Some Reform rabbis doubt new movement chief's devotion to Israel
Ads taken out in several U.S. Jewish weeklies claims Rabbi Richard Jacobs 'does not represent the pro-Israel policies cherished by Reform Jews.'
By Shlomo ShamirNEW YORK - A group of Reform rabbis and activists has launched a campaign protesting the nomination of Rabbi Richard Jacobs as the new president of the Union for Reform Judaism, casting doubt on Jacobs' devotion to Israel.
Ads taken out by the group in several Jewish weeklies in the United States state that Jacobs "does not represent the pro-Israel policies cherished by Reform Jews.".
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Rabbi Richard Jacobs. |
| Photo by: Courtesy |
The 30 signatories to the advert identify themselves as belonging to an organization called Jews Against Divisive Leadership.
Jacobs, one of the Reform movement's most prominent figures, is expected to take up his post next summer, succeeding Eric Yoffe, who served for 16 years.
In the ad the signatories cite three reasons for rejecting Richards as nominee for president: his membership in the left-leaning J Street's rabbinic cabinet and on the board of directors of the New Israel Fund, and his participation in protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. A weekly demonstration is held there to protest a Jewish takeover of Palestinian homes in that East Jerusalem neighborhood.
"We call on the Union for Reform Judaism to reconsider this divisive appointment. Do not drive mainstream Zionist Jews out of the Reform movement," the ad reads.
Other figures in the Reform movement voiced their opposition to the ad. In an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, three Reform leaders said the ad was a "distorted caricature" of Jacobs, and its signatories were out of touch with Zionist norms and were playing into the hands of right-wing critics of Jacobs.
The Anti-Defamation League took the unusual step of entering the controversy. On Friday it released a statement to the press criticizing the aspersions cast on Jacobs as "harmful to the spirit of unity and common cause that unites the Jewish people."
Jacobs, 55, has been the senior rabbi of the Westchester Reform Temple of Scarsdale, New York for the past 20 years.
Jacobs, who speaks fluent Hebrew and studied in Jerusalem, maintains an apartment in Jerusalem where he and his family live during their visits.
A recent Haaretz article quoted Jacobs' last Yom Kippur sermon, in which he stated that if you love Israel, you must support it and stand at its side without asking questions, regardless of who is in power. "Ties with Israel are an inseparable part of my world," he told Haaretz in that interview.
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I didnt mean teffilin, I meant holding a Torah book at the Western Wall
I hope the new chief will maintain his position for a more just and human Israel where non-orthodox Jews are not attacked by radical Jews during prayer and women are not arrested by police while praying with teffilin, just as the daughters of Rambam did. Maybe also a political attitude that - he thinks - will secure the future of Israel and Jews better than narrow-minded decisions of persons unable to see the image of Israel beyond their own borders is part of it, albeit I think that a chief rabbi should abstain from politics at all.
There is only ONE rabbi listed in the ad, so I think Haaretz has reported the story inaccuractely. This is an extremely small and marginal group.
so this guy is a good fit.
May I ask how many so-called 'Reform' Jews you surveyed? Do all 'orthodox' agree on all issues? I think your statement could be considered loshen hara...
As someone who grew up in the Reform movement, I can tell you this is the opposite of the case.
continue to eat their own. No disagreement, no decent, blind obedience. No thinking allowed. Wow, what a country.
It makes me sick to read how if anyone, including Jews, opposes the policies of an Israeli gov't., and only from the left, they are considered either not Pro Israel, or (even worse) Anti Israel. Whereas, if one opposes the policies of an Israeli gov't., and only are from the right, they are considered only Pro Israel. This reminds me of the "ownership" of patriotism by the right during the war in Southeast Asia. If one considers the policies of hi/her government to be counterproductive to the benefit of the nation, we deserve the respect that all on the political scale deserve. Get used to it...occupation is not in the Modern, Liberal (Reform) Jewish vein. There is no benevolent occupation! There is no support of racism that Jews can justify anywhere in the world, especially by Jews and especially by a gov't. of Israel. Congratulations, Richard; and good luck from Israel.
