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Rabbis: Crisis with US Jewry dangerous
Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 04.04.10, 15:55
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1. Wake up
Eli   (04.04.10)
There is almost NO reform movement left it is either assimilated or dead as far as the conservitive movement they are a non issue as they are now becoming more traditional. They hardly have any female rabbis anymore. Most of there rabbis wear kippas all the time. They are open to more tradition then ever before. This article is like a last cry to show that they are here. But the membership numbers speak for themselves
2. Absolutely correct ...
Rafi ,   US   (04.04.10)
...the unholy alliance between the hard-line political and religious right that currently has a stranglehold on the Israeli state is effectively alienating millions of Diaspora Jewry, especially the youth, from the inclusive Zionist dream that was once widely held in pride and joy. (This does not even speak of what the same hard line govt is having on Israel's relations with the Arab states and, most recently, the US.)
3. Amazing hogwash
Thomas ,   Dixieland USA   (04.04.10)
Stalinist Jews and Zionism? This author is so desperate to sell the Obambots' talking point that's almost comical. How many articles dealt with the Leftist, Arab and Soros (Schwartz) financed anti-Israeli Jstreet and similar US organization insidious attempt to destroy Israel? Still plucking out this inane missive by the hard left American Jewry? If Israel's security depends on the "support" of these radical Marxist, American Jews for whom the Kenyan Hussein Obama is a hero, then we'd better go back to the EU shtetl. Schonfeld and her ilk better pay attention to the increasing Antisemitism in the US because people got fed up with the Obama Jews destructive activities.
4. Who cares?
Israel Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (04.04.10)
American Jews, just like American Christians of Muslim Americans, make their own choices. They can support the American occupation of Afghanistan or they can be against it. They can support off-shore oil drilling or they can be against it. They can support the Saudi sponsored destruction of Israel or they can be against it. If they want to influence internal Israeli matters, they can move to Israel and become Israelis.
5. DEFEND ISRAEL FROM THE U.S ??
LAWRENCE ,   SAFED ISRAEL   (04.04.10)
What a fanciful and novel concept. What are you smoking??
6. Time to cut the Jewish aid package to the Dhimmicrats
Frank ,   Canada   (04.04.10)
The current American administration broke all their understandings on Jerusalem negociated during the Bush era. This is a clear breach of trust. These Leftist thugs must not be rewarded by Jewish money and Jewish votes.
7. Thats why they all voted for Obama
zealot   (04.04.10)
These Jews populate J-street and they voted for Obama. They themselves already have one foot out of the door. The reform and conservatives are the where the vast majority of intermarriages take place.
8. Problem is Not Israel
Rich ,   Miami, USA   (04.04.10)
First the Conservative Movement must figure itself out. It is so wishy-washy- and its members have no idea what it stands for. Most Conservative Jews think they are simply "middle of the roaders" and/or mainstream. This has little to do with theology. While Israel should be welcome to all Jews- the various movements have to solve their own identity crisis first. The Orthodox know who they are. The Reform Movement serves as purpose- it is a link and a continuation between Judaism and many intermarried and/or many fringe and/or many minimalist (certainly not all) Jews. But as for the Conservative Movement- which I belong to- what is its purpose and what does it stand for?
9. Just where do you get your numbers from?
Chanya ,   Israel   (04.04.10)
Whatever the merits of the situation, this article (and the Reform and Conservative advocates cited) vastly overstate Reform and Conservative influence. First, they are not 85-90% of American Jews. Of those American Jews who are affiliated at all, a bit over 35% are Reform, a bit under 35% are Conservative, and about 20% are Orthodox. The only one that is growing is the Orthodox. The other two are shrinking and aging, and if you look at adherents among the younger set, the Orthodox percentage goes up considerably. Many young Jews are completely unaffiliated (and not attached to Israel), much of that a result of the movments' failure to create a commitment among younger Jews rather than anything Israel has or hasn't done.
10. Israel must make peace with all streams of Judaism
Rod ,   Fargo N.Dakota   (04.04.10)
As far as Reform goes 70% of it's members are none Jewish.What i mean by this is that more then 70% of the actual membership is is none Jewish but do to the fact that about only 20% of the mixed married couples children are brought as Jews the rest of the mixed marriage children grow up as none Jews and by high school consider themselves none Jews,AND THEN GO ON TO MARRY NONE JEWS. In a generation there will be orthodox and conservative and no children to fill the Reform temples
11. The Problem is with Reform and Conservative Movements
Yisrael ,   Jerusalem, ISRAEL   (04.04.10)
The Reform have decide to trash Halacha and let anybody be a Jew, with no regard for any tradition. Good for business, but bad for the Jewish people. The Conservatives have offended tradition time and again and are driven to become ever more Reform , until they too abandon Halacha. Everyone knows that practically the only Conservatives that follow Halacha are the Conservative clergy, of whom I was a member. These two streams push themselves away from the mainstream Judaism of 1800 years, and then whine about the distance between themselves and the Jews of Israel. What irony ! What chutzpah ! Stop whining, stop fattening yourselves at the tables of our enemies, and come here to build the State you think we must be ! Otherwise, shut the f**k up !!
