IN THIS ISSUE:

• ISRAELI MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO SERVE THOSE AFFECTED BY FIGHTING

• A TALE OF TORAH CONNECTION

• SATISFACTION - AND DISAPPOINTMENT - WITH WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS

• UPCOMING EVENTS

ISRAELI MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO SERVE THOSE AFFECTED BY FIGHTING

Normal daily life has stopped throughout Israel, and yet it also goes on, as members of the Progressive movement there continue to arrange safe havens for many citizens from the north while trying to maintain the routines of community living amidst the dangers and relocations of war.

From the IMPJ comes a report of Congregation Ma’a lot Tivon, outside Haifa, where this past Shabbat the community celebrated the bat mitzvah of one of its members. Despite the family’s fears, nearly 60 people came for the ceremony, which was held in the synagogue, located in a bomb shelter. Corrie Zeidler, the congregation’s student rabbi, commented, “The bat mitzvah aliyah to the Torah is always emotional, but this time it was an even more special occasion because of the thoughts running through our heads the whole time – Will the silence be broken by the sound of the siren? Will people come? All of this added so much more emotion.”

Efforts of “B’kavod” (the social justice fund of the Israeli Reform movement) continued this past week, and included providing arts and crafts kits to bomb shelters, cartons of baby food and diapers to Carmiel and Tzfat, and dry and fresh food products to shelters in Nahariya, Sheih Da’anon, Armasha and Tzfat. Members of the American Reform youth group, NFTY, in Israel for the summer, helped to pack dozens of cartons with backgammon sets, playing cards and candy for soldiers stationed on the Lebanese border.

Further south, the Progressive movement’s Kibbutz Yahel and Kibbutz Lotan are hosting approximately 350 Israelis from the North, providing them with shelter, food and other necessities. Displaced families that were temporarily housed at the Kfar Silver

summer camp were transported to a hostel at Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev, which is able to accommodate them for a longer period.

Fund-raising appeals are ongoing, as the costs to sustain the relief work and compensate communities for lost income continue to rise. For those interested in helping, please refer to see WUPJnews #222, or visit www.wupj.org or www.urj.org/give.

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A TALE OF TORAH CONNECTION

Two communities, worlds apart, became connected recently as one – Temple Oheb Shalom of Baltimore, Maryland – donated a Torah scroll to the other –  Congregation Esh David, a predominantly Russian-speaking Progressive community in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod.

Led by Stas Woyzehovich, a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, Esh David has about 120 dues-paying members, while upwards of 400 take part in its many programs and activities.

A celebratory, tri-lingual (English-Russian-Hebrew) evening ceremony was coordinated by Woyzehovich and Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman, associate director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and director of the IMPJ’s community development department. On hand were the leaders and congregants of Esh David, as well as top lay leaders and staff of the IMPJ, and movement rabbis.

“The event was literally one of the high points of our lives,” says Rabbi Steven M. Fink, spiritual leader of Oheb Shalom. “We have never before seen such joy and love for Torah. The appreciation expressed to us was palpable.” Oheb Shalom was established in 1853 and is one of America’s oldest continuously functioning congregations. Rabbi Fink is only its fifth senior rabbi; its first was Rabbi Benjamin Szold, considered a leader of 19th century Jewish America, and father of Henrietta Szold, who went on to found Hadassah.

“We danced, sang, laughed, cried, and ate until we could eat no more,” says Fink. “It was an unforgettable night. We are grateful to the World Union for helping to cement the bonds between our congregations, which are so distant, and so alike, in many ways.”

The scroll reached Ashdod as part of the World Union’s Shomrei Torah Donation Program, which coordinates efforts between congregations that have an extra scroll and those that need one. If you or your congregation have or know of such an available Torah, please contact program director Mandy Eisner.


Rabbi Steven M. Fink and a delegation from Baltimore bring the Torah scroll to Ashdod.

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SATISFACTION - AND DISAPPOINTMENT - WITH WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS

The recent Zionist Congress in Jerusalem went well for the Progressive movement, yet the aftermath has left a cloud of uncertainty over the implementation of nominations for leadership positions.

“All of the resolutions proposed by us at the Congress passed,” says Dalya Levy, who coordinated Congress efforts for ARZENU, the umbrella organization of Reform and Progressive Religious Zionists. “They dealt largely with social issues and a more just and democratic Israel. To our surprise, a number of Orthodox delegates even came out in support.”

Another key issue before the Congress was the restructuring of the World Zionist Organization to make it a more relevant and viable body. Under the leadership of ARZENU chair Mark S. Anshan and other Zionist leaders, the plenum gave its full support to the initiative, which was the outcome of more than a year’s work and is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of the WZO.

In addition, top activists from the Reform and Progressive movements were nominated for key positions, including Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch, former World Union executive director (as chairman of the Zionist General Council, or "Va’ad Hapoel," the WZO's governing body), Menachem Leibovic, former World Union director for Israeli and the FSU operations and executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (as co-vice chair of the Jewish National Fund), and Paula Edelstein, longtime executive director of ARZENU and outgoing chairwoman of the IMPJ (as co-chair of the Jewish Agency department responsible for immigration and absorption).

However, in an unprecedented move, the Advise and Consent Committee of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors failed to approve the nomination of department chairpersons, including Edelstein. The issue is understood to be a demand by the main Zionist fundraising organizations for more say in these areas, and it is believed that if these nominations are ultimately approved, the positions will be solely honorary.

“I think that most everyone from ARZENU went away wishing that something more concrete and less politically unpleasant had transpired,” says Levy, “especially after all that went into holding the Congress elections. But looking to the future, people generally expressed a sincere desire and determination to try and revitalize and restructure the WZO. We definitely have our work cut out for us.”

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UPCOMING EVENTS

·  Join us in Jerusalem, March 15-20, 2007, for Connections 2007 – the 33rd International Convention of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Further details soon.

·  Special World Union Mission to South America, November 9-20. (Adobe Reader required for this download)

·  World Union International Humanitarian Awards Dinner honoring Betty B. Golomb and Rabbi Jonathan A. Stein in New York City, September 10, 2006

·  Shared Destiny –  the World Union International Award Celebration honoring Rabbi Roberto D. Graetz, Lorry Lokey and Joanne Harrington in San Mateo, California, October 8, 2006

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