Reuven Rivlin Tells Reform Leaders ‘We’re One Family’
Image by getty images
“We are all one family,” Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin told leaders of the Reform movement at his residence in Jerusalem.
“I can say to all of you, we are one family and the connection between all Jews, all over the world, is very important to the State of Israel,” Rivlin said Tuesday while hosting over 50 North American and Israeli Reform leaders on the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Rabbi Aaron Panken, the president of HUC, and Andrew Berger, its Board of Governors chairman, are leading the delegation.
Rivlin said his country must work to bring Israelis of all backgrounds together.
“I believe we have to bridge social gaps for the societies to live together and to progress,” he said. “We must build confidence measures because we are going to live here together forever. We are not doomed to live together but destined to live together.”
Panken said of the delegation, “We are here to sustain and build the connection between North American Jewry and Israel. We are here to demonstrate our solidarity with the people and State of Israel and express our support for many of your efforts.”
He said that in his short time in office, Rivlin has “shown true leadership in the areas of rights for the Arab citizens of Israel, reconciliation between diverse groups and consideration of those in Israeli society who need help.”
Three Israeli Reform rabbis are set to be ordained Thursday at HUC’s academic convocation at its Jerusalem campus. HUC has ordained 90 Israeli rabbis at its Jerusalem campus.
Before his election as president, Rivlin had come under fire from the Reform movement for statements he made after a 1989 visit to a Reform synagogue’s services in New Jersey, telling an Israeli newspaper, “This is idol worship and not Judaism.”
During a 2007 meeting with Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rivlin would not commit to calling Yoffie “rabbi.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
