RJ Blog

The last two weeks of June were sort of a blur of meetings and conferences in Israel. Many of our ARZA leaders participated in several of these meetings including Rabbi Bob Orkand, Didi Gilbert, Sue Fratkin, Ellie Danker, Phil Meltzer, Rabbi Stan Davids, and Bill Hess. The various meetings also included the leadership of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, including Yaron Shavit, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, Gusti Braverman, Menachem Leibovich and others. ARZA was pleased to attend with Rabbi Rick Jacobs in several of these gatherings in his first Israel visit as President of the URJ.

On behalf of all the branches of our American Reform Movement, Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom. Tonight we, as a movement, celebrate Israel’s 64th Birthday. We might wonder, to paraphrase the McCartney song we sang decades ago, “Does Israel still need me when she’s 64?” The truth is we, the American Jewish community, our Movement, and Israel need each other.

By Melissa Beiser Israel was that man that my parents were trying to set me up with for years that I’ve been avoiding planning a date with. Israel is that friend that I always wanted to meet but we always seemed to move in different social circles. Israel is that remedy that all of my classmates raved about the healing properties of but I always neglected to ask for a prescription or even a free sample of. Most of all though, Israel is a gift. I was told all about how it is a gift by Hillel members, Chabad goers, [...]

In early March of this year, my husband and I spend two weeks in Israel. Our guide Muki has been a friend for many years and I trust him to recommend learning experiences that will expand my understanding of Israel and Judaism. A week before we left for Israel, he suggested we try a “freedom ride,” a ride on the public bus that travels through Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem. These buses, funded by the government and provided for everyone, have been turned into buses with sex-segregated seating, with men in the front and women in the back. Recently, a woman [...]

by Rabbi David M. Weis As Israel celebrates the 64th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, I am celebrating my 57th birthday. I share that information, because my age tells a great deal about how Israel fits into my life and worldview. I was raised in the early years of the State of Israel. I was reared with a strong connection to the justice of the Jewish cause and the promise of Zionism’s mission to create a Jewish democratic state in Israel.