Editor –
Joel Katz
By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
The writer is the President
Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism.
I would
like to thank Rabbi Amar for helping Israel’s Reform movement and for advancing
the cause of religious freedom in the Jewish state.
In the
first place, he has provided confirmation of what I know but many Jews in the
world do not: Reform Judaism is growing and thriving in the State of Israel.
In the
second place, he has given us yet another reason why Israel’s Chief Rabbinate
needs to be dismantled.
In the
third place, he has drawn our attention to Jewish faith at its best by giving
us an example of Jewish faith at its worst.
By Hirsh
Goodman
One
wonders whether the Chief Rabbi managed to atone for his remarks, or even
thinks he has anything to atone for.
After all,
we are speaking about deeply religious and spiritual issues here, like the
decision to allow non-Orthodox rabbis to serve the public and receive a salary
from the state.
This means
fewer community religious jobs for the Orthodox and, of course, what could be
more sacrilegious than that?"
By Rabbi Zev Farber
By Rabbi Uri Regev
By Rabbi
Michael Boyden
The writer
is the director of the Rabbinical Court of the Israel Council of Progressive
Rabbis
The
difficulty faced by many Israelis in proving their Jewishness constitute a
strategic threat and requires a combined effort from the government and the
religious establishment to solve it.
By Rabbi
Mark Goldsmith
Religion
should be a source of vision and a positive future, a set of tools that build
the world. It should not be a sledgehammer to deal violently with
perceived humiliations, as is fundamentalist Islam , it should not be a
chainsaw to rip a people apart, as is the denying by the Israel Chief Rabbinate
of the right of Jews to express their Judaism in the way that is true to
themselves.
In the end
it is up to us to interpret the meaning of our religions and the texts which
support it in a direction that builds and does not destroy, that supports and
does not crush, that cares and does not reject.
By Rabbi Dov Lipman
Yair Lapid
wants to follow his father Tommy into the Knesset, but without his
anti-religious agenda and his provocative style.
By Rabbi
Dov Lipman
There’s a very strong
link between Egged and the radical ultra-Orthodox, a lot of behind-the-scenes work.
Now they’re using that
power for segregation and the removal of women from the public sphere. (The
advertising company claimed it was fearful of vandalism and decided to get rid
of all human images on bus advertising.)
The big test will be
in the elections for national and local government; I can’t imagine [Prime
Minister] Netanyahu not being able to plaster his face all over the buses
[during his re-election campaign]. We’ll be heading back to court on this one;
it’s the not the end of this story.
By Shari
Eshet, NCJW
Fighting
back piecemeal is no longer a viable option. We have made great progress as
more and more grassroots movements and advocacy campaigns have taken hold.
Even
more significantly, the mainstream Israeli voter now understands that gender
segregation and other discrimination against women are not just “women’s
issues,” but rather a symptom of a society that needs to redirect its domestic
agenda to stay a viable state with a civil society that is healthy, strong and
compelling to the next generation of Israelis.
By Anat
Hoffman
New and
wonderful things happen when Jewish women from Israel and the world collaborate
and educate each other. When we make the effort to meet we discover – and
rediscover every time – that we have much more uniting us than separating us.
By Debra
Nussbaum Cohen
Rabbi Dr.
Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi talks about the inclusion of women and minorities
in the capital.
By Kobi Niv
The
question is not whether Israel will still exist in 10 years, but what kind of
Israel will be here in 10 years?
By Elana
Sztokman
By Mya
Guarnieri
Yael Biran
and Tal Yakobovitch to be paid NIS 80,000 by [Messianic] banquet hall owner
that discriminated against them due to their sexual orientation
A
"Globes" investigation found government development subsidies for the
4,600 housing units in Harish will exceed NIS 1 billion.
"The
Haredim are buying up dozens of apartments in the vicinity. While it's true
these are just cheap apartments - some costing under NIS 500,000 - that's still
a lot of dough, and we're talking about a community reputed to be needy,"
continued Avraham. "How do they pull it off?"
The common
response to this question is the modest and frugal lifestyle of the Haredi
community, their plain abodes, charity, handouts, mutual support, and massive
assistance from parents. But does this tell the full story? There is no way of
knowing as long as no clear records are kept of the money trail.
By Nehemia
Shtrasler
A huge majority of people
in Israel - the secular sector, almost all the religious sector and a
considerable part of the ultra-orthodox sector too - want a normal daylight
saving time of the kind that functions in Europe; that is to say, until the end
of October.
Activists
protest in front of private residence of Interior Affairs Minister Eli Yishai,
of the Shas ultra-Orthodox party, just hours before DST ends and Israel is to
plunge into winter time in the midst of summer, weeks ahead of Europe and the
U.S.
Editor –
Joel Katz
Religion
and State in Israel is not affiliated
with any organization or movement.
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