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IN
THIS ISSUE:
NETZER/TaMaR YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS CONVENE IN
JERUSALEM
World leaders of Netzer
Olami, the international Progressive Zionist youth movement, joined
together last month in Jerusalem for their
annual veida clalit (general meeting). “The veida
is an ongoing celebration of movement democracy,” says Netzer director
Maoz Haviv. “For an entire week, the leaders leave behind their
individual corners and become one large guiding body for the world
movement.” During the veida, Netzer issued a statement on
Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic utterances by Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and on the Iranian nuclear threat. It said in
part: "We, the leaders of Netzer Olami, all of us Jews, living in 20
different countries around the world - in Europe, Africa, Asia,
Australasia, North America and South America - will never tolerate the
attempts of anyone to deny the undeniable historical right of the Jewish
people to live in their own state and execute their very basic right of
full independence. We call upon the free world to condemn, loud and
clear, the declaration of the President of Iran! We call upon the free
world to boycott Iran for its steps, which threaten the world in general
and Israel in particular. We call upon all youth organizations all over
the world, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, to join us in our call: Israel
has the right to live! Israel lives!" The
veida was followed immediately by
the ninth annual conference of TaMaR, the
worldwide framework for Netzer graduates and Progressive young adults.
The yearly conference, says Haviv, which focuses on policy and
programming, “tries to address the needs of many young Jews, especially
those in their 20s and 30s who distance themselves [from Jewish life]
and even disappear into what is called the 'black hole.' We don’t
pretend to offer ways to seal the black hole, but we do what we can in
our own modest way.” All together, some 60 Netzer and TaMaR leaders
attended the conferences, coming from Argentina, Australia, Belarus,
Brazil, Britain, Chile, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, the
Netherlands, North America, Russia, South Africa, Spain and Ukraine.
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NETZER FIESTA IN MELBOURNE TO ASSIST COMMUNITY IN
ARGENTINA
The Melbourne branch of
Netzer Olami is holding a South American-style fiesta Sunday evening to
help raise funds for youth programming in Argentina, where the recent
economic crisis has stretched the Progressive community's budget to
extremes. Soup kitchens and assistance for the elderly now take
precedence over Netzer programs, and subsidies for such events as camps
and seminars are now virtually non-existent. The result is that many
families can no longer afford to send their kids. The Australian
fund-raiser will feature a concert of South American-style music by a
jazz combo fronted by Adam Starr, a Netzer graduate who went on to
become a well-known Australian musician and composer. There will also
be a performance of South American dance, and Argentinean-style food.
For further information - or perhaps for ideas on how to hold your own
fundraiser for the Progressive community in Argentina - go to
http://www.netzer.org.au.
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ISRAELI MOVEMENT BRINGS WINTER WARMTH TO THE
DISADVANTAGED
The B’kavod social
action project of Israel’s Progressive movement has provided heaters and
blankets to some 300 elderly residents and 32 day care centers for the
children of foreign workers in south Tel Aviv. B'kavod (Hebrew
for "respect" or "dignity"), which is coordinated through the Israel
Religious Action Center and funded by Israel's Progressive congregations
and institutions, also conducts multi-faith food drives, humanitarian
aid, cultural and social enrichment, and empowerment programs. This is
the second consecutive winter that the project has focused on helping
people keep warm. The blankets and heaters were distributed by members
of the Noar TELEM youth group, and by participants in Mechina,
the movement's leadership and social action program for high school
graduates who postpone their military induction for one year.
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MAKE A
DIFFERENCE - VOTE THE REFORM/PROGRESSIVE WORLD ZIONIST SLATE
Registration is now coming
to a close for members of World Union-affiliated organizations who are
eligible to vote for the Reform/Progressive slate of delegates to the
World Zionist Congress, to be held this June in Jerusalem. The slate
will represent Reform and Progressive Zionist interests, which include
full recognition for the Progressive movement in Israel, and the growth
and development of Reform and Progressive communities worldwide. For
details on eligibility, registration and voting - including deadlines –
contact Dalya Levy at
Dalya@arzenu.org.il.
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CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF EMILY MEHLMAN
The leadership and staff
of the World Union extend their condolences on the passing of Emily
Mehlman, wife of Rabbi Bernard Mehlman, Vice
President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and Rabbi
Emeritus of Temple Israel of Boston, Massachusetts.
Messages of condolence can be sent to Rabbi Mehlman and his family care
of Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Avenue,
Boston, MA 02215-5327.
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