Marching Toward Freedom

At the recent Celebrate Israel Parade, Dr. Ruth Westheimer was interviewed for Channel 9.  She graciously thanked the anchors for their time and reminisced about her role as a sniper in the Hagana around the time of Israel’s independence.  She observed how the parade demonstrates support for Israel within and beyond the Jewish community.  She also spoke about how parades like this one reveal the pervasive blessing of freedom in America.  How fortunate we are, she remarked, that Jews, Latinos, Indians and others can march proudly up “fancy Fifth Avenue,” fully integrated into American society while able to embrace the unique aspects of their respective cultures.

Bravo, Dr. Ruth.  You always seem to find the right words for the occasion.  Indeed the Celebrate Israel Parade is not only about Jewish support for Israel, it’s about world recognition. Moreover, it is one of many ethnic parades that convey an important message about our country, namely the freedom and equality that every group deserves.

Unfortunately, in the State of Israel, religious freedom still eludes many Jews as the Conservative and Reform denominations of Judaism do not receive equal treatment under Israeli law.  Recently, an important development took place that will hopefully begin to change that reality. 

In response to a petition submitted in 2005, Israel’s Attorney General recently agreed to recognize Masorti (Conservative) and Reform rabbis in Israel and to fund their salaries in limited circumstances.  It only applies to rabbis in small towns and the funds are taken from the Ministry of Sports and Culture, rather than the Ministry of Religion.  Moreover, the rabbis are still not allowed to exert influence regarding halakhic issues. 

MK Nitzan Horowitz of the Meretz party, head of the lobby for Civil Equality and Religious Pluralism, was quoted recently in Ha’aretz as follows: "The time has come to recognize all streams of Judaism and release it from the grip of the haredi politicos.”

In an opinion piece, also for Ha’aretz, Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld wrote that she hopes for the day when Judaism in contemporary Israel will embody the rabbinic dictum that recognizes multiple ways of fulfilling the Divine will:  “These and those are the words of the living God.”  One indication of the embrace of truly pluralism will be equal funding for all approaches to Judaism.

It’s crucial that we continue to support Israel in multiple ways.  We are indebted to Rebecca and Sassan Sassouni, Helen Wrobel, Lee Harounian and the Israel Affairs Committee, Lisa Weinblatt, Jesse Smith and all who coordinated and participated in the Celebrate Israel Parade.  Thanks to the efforts of Mike Delefraz and others, we hosted a successful Israel Bonds program last month.  At the end of August, I will be joining a number of Temple Israel families on an action-packed trip to Israel.

Israel needs our support as she makes increasing strides in technology and confronts internal and external challenges.  We will continue to march, visit and invest in Israel’s future.

Finally, through our advocacy of Mercaz and our relationship with Kehillat Netzach Yisrael, our sister Masorti synagogue in Ashkelon, we will continue to support religious freedom for all Jews in Israel. 

Our support in all these areas is crucial.  As Dr. Ruth would say, we are all “on the air.”

Originally printed in the Temple Israel Voice, June 2012