agreement, and once that was done, the ultra-Orthodox members of the Israeli government dug in their heels and aggressively sought to undermine it that would essentially disenfranchise 80% of world Jewry that is non-Orthodox. These Orthodox politicians backed by their Haredi rabbis threatened to bring down Netanyahu’s government if the agreement was implemented.

At last – the Israeli High Court has ruled that egalitarian prayer and the rights of women to read Torah at the Kotel ought to be their democratic right. These reactionary forces have been given 30 days to make their case.

This is a limited victory and not the end of the struggle – stay tuned.

 

 

 

   “Jerusalem is Broadway and

the United States is off-Broadway.”

Recently, Rabbi Richard (Dick) Hirsch, one of the key Reform Movement leaders of the 20th century, gave a talk summarizing his life and role in building and widening the reach of the Reform Movement in the US, Israel and the world at large.

Rabbi John Rosove, Chair of ARZA – the Association of Reform Zionist of America, gave tribute to Rabbi Hirsch in his December 25th blog:

Rabbi Richard (Dick) Hirsch turned 90 this past year. One would think that at that age Dick’s physical strength, sharp mind, and passion would be diminished.

Though he has his share of aches and pains, there is nothing diminished about Rabbi Dick Hirsch. He remains after more than half a century of activism the vital Zionist and social justice giant of the American and Israeli Reform movements.

Dick is the founding Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) in Washington, D.C. He is responsible for moving the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) offices from the United States to Jerusalem, raising the money and overseeing the construction of the WUPJ Center and Beit Shmuel that house the central offices of the Israeli Reform movement on King David Street only steps from the King David Hotel. And he is a founder of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the pre-eminent social justice advocacy organization in the State of Israel.

Dick argued before the leaders of American Reform Judaism in the late 1960s and early 1970s that for the Reform movement to earn its rightful place in Jewish history we would have to build an institutional and broadly-based presence in the State of Israel. This would include building synagogue centers all over the state, progressive Jewish schools, a rabbinic and cantorial seminary for Israeli-born leaders, kibbutzim, a youth movement, and a social justice movement that helps to grow and transform not only Israeli society but the character of world Jewry.

Fifty years ago Dick told the Board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) that for Jews “Jerusalem is Broadway and the United States is off-Broadway.” He also said to them soon after the ’67 war, that “Without Zionism, there is no Judaism!” The reaction of the then American Reform leadership was strong and negative. But, Dick carried on, at times by himself, and succeeded in igniting and inspiring others to join him in transforming progressive Judaism in the State of Israel.

Dick didn’t just talk the talk. In 1972, he and his wife Bella picked up their four children and moved to Israel. I met him for the first time the following year when I was a first-year rabbinic student at HUC in Jerusalem.

ARZENU is pleased to make this historical video available to our members and followers.

 

Chanukah sameach!

 

ARZA Statement on David Friedman's Selection as the Next U.S. Ambassador to Israel 

The Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) is critically concerned about the appointment by President-Elect Donald Trump of David Friedman as the next United States Ambassador to Israel.

As a progressive Zionist organization, ARZA regards Mr. Friedman’s support for the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, his opposition to a two-state solution, and his open hostility and use of slurs like "kapo" towards other Jews as inappropriate for the American representative to the Jewish State.

Last year, ARZA led the Reform Movement in a campaign for the World Zionist Congress, running on a platform championing the two-state solution as the only viable way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is a position supported by both the U.S. and Israeli governments, as was recently reiterated this week by Prime Minister Netanyahu on 60 Minutes.

Mr. Friedman’s lack of diplomatic experience and extreme views are cause for great concern. We believe that Mr. Friedman's intemperance and hostile rhetoric are deeply disturbing. The United States-Israel relationship is of critical importance, which is why the Ambassador to Israel must be someone who can garner the most broad support for Israel, not someone who has the potential to alienate a majority of the American Jewish community through their behavior.