Sharansky Gets Green Light from Netanyahu on Western Wall Expansion
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky was given a green light by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue his plan for a permanent egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall.
Click here for the rest of the article...IRAC Stands for Marriage Equality
Today I am ending a three-week trip to the United States, and tomorrow I will return home to Israel (assuming the El Al strike is over). This has been a particularly emotional trip as I was in Boston the day of Marathon. I saw firsthand how resilient the people of Boston are in a crisis. We all send our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
I spoke at nearly a dozen synagogues and universities during my three weeks in the United States. This trip was an opportunity for me to start explaining in person to our supporters about IRAC’s campaign for equality in marriage. Social activists are pursuing this important issue on both sides of the pond, and I was thrilled by how our message was received.
There are a few key differences to this issue in America and in Israel. In the United States, many are struggling to give same-sex couples the right to marry, and in Israel, in addition to fighting for same-sex marriage, we are trying to extend the right to marriage to many people who would already enjoy the right to marry in the US. Under Israeli law, only state-sanctioned religious authorities are able to perform marriage ceremonies and grant a divorce, and they determine who is “Jewish enough” for these services.
The fact that there is no civil marriage option in Israel has particularly negative consequences for mixed-heritage couples, same-sex couples and for women in general. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are unable or unwilling to get married in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. Hundreds of thousands who did get married are adversely affected by the Orthodox Rabbinate’s divorce procedures, which treat women as second-class citizens by not allowing them to testify in court or to get a divorce unless their husband agrees.
Surveys in Israel show that a majority of Israelis believe that there should be an option for civil marriage in Israel; a recent poll found that 59 percent of Israeli Jews favored this position. However, due to the influence of ultra-Orthodox political parties the idea of changing the status quo is a non-starter.
Marriage is not a luxury that should be granted to a select few who meet one group’s narrow definition of “who is a Jew.” Even prominent Orthodox rabbis, like the current Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, have admitted that too many Israelis are going abroad to marry. It is as if we all understand that something must change.
IRAC is going to make this year the year of marriage equality in Israel. We are preparing aggressive campaigns for the courts, the Knesset, and the media to win the hearts and minds of the remaining 41% of Israelis who do not yet see a need for choice in marriage. This new Knesset may be a historic opportunity for us.
Help us keep the pressure on Israeli lawmakers so they understand that they cannot keep the right to marry and divorce in the hands of one extreme minority.
Suspected marathon bomber may never speak again, Israeli director of Boston hospital says
Deception deals blow to reputation of prominent Orthodox rabbi, Michael Broyde
Consultation on Conscience Begins!
Welcome to Consultation on Conscience 2013! We are thrilled to welcome lay leaders and clergy from across North America for three days of public policy workshops, Jewish learning and social justice.
Not able to join us? Don’t worry – you can follow along from the comfort of your own home!
Check out our great line up of speakers, including:
- U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice
- Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK and Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR
- Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
- Rep. Joe Kennedy (MA)
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC)
Follow us on twitter to remotely learn from our speakers using #ConC.
Keep up-to-date on RACblog for daily round-ups.
Take action from home! As our attendees go through the conference, they will be encouraged to visit our Chai iMPACT Action Center and collectively tell their Members of Congress that they support increased foreign aid Israel and North American involvement in a peace process, comprehensive immigration reform and gun violence prevention legislation. Join this chorus of voices keeping the moral drumbeat on Washington.
We hope you’ll learn as much remotely from this Consultation as if you were sitting in the room with us, and we look forward to sharing this exciting weekend with you!
Chabad Leader Blasts Rabbis Group Over Circumcision Rite
A Chabad-affiliated rabbi criticized a rival group for its public disapproval of a circumcision-related ritual currently under investigation in Germany.
Click here for the rest of the article...Natan Sharansky's Kotel Compromise Gives Him New Heft as Liaison to Diaspora
Fresh off his deal on egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, Natan Sharansky may now have earned a new role as the key interlocutor between Israel and American Jews.
Click here for the rest of the article...Dying British Synagogue Gives Away Torah Scrolls as Closing Nears
A synagogue in the northern English city of Bradford has given away its Torah scrolls as it prepares to shutter due to dwindling numbers.
Click here for the rest of the article...English shul to close down due to dwindling numbers
Teach Your Children Well: The Boy Scouts and Bullying in Schools
We read in Proverbs, “Train up a child in the way the child should go, and even when the child is old, they will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). This idea speaks not only to the importance of education in the Jewish tradition, but to carrying out that education in a way that teaches children to be just and compassionate. Thus it should be of particular concern to us as a community when our youth are educated in unequal environments.
The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) has long been an example of a concerning environment. Despite the camaraderie, the character building and the training Boy Scout troops offer to America’s youth, they have long refused to admit gay and transgender people as scouts and scout leaders. The Reform Movement has consistently spoken out against this policy, urging all of our congregations to break their ties with the BSA in 2001.
