June 28, 2010 (Section 2) (see also Section 1)
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Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.
*Articles on the Emmanuel Haredi school segregation case will be included in an upcoming special edition.
Conversion Conversation in Jerusalem
By Rabbi Daniel Allen and Rabbi Daniel Freelander Opinion http://blogs.rj.org June 22, 2010
The writers are ARZA Executive Director and URJ Senior Vice President
Jerry Silverman, President of the Jewish Federations of North America, stated clearly that while the Rotem bill in its original form had much to recommend it, the amendments that have subsequently been added are not acceptable to the Federations, period.
The Knesset ministers present seemed to think that the bill will not pass. We urged them to have Prime Minister Netanyahu remove the bill from further action.
The bill has passed first reading but must pass two more readings in the Knesset to become law. We took the position that ideally the bill should die in committee. They indicated that they understood how important it was to us that the bill not come to the Knesset floor, and committed themselves to working towards that end.
Israel to introduce revamped Jewish studies curriculum in state schools
By Or Kashti www.haaretz.com June 24, 2010
The educational curriculum in state-run institutions for this coming school year will include a new subject: Jewish culture and tradition.
The new subject will include lessons on Jewish culture, the Hebrew calendar and "the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel."
In addition, students in the sixth grade will be required to learn the weekly Torah portion; students in seventh grade will be taught the order of prayers in the Jewish liturgy; eighth graders will undergo instruction in Pirkei Avot (Sayings of the Fathers ); and ninth graders will delve into Theodor Herzl's novel "Altneuland."
In Israel, Bat Mitzvahs Where Torah Is Read Remain Rare
By Allison Kaplan Sommer Opinion http://blogs.forward.com June 24, 2010
My niece’s ceremonial aliya to the Torah, however, is still an oddity in Orthodox Israel, as my daughter’s will be in the non-Orthodox Israel.
How ironic that the experience of a Torah-centered bat mitzvah — which so solidified my Jewish identity and commitment at a young age, and set me on a path that led me to Israel — is such a rare commodity in the Jewish state itself.
Jerusalem police reject Gay Pride parade route
By Nir Hasson www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
The organization Jerusalem Open House is launching its annual Gay Pride parade on July 29, but the police have rejected the suggested route of the march.
The group said police rejected the route because it passes near an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva on Bezalel Street.
The Orthodox Jews fighting the Judaization of East Jerusalem
By Nir Hasson www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
It is possible to estimate cautiously that about half of the 30 key activists in Sheikh Jarrah are now or were in the past religiously observant. Most are young people in their twenties and thirties, and they represent an entire spectrum.
Sharansky's new vision for Jewish Agency comes under fire
By Cnaan Liphshiz www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
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A senior Jewish Agency official this week joined opposition to the organization's recent shift in focus toward Jewish education, saying it "ignored Israel's most urgent need and demographics." A partner of the Jewish Agency called the shift "a gamble which might not turn out well."
Jewish Agency's new plan for the Diaspora proves its irrelevance
By Anshel Pfeffer Opinion www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
The Jewish Agency's new strategic plan is a formidable document. The breathtaking result of a year's joint labor by dozens of Agency officials, lay leaders and experts is over 3,600 words that succeed in saying almost nothing.
...The strategic plan has offered no credible alternative vision, and the Jewish Agency has lost any reason for its existence.
By Natan Sharansky Opinion www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
We also hope that the strategic change will have a two-way effect: Young people in the Diaspora will be exposed to Israel, and young Israelis, many of whom take no interest in their brethren abroad, will get to know them. The national roots and Jewish identity of both will be strengthened. The Jewish people as a whole will harvest the fruits.
J Street resolutions stir up World Zionist Congress
By Cnaan Liphshiz www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
Kenneth Bob, a J Street board member who represented Ameinu, the Labor Zionist entity in the U.S., said he believed J Street would officially join the WZO in the near future.
"J Street was only founded two years ago, and this is the first World Zionist Congress since its formation," he said.
This Is What Jewish Democracy Looks Like
By J.J. Goldberg Opinion www.forward.com June 23, 2010
If you really want to get a handle on the troubles dogging Israel’s relationship with the Jewish Diaspora, look no further than the World Zionist Congress, which opened with great fanfare in Jerusalem on June 15 and limped to a whimpering close two days later.
You talk about two Jews and three opinions? This brawl involved 550 Jews with 1,100 sharp elbows and 2,000 years’ worth of grudges.
Jewish Agency approves new mission
By Haviv Rettig Gur www.jpost.com June 24, 2010
Jewish Agency to focus on Diaspora, not local projects, to combat assimilation
By Nir Hasson www.haaretz.com June 24, 2010
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his support for the plan.
"The Jewish world must set itself the goal of making it possible for every Jewish young person who wants to visit Israel to do so within five years."
Sharansky: New policy sees Israel as center of Jewish world
By Haviv Rettig Gur www.jpost.com June 22, 2010
“Some are saying we are replacing aliya with identity programs,” Sharansky notes, countering, “What we’re saying is that strengthening identity will bring aliya.”
Others question whether the agency will be able to fundraise for its dwindling coffers with the new focus.
By Haviv Rettig Gur www.jpost.com June 21, 2010
For an organization with an annual budget over $300m., such a stark change in its programming focus is a dramatic move.
By Yehuda Mirsky Opinion www.jewishideasdaily.com June 21, 2010
In sum, the attachments of young American Jews to both Israel and Judaism rise and fall due to a range of commitments, experiences, and values that are themselves subject to the winds of history and the vicissitudes of circumstance. Specific Israeli policies are one, by no means decisive, element in the mix.