12. Already heard this!
Ricardo Macher ,   Karnei Shomron IL   (04.04.10)
I heard this some time ago, but I seem not to remember where. Wait! I do remember, it was in Germany, where this ideas came from. Jews in Germany defined themselves as Germans of Mosaic faith, exactly the same concept and ideas, we have money, so we will impose our changes to whoever feels important to be true to the Torah. The question is not about Israel, the question is about you, will you exist in 2 generations?
13. Incorrect Statistics
Yonason Herschlag   (04.04.10)
15% of Jews in the States are orthodox. Over 50% of the entire Jewish population has intermarried. Most non-orthodox Jews are non-affiliated, or marginally affiliated. In other words, if you count the number of Jews attending synogogue on an average weekday, 98% of them are orthodox. Of the non-orthodox Jews who aren't intermarried, few of them have any interest in Israel. The non-orthodox "clergy" need to wake up to reality, and recognize their place.
14. a country o fall Jews? christian jews?
Golan ,   modiin   (04.04.10)
In Israel we know what a jew is and what a Samaritan is and what is a person pretending to be a jew is. And we like the Jews who go to reform synagogues totally reject Christians calling themselves "Jews." (aka Baptists using tricks to convert Jews.) We also reject "converts" who reject Judaism.
15. The younger generation couldn't care less!
Shua Cohen ,   New York, USA   (04.04.10)
The following quote is from the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, San Francisco, CA: "Younger generations of Jews especially are, in general, less tied to Jewish life and are decreasingly committed to Jewish philanthropy... Younger Jews tend to give to the secular rather than the Jewish communal structure." The complaints of Reformism and Conservativism are incredibly disingenuous, given that they are directly responsible for the younger generation of American Jew's disinterest in Jewish life. Having no legitimate mesorah to pass on to the next generation, that generation has largely been lost to Judaism through assimilation and intermarriage. I agree that the leadership at the top of these Reform and Conservative Jewish off-shoot movements is pro-Israel. But the claim that: "Whoever thinks that he can pass a law that my Judaism is not Judaism is risking a harsh response," is meaningless. Why so? Because the minions of Conservative and Reform Jews who Reverends Yoffie, Wernick, Schonfeld et. al. claim to represent are mostly disinterested in Judaism and Israel. Their thin ties to Judaism and Jewish life is reflected in their lack of financial support for either Israel or local Jewish institutions. They support secular charitable causes because Reformism and Conservativism has turned them into secular Jews. These totally assimilated Jews (who do not and will never believe that they are only temporarily living in golus) simply couldn't care less.
16. Executive President and CEO of United Synagogue
..........DACON9   (04.04.10)
you say Israel should be a country for all JEWS. IT is a country for JEWS. Its YOU JEWS that want to change the country from its inception, THE COUNTRY that MOSHE RABBEINU WANTED, AND THAT KING DAVID FOUGHT FOR. MOSES BROUNGHT ONE SET OF LAWS FOR ALL JEWS. YOU AND OTHERS rewrote those laws.GD said dont change a letter, you change the paragraph WE CAN PRACTICE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS LESSER AND MORE but we have to try to practice GDS way,not YOURS. Then let GD be the judge at the end. Changing a law is not changing GDs law. its only lying to yourself. when you get to the next world ,you will NOT be asked if you are conservative, then the angels will tell you, ''oh youre conservative? then you are excused, you can have female ''rabbis and lesbians and eat bacon on matzah because youre conservative.. and YOU REFORM. naww dont worry about a thing..GD gave the 613 laws to the other JEWS, you can do what ever you like just like the xtians.. You reformers go write a new bible, youre excused also.. BUT YOU TORAH JEWS,,YOU HAVE A PROBLEM......lolol . do you think ALL JEWS ARE SO STUPID to believe that? Thank you DACON9 EMAIL:jewswithviews@gmail.com
17. Breathtaking idiocy
Kyle ,   Southpark, CO, USA   (04.04.10)
These Reform and Conservative leaders may scream very loudly but they do not represent anywhere near "80 or 90 percent" of U.S. Jewry. This is pure wishful thinking based on claiming every intermarried, non-practicing, non-observant person of Judaic ancestry as "default" Reform, because they don't believe in anything, you see. That makes them "automatically" a member of the Reform sect, unless they want to make their child a Bar Mitzvah, and then they suddenly are no longer a good "Reform" unless they pay tens of thousands of dollars in temple dues. The vast majority of practicing Jews are Orthodox, and they also have a very high birthrate compared to the non-Orthodox. This is the elephant in the room that Eric Yoffie and his sect refuse to see.
