Ever since the late 1960s, Israel has been a defining feature of American Jewish identity. But for the first time in fifty years, this is changing. Wedge issues have been alienating liberal Jews from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hawkish, pro-Orthodox, pro-settlement platform, issues like prayer accommodations for Reform and Conservative Jews at the Western Wall…
As a part of our Rabbi Roundtable series, we brought together leading rabbis from all corners of the Jewish world to offer their thoughts on the big questions. This week, we asked our rabbis, “What are Jews? — a race, a religion, a culture, an ethnicity, a nation….?” Here are their responses: Avram Mlotek, Orthodox,…
President Reuven Rivlin’s 2015 “Tribes” speech spoke of the existence of a “new Israeli order” that comprises four main tribes: secular, ultra-Orthodox, Arabs, and religious Zionists. That, supposedly, is the Israeli collective: a federation of tribes with a common future, even if they disagree profoundly regarding the appropriate vision for the State of Israel. Yet…
I get the same sense of insolence from Israeli officials when the effects of the cancellation of the Kotel Agreement on World Jewry are discussed. “What will they do to us?” I was forced to spend 24 hours with a 5-year-old who isn’t family. I explained the rules of the house several times during his…
I am a Jew. I’m certainly not going to win any awards for “World’s Best” anytime soon. But this is the religion and culture I have identified with for the entirety of my life. At the same time, I feel zero attachment whatsoever to the state of Israel. Nil. When I hear news related to…
Israel boasts that it is the Jewish homeland. A home for all Jews. It declares solidarity and inclusion that in reality it fails to deliver. A perfect example of this gap was demonstrated in the Cabinet meeting on June 25, 2017. The topic of the meeting was Israel-Diaspora relations, and Natan Sharansky, chairman of the…
(JTA) — An Israeli government committee will propose making it easier for non-Jews who have Jewish ancestry or members of communities following Jewish practices to visit and study in Israel. The Diaspora Affairs Ministry panel will also recommend establishing cultural centers abroad to allow members of these communities to learn more about Judaism and Israel…
Tensions between the Israeli government and Jewish leaders worldwide remain high, despite a move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago to shelve a controversial bill that would have made the Chief Rabbinate the only body authorized by the government to perform conversions in Israel. The crisis over the new conversion law broke out…
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