However this unjust policy may soon be changing. The BSA announced today that they will be introducing a resolution at their board meeting in May to adopt a national non-discrimination policy against gay and transgender youth. The BSA has been considering changes for some time, but many had thought that they would leave it up to individual troops to decide on their own policy. This announcement of a national non-discrimination policy, which many LGBT rights group had advocated for, is a welcome change.
In a bizarre inconsistency the BSA announced that it would not change its policy regarding gay scout leaders and continue to bar the participation of LGBT adults. One might ask what message it sends to LGBT youth that they can participate in the organization as children but once they reach adulthood they are to be disqualified. Both aspects of this policy still have to be approved by the Boy Scouts national board at their meeting next month.
Of course the Boy Scouts are not the only place that LGBT youth face discrimination in America today. Sadly, too many children experience bullying and harassment in schools because of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. While current law allows students legal recourse to challenge discrimination in schools based on race, gender and religion, there is no national law that allows such action against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Yesterday Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Reps. Ros Lehtinen (R-FL) and Polis (D-CO) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would fix this hole in the law. The Union for Reform Judaism has joined a number of religious, civil rights and education organizations in publically calling for this critical piece of legislation.
Perhaps between the BSA reevaluating its discriminatory policy and the consideration of legal protections for LGBT youth we can as a nation take an important step toward making sure our children are “trained up in the way they should go” toward justice and equality.
Image courtesy of scouting.org
Teach Your Children Well: The Boy Scouts and Bullying in Schools
We read in Proverbs, “Train up a child in the way the child should go, and even when the child is old, they will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). This idea speaks not only to the importance of education in the Jewish tradition, but to carrying out that education in a way that teaches children to be just and compassionate. Thus it should be of particular concern to us as a community when our youth are educated in unequal environments.
The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) has long been an example of a concerning environment. Despite the camaraderie, the character building and the training Boy Scout troops offer to America’s youth, they have long refused to admit gay and transgender people as scouts and scout leaders. The Reform Movement has consistently spoken out against this policy, urging all of our congregations to break their ties with the BSA in 2001.
However this unjust policy may soon be changing. The BSA announced today that they will be introducing a resolution at their board meeting in May to adopt a national non-discrimination policy against gay and transgender youth. The BSA has been considering changes for some time, but many had thought that they would leave it up to individual troops to decide on their own policy. This announcement of a national non-discrimination policy, which many LGBT rights group had advocated for, is a welcome change.
In a bizarre inconsistency the BSA announced that it would not change its policy regarding gay scout leaders and continue to bar the participation of LGBT adults. One might ask what message it sends to LGBT youth that they can participate in the organization as children but once they reach adulthood they are to be disqualified. Both aspects of this policy still have to be approved by the Boy Scouts national board at their meeting next month.
Of course the Boy Scouts are not the only place that LGBT youth face discrimination in America today. Sadly, too many children experience bullying and harassment in schools because of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. While current law allows students legal recourse to challenge discrimination in schools based on race, gender and religion, there is no national law that allows such action against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Yesterday Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Reps. Ros Lehtinen (R-FL) and Polis (D-CO) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would fix this hole in the law. The Union for Reform Judaism has joined a number of religious, civil rights and education organizations in publically calling for this critical piece of legislation.
Perhaps between the BSA reevaluating its discriminatory policy and the consideration of legal protections for LGBT youth we can as a nation take an important step toward making sure our children are “trained up in the way they should go” toward justice and equality.
Image courtesy of scouting.org
German probe sparks internal Jewish debate on circumcision-related ritual
Roger Waters still ‘considering’ call to boycott Israel
Roger Waters still ‘considering’ call to boycott Israel
Leveraging an Internal Editorial and Social Media Calendar
One of the key takeaways from the Jewish Day School Social Media Academy is the importance of being organized with your social media, website stories and respective school themes. As a result, Gann Academy created an internal editorial calendar between the Director of Marketing Communications and the Web and Social Media Specialist.
This Google calendar, which can be accessed, edited and modified by both users, has been beneficial because:
Rabbi David Lazar, too brash for Stockholm?
NFTY Announces Its New Board Members
Exciting news from NFTY! The North American Federation of Temple Youth has elected new North American board members for the 2013-2014 term, who will be formally installed on June 22, 2013, during Mechina, a five-day leadership training event and general board meeting at URJ Kutz Camp.
Newly elected board members must be incoming college freshmen and are expected to be excellent role models. As peer advocates, they represent NFTY and its values at regional and North American events. Board members help plan and facilitate a five-day long workshop to teach and prepare regional board members how to be effective leaders in their own communities. Following this workshop, the North American Board Members become full-time staff at the Kutz Campus, where they will teach high-school-aged campers from across the continent.
NFTY North American Board Members will also partner with staff and lay leaders working on the Union for Reform Judaism’s Campaign for Youth Engagement, a focused, strategic effort to leverage the full strength and talent of every corner of the Reform Movement to engage and retain the majority of Reform Jewish youth by the year 2020.
