Israel Affairs

The mission is to actively support Israel.

This committee aims to increase community awareness of Israel, its culture, achievements, challenges and needs. The Israel committee organizes and supports a variety of Israel related events at Beth Shalom including facilitating discussions about Israel-related issues, organizing gatherings to celebrate Israeli culture, food and song, and publicizing Israel-related events in the broader community. Beth Shalom members are leaders in many local and national organizations that support Israel and there are many ways for you to get involved.

Additional information and articles are posted periodically. Please check back.

An Israel Discussion Group is forming on the first Shabbat of the Month.

Please join us on Saturday, October 2, 2010, 1:15-2:15pm.  Michael Newman will give an overview of the Arab-Israeli conflict and peace process.

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This week’s cover story of Time Magazine presents a one sided viewpoint to the peace process and its conclusions of Israelis not being interested in peace has anti-semitic tones.  The following is a link to a thoughtful response by Rabbi Danny Gordis to the Time Magazine article on Israel and peace.

http://danielgordis.org/2010/09/07/acceptable-in-polite-society-a-commentary-magazine-blog/

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Police Recommend Pressing Charges Against Anat Hoffman while Rabinowitz Tightens his Grip on the Western Wall

Jerusalem, Israel- This week brought with it more attempts to vilify Women of the Wall and protect the Western Wall as accessible for ultra-Orthodox prayer exclusively. The Jerusalem Police recommended this week that the Ministry of Justice press charges against Anat Hoffman for the felony of "gravely obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties", in regards to her July arrest while holding a Torah at the Western Wall. The sentence for such a conviction is up to 3 years in prison. Members and supporters of Women of the Wall in Israel and abroad stand behind Hoffman, and have been busy sending hundreds of letters and pictures of women holding the Torah to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Head of the Opposition Tzipi Livni, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky, and Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi in charge of the holy places. In these letters, women from all over the world ask Israeli leaders, "How is it that as Jewish women, we are free in Berlin, in Rome, and in Chicago, while in Jerusalem it is illegal and profane for us to read from the Torah?" Supporters are encouraged to continue to send letters and pictures from the website, http://womenofthewall.org.il/solidarity/take-a-stand, conveying a clear message to Israel's leaders that Women of the Wall will not be intimidated or silenced.
 

In response to Women of the Wall's twenty year battle to read Torah on the women's side of the Western Wall, Rabbi Rabinowitz issued a new regulation, giving him sole and complete control over who is permitted to enter the Western Wall Plaza with a Torah. This new dictatorial procedure extends the blockade against entering to the holy site with a Torah to not only women, but also men who might be determined unfit to carry a Torah by the extremist Rabinowitz. Adv. Nira Azriel is preparing a statement on behalf of Women of the Wall to the authorities regarding the unreasonable strictness of the new regulations, which promise to worsen conditions for women even further.

Women of the Wall is a group of Jewish women from around the world who strive to achieve the right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem, Israel. The Western Wall is Judaism’s most sacred holy site and the principal symbol of Jewish people-hood and sovereignty and Women of the Wall works to make it a holy site where women can pray freely.
 

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From Rabbi Borodin

Update on the Rotem Conversion bill - Thanks to your support and activism and the feedback Prime Minister Netanyahu heard through over 60 000 e-mails, the discussion of the Rotem bill has been postponed to the next session of the Knesset, this fall. We will keep you posted on future follow up and developments.

The Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel and the Masorti Movement in Israel will freeze their petitions pending before the Supreme Court (Bagatz) and the Government will suspend the legislative action for half a year on the subject of conversion.This agreement was reached tonight by the Government Secretary, Zvi Hauser, based on the instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to find every way to keep the unity of the Jewish people." 
 

According to the agreement with the heads of the movements, in the next half year, until January 1, 2011, there will be no change in the current status quo with regard to conversion. As part of this agreement, the movements obligated themselves to freeze all legal proceedings that are currently pending in Bagatz and that are related to the conversion issue. The movements, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General will submit to the court a joint statement based on this agreement.  At the same time, the Government will suspend any legislative action on this issue.In addition, there will be a team headed by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky, in which the movements and representatives of the Government will participate in order to reach a consensus during this period that would enable completion of the legislative process with regard to the Conversion Bill. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the progress on this path toward solving the dispute: "The change in the conversion law in Israel," said the Prime Minister, "needs to be done with a wide consensus due to the need to prevent a split in the Jewish people.  Unity is a primary national interest of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people and I intend to firmly adhere to this principle."