Connect. Inspire. Empower. Or, why we all should care about the Jewish Agency’s new strategic plan.
By Dan Brown Opinion http://ejewishphilanthropy.com June 21, 2010
In getting to some of the tachlis, it is apparent that JAFI is trying to move itself away from being a quasi-governmental entity to a new entrepreneurial culture. Radical thinking indeed for this organization.
While recognizing the strength of partnerships with Israel’s government, there was also acknowledgment that JAFI should only do things that JAFI is capable of doing. That the organization needs to relinquish those areas that are not core. No easy task.
Reassessing the Israel-Diaspora link
By David Newman Opinion www.jpost.com June 21, 2010
The writer is professor of political geography and dean elect at Ben-Gurion University, and editor of the International Journal of Geopolitics.
Israel does need to harness its supporters in the Diaspora but it needs to do it in such a way that it is representative of the entire and diverse range of views and positions, more closely reflecting the reality of the fragmented Israeli public opinion.
...It is time to sit down and reassess the nature of Israel- Diaspora relations if we want them to be mutually beneficial to both sides.
'Israel to fund high-school programs'
By Haviv Rettig Gur www.jpost.com June 23, 2010
After spending tens of millions of dollars in recent years to bring college-age Jewish youth on subsidized trips to Israel, the government and Jewish Agency are launching a major new effort to offer similar funding for high-schoolers.
Within 5 years every young Jew should be able to see Israel
By Haviv Rettig Gur www.jpost.com June 23, 2010
The Jewish world should set a goal that within five years it will be able to facilitate a visit to Israel for any young Jew who wants to make the trip, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
From the future of Zionism to a near-violent brawl
By Jacob Wytwornik and Liam Getreu Opinion www.jpost.com June 20, 2010
Jacob Wytwornik is a new immigrant, originally from Melbourne, and represented Mizrahi at the World Zionist Congress. Liam Getreu, also from Melbourne, is chairman of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, which he represented at the congress.
More than a hundred of the youth delegates met throughout the congress to discuss how we can take more responsibility for Zionism in Israel and throughout the Diaspora. It is essential that those calls are heeded and translated into seats at the table and a real voice in the Zionist movement.
Judge to decide JNF leadership dispute
By Gil Hoffman www.jpost.com June 27, 2010
The Petah Tikva District Court will hold a hearing on Sunday that could decide who will be the chairman of the Keren Kayemet L’Israel/Jewish National Fund, after an ongoing dispute between current chairman Effi Stenzler and Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon.
Simhon may have to wait up to three years to head JNF
By Ofra Edelman www.haaretz.com June 24, 2010
The Ometz government watchdog group is requesting an enforced "cooling-off period" of between one and three years, because Simhon has authority over the JNF in his capacity as agriculture minister.
By Sharon Udasin www.thejewishweek.com June 22, 2010
Three generations of the Wurtzel-Entel family were on board for the move of a lifetime.
Chana Wurtzel and her husband Yitzi, who live in Far Rockaway, Queens, were acting on years’ worth of dreams to finally make aliyah to Israel. They would be accompanied, of course, by their four children, ranging in age from 10 to 18 months. But Chana’s parents, Joan and Eliezer Entel, it turned out, were just as enthusiastic about the move as she and her husband were.
Then there was grandma — generation No. 4.
Kyrgyzstan violence spurs aliyah
By Liel Kyzer www.haaretz.com June 22, 2010
The Jewish Agency estimates that between 1,000 and 3,000 residents of Kyrgyzstan are eligible to immigrate to Israel. Agency chairman Natan Sharansky said since the outbreak of the unrest in Kyrgyzstan, 60 Jewish families there have begun the aliyah process.
By Itamar Eichner www.ynetnews.com June 22, 2010
Amid escalating riots against Uzbek minority in Kyrgyzstan, 12 Jews from Kyrgyzstan landed in Israel on Monday.
The immigrants were the first group to arrive since ethnic riots broke out in the country.
Immigrants picket to save their ulpan
By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
Some 45 mostly Anglo immigrants Wednesday demonstrated in front of Jerusalem's city hall on behalf of the popular Ulpan Beit Mitchell, which they said the municipality planned to close.
Study of American Jews making its way into Israeli schools
JTA www.jpost.com June 23, 2010
The Jews of America may make up the largest Diaspora community, but that does not mean Israeli children learn much about them.
State schools largely stick to Zionist ideology – that all Jews should live in Israel and those who do not at the very least should be actively engaged in helping support the Jewish state. In turn, there is scant study of contemporary Jewish life in America.
By Raphael Ahren www.haaretz.com June 25, 2010
When the Ramot Zion synagogue was built in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood 36 years ago, it was one of the country's first non-Orthodox congregations.
Celebrating the anniversary, Baltimore-born art historian and longtime member Joe Hoffman curated a photographic exhibition depicting the shul's history.
Material Girl in a Kabbalah world
By Theodore May www.globalpost.com June 27, 2010
With a traditional Hasidic look, wispy white beard, soft voice and thick glasses, Yaacov Kaszemacher is not the person you’d most expect to have a strong opinion on a pop superstar like Madonna.
But Kaszemacher and the Material Girl share one important thing in common: they’re both students of Kabbalah. Only, Kaszemacher doesn’t believe that Madonna is a real Kabbalist.
June 28, 2010 (Section 2) (see also Section 1)
Editor – Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel is not affiliated with any organization or movement.
All rights reserved.
