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IN THIS
ISSUE:
U.S.
CONGREGATION SPONSORS FSU YOUTH LEADERS FOR TRAINING
Temple Shalom of Naples,
Florida, brought two young members of the Progressive movement in the
former Soviet Union to the U.S. last summer to participate in leadership
training at the Reform Movement's URJ Kutz Campus for Reform Jewish Teen
Life in Warwick, NY. The training is held annually for members of NFTY -
the North American Federation of Temple Youth.
Mariya Zarud of Odessa and Ilona Dlin of Minsk are active in their
congregations and in the Netzer Olami youth movement, where they were
identified as having outstanding leadership potential. They were brought
to Kutz Camp as part of Temple Shalom’s “Hineini” (We are Here)
initiative, which grew out of a challenge by Union for Reform Judaism
president Rabbi Eric Yoffie for congregations to do good works globally.
“Our leadership is convinced that we have a moral duty and religious
obligation to nurture Jewish life for Progressive Judaism anywhere and
everywhere in the world,” says Paul M. Rosofsky, who chairs the Hineini
initiative. “What better way is there for tikkun olam, repairing
of the world, to be accomplished than by the training of future
leaders who could return home to build a new vibrant Progressive Jewish
community?”
A self-described “tikkun olam-oriented congregation” of 720
families on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Temple Shalom was well situated to
answer Yoffie's call: its former spiritual leader, Rabbi James Perman,
had a close working relationship with Rabbi David Wilfond, who has been
active in the FSU on behalf of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion, and with Rabbi Eve Rudin, director of Kutz Camp, the venue for
the youth training program.
This was the second time Temple Shalom sponsored young Progressive Jews
from the FSU for leadership training, and when Perman became rabbi
emeritus this past June, the congregation renamed the assistance program
"The Rabbi James Perman Leadership Scholarship."
Says Rosofsky: “It is our hope that when people hear what our
congregation has done, and the why and how we did it, they too will be
inspired to join with us in sponsoring the young men and women who will
help rebuild the Jewish communities of eastern Europe.”
To
find out how your congregation can help,
contact the World Union’s Jerusalem office
at
wupjis@wupj.org.il.
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DUTCH QUEEN JOINS IN COUNTRY’S LIBERAL JUBILEE
Queen Beatrix
attended a special synagogue service in Amsterdam on October 26th to
mark 75 years since the establishment of the Union of Liberal Jewish
Congregations in The Netherlands, a World Union affiliate. The evening
service, held at the city's Progressive Jewish synagogue together with a
"cultural happening" the following Sunday, capped a year of special
events staged around a touring exhibition. The entire jubilee
celebration was chaired by Marja Hené, a member
of the Union executive board and president of the Liberal congregation
in Rotterdam.
Also attending the evening service, which was led by Union rabbis and
cantors, were the mayor of Amsterdam, other top public figures and
leaders of the country's major Jewish organizations. Representing the
World Union was its president, Rabbi Uri Regev. Following the service,
Union chairman Elja Schwarz presented the Queen with the first copy of a
commemorative book on the history of Liberal Judaism in The Netherlands,
and Rabbi David Lilienthal, dean of the
Levisson Institute, the Dutch movement's rabbinic seminary,
presented her with an advance copy of a new Hebrew-Dutch Tanakh
to be co-published by the Union next spring.
The Dutch media reported extensively on the event, and a television
program that chronicles the activities of the country's royal family
broadcast highlights. (To view the three-minute segment, click
here. Please note that it starts about three minutes into the show.)
The first Liberal Jewish
congregations in The Netherlands were founded in 1931 in The Hague and
Amsterdam. The movement was forced to rebuild following the destruction
of 80% of the country’s Jewish community in the Shoah; today
there are nine congregations with more than 3,500 members. In another
move marking the jubilee, the Union
this week officially streamlined its name
to the Netherlands Union for Progressive Judaism.
Rabbi Uri Regev (r), president of the World
Union, with Queen Beatrix of The
Netherlands (l) and jubilee chairwoman
Marja Hené at the special synagogue
service (copyright Han Schenk, DAVIS fotografie, Zeewolde).
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JERUSALEM YOUTH HELP DISADVANTAGED MUSLIMS AT HOLIDAY TIME
Members of the Noar Telem youth group at Jerusalem’s Congregation Kol
Haneshama recently packed parcels of non-perishable food for needy
Muslims to mark Id el Fitr, the holiday that concludes the holy month of
Ramadan. A total of 250 parcels, each containing about $25 worth of
canned goods, rice, lentils, sugar and cooking oil,
were distributed in East Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa and the northern
village of Shfar’am.
Noar Telem is the Israeli
branch of Netzer Olami, the Progressive Zionist youth movement.
The youngsters were
working under the auspices of Keren B’Kavod, a joint social action
project of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the Israel
Religious Action Center (IRAC). Keren B’Kavod (“Dignity Fund”) works
with disadvantaged populations of all religions and backgrounds,
providing not only holiday food but other necessities such as blankets
and heaters for the winter.
"Working with Keren B'Kavod is something of a tradition for us," says
Yaniv Gliksman, youth coordinator at Kol Haneshama. "The kids need to
know what tikkun olam really is – that it goes beyond mere words
and requires action. And Keren B'Kavod works with all sectors of Israeli
society, driving home the true meaning of 'pluralism.'"
Says Rabbi Gilad Kariv, associate director of IRAC, “It is important to
us as Jews and Israelis to help non-Jewish families celebrate their
holidays with dignity. The fact that a Muslim family receives a package
of necessities from a religious Jewish family represents a small
contribution toward changing the atmosphere in Israel.”
To find out how you can
help Keren B’Kavod, contact the World Union’s Jerusalem office at
wupjis@wupj.org.il.
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WORLD
UNION FIGHTS FOR RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
A United Nations committee recently adopted the text of a draft
convention on the rights of people with disabilities that was prepared
with the help of a representative of the World Union. Dr. Maya Sabatello
(see photo below), an adjunct professor at New York University’s Center
for Global Affairs, took part in the sessions of the General Assembly’s
Ad-Hoc Committee on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
under the auspices of the World Union’s International Advocacy Task
Force.
“This is a groundbreaking international document in terms of its social
acceptance of disability,” said Sabatello. “It reflects a shift in
attitudes toward disability from a medical to a social model, and
signifies a substantial first step toward equitable human rights for
persons with disabilities all over the world.”
Once signed by at least 20 members of the General Assembly, the
convention will require countries to guarantee an array of rights for
persons with disabilities. Among these rights are inclusion in the
community; participation in all aspects of political, cultural and
social life; universal access to such services as transportation,
information and communications; and freedom from exploitation, violence
and abuse. “The convention,” says Sabatello, “sends out a clear message
that persons with disabilities are entitled to life, dignity and human
rights as are all other human beings. Hence, it holds tremendous
potential for improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people
around the world.”
Sabatello holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of
Southern California and an LL.B. from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, and has lectured and published on subjects ranging from
international law and comparative human rights to disability, terrorism
and bioethics. During her work with the U.N. committee, she organized
the screening of “39 Pounds of Love,” an Israeli documentary on the life
of Ami Ankilewitz, an animator who has muscular dystrophy and lives a
full life (see
WUPJnews #203).
Maya Sabatello at the screening of “39 Pounds
of Love” last January at the U.N.
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
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