The newly installed North American NFTY Board includes:
- Andrew Keene, President-Elect, current president of NFTY’s Northern Region (NO) and a member of Congregation Shalom in Milwaukee, WI
- Morgan Weidner, Programming Vice President-Elect, current Programming Vice President of NFTY’s Northwest Region (NW) and a member of Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Bellevue, WA
- Gordon Kaye, Social Action Vice President-Elect, current Regional Social Action Vice President of NFTY’s Ohio Valley Region (OV) and a member of The Temple Ohabai Shalom in Nashville, TN
- Micah Friedman, Religious & Cultural Vice President-Elect, current Religious and Cultural Vice President of NFTY’s Southern Tropical Region (STR) and a member of Congregation Beth Am in Tampa, FL
- Aaron Heft, Membership & Communications Vice President-Elect, current Communication Vice President of NFTY’s Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) and a member of Temple Sinai in Newport News, VA
The new NFTY Board will represent more than 7,000 of their peers in the Reform Movement’s Campaign for Youth Engagement, ensuring that young adults are an authentic part of our Jewish communal dialogue.
Incoming NFTY President Andrew Keene said of his new responsibilities, “One of NFTY’s 13 principles is shutafut (partnership.) With the Campaign for Youth Engagement at the forefront of the Reform Movement’s priorities, partnerships between teen and adult leaders are now more important than ever. I look forward to furthering NFTY’s partnerships among the teen leaders from our 19 regions, and with URJ leadership to create an even more engaging, holy, and unique community.”
Beth Avner Rodin, NFTY Director of Education and Special Projects, said all five new board members “have a fresh, exciting vision for the future of our Movement.”
NFTY’s new North American board members (kneeling) pose with their predecessors on the outgoing board (standing).
Coming Together in Times of Crisis
by Rabbi Hara Person
As we all try and process the horrors of the Boston marathon bombing, we must remember to stop and appreciate the good works that often gets overshadowed by the seemingly endless parade of horrible we read about each day.
Almost six months ago almost the entire east coast was rocked by Superstorm Sandy. While many of us have picked up and moved on, two New York-area congregations, Temple Sinai in Massapequa and West End Temple in Neponsit, are still picking up the pieces. Like many coastal-area homes and businesses, the synagogues suffered severe storm damage which included extreme flooding and loss of property.
We are proud to announce that the CCAR has donated over 400 new copies of Mishkan T’filah, the Reform Movement prayerbook, to the synagogues to help them to continue to move forward in their rebuilding process.
“We were heartbroken when we saw how the storm had ravaged these synagogues and uprooted the lives of people in their communities,” said Rabbi Steven A. Fox, Chief Executive of the CCAR. “We donated these prayerbooks to help individuals and congregations heal.” He continued “As creators and publishers of Mishkan T’filah, we understand the important and powerful role that prayer can play in bringing a community together and allowing them to feel whole again.”
Rabbi Marjorie Slome of West End Temple was thrilled to receive the new prayerbooks, as extreme flooding destroyed her synagogue’s entire library. “We are so grateful for the CCAR’s generous support and donation to our temple,” said Rabbi Slome. “Receiving these books is truly a blessing as we rebuild.”
The CCAR facilitated the donation of the prayerbooks with funds donated by Rabbi Jonathan Stein, Immediate Past President of the CCAR and Senior Rabbi at Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan.
For Rabbi Stein, supporting these synagogues in their time of need was a given. “When I heard about the storm’s destruction; it was almost a visceral response,” he said. “I instantly committed myself to make this gift happen.” He continued “This is the kind of thing we do for each other in times of crisis.”
“During the aftermath of super storm Sandy, as we at Temple Sinai reached out for help and there were many who embraced our wet hands. As our community helped us we helped our community. It is was not easy for us to say: “We need help.” But, we soon learned that there are two sides to tzedakah – to give and to receive, both with dignity and humility. Temple Sinai has been blessed to receive help/tzedakah from individuals, synagogues, and non-profits near and far. One such is the CCAR. With the CCAR’s contribution of Mishkan Tefila (prayerbooks) a renewed sense of worship has been given to us. Knowing that the CCAR responded to our need, our members have a sense of connectedness which never before existed. We are eternally grateful to the CCAR for their contribution,” said Rabbi Janise Poticha of Temple Sinai.
The CCAR’s donation is just one of the many ways that the Reform Jewish community has come together to support one another in times of need. In the days and weeks after the storm, CCAR member rabbis, who serve both congregations and community organizations, galvanized their memberships to provide on-the-ground support and supplies to those in some of the hardest hit areas. The Union for Reform Judaism and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism have also played a leading role in the Jewish response to Sandy, including raising more than $750,000 for disaster relief efforts and coordinating donations of essential supplies to synagogues, community centers and families.
Colleagues helping colleagues – Rabbi Margie Slome surrounded by, l to r, Rabbi Hara Person, Rabbi Amy Ehrlich, Cantorial Intern Amanda WInter, and Rabbi Steve Fox.
Rabbi Hara Person is the publisher and director of the CCAR Press.
Originally posted at RavBlog: Reform Rabbis Speak
