Partners for Pluralism in Israel

After living in Israel for a year with my family, I imagine that we came back with a number of souvenirs. Nearly sixteen years later, though, the only one that I distinctly remember is a bumper sticker that we affixed to our family car. It had a multicolor Jewish star on it and said (in Hebrew and English): “Yesh yoter mi derech echad l’hiyot Yehudi” – “There is more than one way to be Jewish.”

This simple statement, one that seems second-nature to many of us here in North America, has long been the clarion call of those working for religious pluralism in Israel. Now, after years of activism, it seems that many who hold power in Israel are beginning to agree. The government’s approval of the plan for an egalitarian plaza at the Kotel, and recent Supreme Court victories opening up mikvahs to Conservative and Reform Jews and recognizing conversions conducted by independent Orthodox rabbis point to a growing trend towards recognition of Judaism’s full religious diversity.

To every action, however, there is an opposite and not always equal reaction. A bill overturning the Court’s decision on mikvahs has already made it through the first stage of Israel’s legislative process. The Kotel deal has unleashed a torrent of verbal attacks against Reform Jews, some even from members of the Israeli Knesset such as Meir Porush, who said that Women of the Wall should be “thrown to the dogs.”

Reading these awful comments, and the countless others that have been made recently, can be frustrating. They make us wonder: how can we show our deep love and support for Israel, its Reform community and the broader struggle for religious pluralism? Thankfully, there are a number of partners who share this devotion and whose work we can celebrate and support:

• The Israel Religious Action Center, our counterpart in Jerusalem, advocates on behalf of a number of social justice causes in Israel, including anti-racism work, legal aid for new immigrants, women’s rights and the religious pluralism. IRAC is currently asking supporters to call upon Religious Services Minister David Azoulay to condemn the recent insults against Reform Jews.
• The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism brings together Reform congregations around Israel. Led by Rabbi Gilad Kariv, IMPJ supports the country’s Reform communities and advocates for greater acceptance of Reform Judaism in all levels of Israel’s government.
• Women of the Wall has spearheaded the campaign for egalitarian worship at the Kotel for over 27 years. In addition to working for the plan for an egalitarian plaza, they will be hosting the first ever priestly blessing for women at the Western Wall this Passover.
• ARZA is the Zionist arm of the Reform Movement here in North America. It provides trips to Israel and educational opportunities for congregations and supports both IRAC and IMPJ. After an impressive showing in last year’s World Zionist Congress Election, ARZA sent more delegates than any other American organization to advocate for religious pluralism, social justice and democracy in Israel.

Even with harsh attacks from their opponents, these organizations work daily to make the fact that there is more than one way to be Jewish undeniable in Israeli public life. For those of us who yearn for that future but live an ocean away, they can be our partners in building a Jewish state that welcomes and empowers every form of Jewish observance.

Feature image courtesy of Alex Proimos, Wikimedia.