The anachronistic and myopic thinking about "pro Israel" that characterizes the likes of NGO.Monitor, Israel Academia Monitor and the scores of other self annointed halo wearing "I love Israel" angels.are at it again. They do not realize that progressive Judaism in Israel or anywhere demands a.democratic and progressive society. A socoety of tthe Occupation cannot properly be home to progressive and pluralist Judaism (s). Just as a regressive Occupation society continues to expell Palestinian civilians from Sheikh Jerrah so too will it continue to treat Judaism as particularisric.and Orthodox ONLY. The struggles are mutually dependent. Time for all Reform/Liberal Jews in the Diaspora to awake to that alarm and stop hitting snooze
who claim devotion to Israel are suckers. Israel sure doesn't have any devotion to them.
What are you talking about? Most Jews in Israel are quite secular.
One can "claim devotion to America or to the "American Way," yet still be critical of the Bush admin or the Obama admin. That frees their will and their minds to be in favor or against certain policies. As long as governments represent the people, there will always be people who may, and must (according to the American Way) be critical of this policy or that. No policy can represent all the supporters of any government. That is what democracy is based on-Free Thinkers supporting what they believe.
aristeides was correct in that those who blindly support Israel, in a devout way, will constantly be disappointed. This is especially true if you are a true liberal or free thinker. Even the most liberal governments have not come through with modern, liberal policies (in the final analysis). The Rabin gov't has come the closest by leading the country along a correct path, but got overthrown by 3 bullets. Those settlements and our occupation only got stronger after the fact. So, those who oppose occupation overseas will find themselves let down while our gov't and army perpatrate an illegal situation in their name. This is because whatever Israel does is cast upon the Jews of the diaspera--fairly or not.
Where are the secular synagogues in Israel? The Reform synagogues are burned down.
...Why should they settle for "most" Jews in their own homeland accepting them? Should they not find it offensive that the Israeli government sanctions many who would question their Jewishness?
The issue is one of enmity to Israel and the Jewish people.
All the national holidays are rooted in Jewish tradition, and, if you look deeply enough in the Sources, you even find that Yom Haatzmaut has a Sacred connection--30 days from the Giving the the Torah on Mount Sinai, in the same sort of way Traditional Jews connect the 30 days from Purim in which we were redeemed "as a nation to Pesach, when we "became a nation" Then again, for the record many Italian Catholics are secular, but for some reason they baptise their chidren in a Roman Catholic Church, get married by a Priest, and other "religious" ceremonies because . . . Indeed, many otherwise "secular" Jews, like other Mediteranean people, view religious traditions as part of the national culture in a formal way based on a some kind of infrastructure, unlike the North American pattern where religion is often view as a "personal matter".
Though you're correct, I think aristeides is referring to government policies that discriminate against members of the movement vis-a-vis conversion and the children of mixed marriages. The fact that the government has only helped fund one Reform (let alone non-Orthodox) synagogue, Kehillat YOZMA in Modi'in, is particularly telling in terms of official policy and the ever-increasing weight the Chief Rabbinate has to throw around.
Secular and Reform are by no means the same thing. Secular means not keeping many or most of the precepts; Reform means keeping precepts according to a particular interpretation. Many secular Israelis keep quite a lot of Jewish precepts such as celebrating festivals and observing the dietary laws to some extent. Most secular Israelis undergo circumcision (boys), celebrate their Bat or Bar Mitzvah and wed according to Jewish law. In the main, they keep these precepts according to the Orthodox interpretation. Many secular Israelis who are aware of the Reform movement are somewhat puzzled by its interpretation of Judaism.
When I hear sentiment like you must stand at its side without asking questions, I ask: would you support the US government if you think what it is doing is really wrong? If not, why would you confer that grace on someone else's country but not your own?
One can support Israel while still rejecting particular policies. There is no dichotomy here.