18. without the support of diaspora jews there will be no Israel
bernard ross ,   st anns bay jamaica   (04.04.10)
and no haven for diaspora jews. This is an important issue.
19. The Bible describes a coming situation when all the nations
Rivkah   (04.04.10)
which could be the surrounding nations or a world body of nations such as the UN, will come against Israel. Israel wins because the Jewish Messiah fights for them. If the younger generation does not believe in Israel, then they don't believe in the Messiah who will deliver Israel and they will perish when He comes if not before that because they are not Jews in their hearts.
20. More bullying tactics. Typical.
Ilan ,   Ariel   (04.04.10)
21. No, it's the other way round
Ariel Ben Yochanan ,   Kfar Tapuah, Efraim,   (04.04.10)
B"H – NO, it’s the other way round! Our security would be at risk should we allow the de-Judaization of Judaism here in Israel as it happened and continue to happen in America. The simple truth is that the security of the Jews is in G-d's hands, not in Mr. Hussein's. Is it not terrible, terrible, terrible that some of these de-Judaized use the security argument against Israel in an attempt to prove themselves right and scare us and blackmail us into changing the Torah according to society, instead of doing what Jews should be doing, changing society according to Torah? What Jewish value there is in being “secure” as the nations? By the way, the lady on the pic forgot to cover her head, a Torah commandment. Is she equally lax respect of the laws of nida, family purity? And those of the Shabbat? Does she drive to her shul sorry, temple, on Shabbos?
22. i now see the situation
JL   (04.04.10)
without liberal cowering cowardly US jews israel is doomed
23. the sooner the better
tanya ,   tel avi israel   (04.04.10)
You have BHO, his Jewish "dream team", J -street. We have Bibi, Liberman , Eli Ishai. You are not in the position to interfere in our inner matters. Stop your threats and blackmail. Israel is much stronger than you wish it to be.
24. Reformed Jews
Ron ,   New York   (04.04.10)
They haye Jews. When they see a Jew they are ashamedthat they had a spouse whose father was Jew. Only %5 of Reformed ever been in a Temple/Church, at a singles dance.
25. Funny
Yonatan   (04.04.10)
This guy has me rolling on the floor with laughter. Reform and conservative Jews are intermarrying at an exceptionally fast pace. They have few children if any and often raise them without Judaism altogether. And as the economy is suffering their practice of charging membership is crushing their attendance rates at their so called shuls. Meanwhile orthodox birthrates are as high as they have ever been and their children remain staunchly observant. Reform and conservative Judaism are in their death throes and the comments of this man reflect the desperation of these groups. But mostly they fail because of their "everything goes" strategy. Judaism comforts you by explaining your purpose on earth and what is expected of you. Reform and conservative Judaism have nor rules, expectations, or sense of purpose to impart to their constituents. Obviously people are abandoning them altogether. They provide no comfort. But on the other hand Hassidic birthrates are remaining high as well and most of them are most certainly not pro-Israel. Perhaps that is the real challenge for Israel.
26. What's the problem?
moriah ,   sacto calif   (04.04.10)
"Reform" Jews in America have made Liberalism their idol. They worship at the alter not only of Political Correctness but rejoice at their "progressive" history of dismantling Jewish Law. They must come back to HaShem and stop desecrating His Name in the world. It is they who are bringing hatred upon Jews with their "If it feels good do it" attitude. The Nations despise the Jew who obsequiously apes the goy in his attempt to "fit in". We do not and will not ever fit in. We are a Nation apart and that's the only way we can bring light into the world.
27. I agree
Ralph Levy ,   USA   (04.04.10)
Actually it's 85 % non orthodox not reform. Israel a country for all Jews even converts as well people who are from decedents of the Lost Tribes all should be welcomed and included in Israeli society with out question of their religious belief. Population and loyalty is the Jewish people and Israel's best defense. http://ralphsrant1.blogspot.com
28. Cheeseburger eating Jews will never run Israel.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (04.04.10)
29. Bibi does not understand
StevieT ,   USA   (04.04.10)
that the political 'numbers game' is quite different when played abroad. In Israel he splits the country and takes a narrow hold on power, its the best deal he can get for himself. In the US, when he splits opinion,Israel winds up with less than the 70-30 advantage he started with. When he ticks off American centrists and liberals, he stands to lose them forever and at the same time, force fence sitters to take a position, possibly on the other side. I continue to warn the Israeli nation I love so dearly, Bibi's careless political gambits are creating the greatest danger to your state since its creation.
30. 21 Ariel Ben Yochanan: It looks like she is wearing a wig...
Rivkah   (04.04.10)
which is an acceptable head covering in conservative Jewish communities.
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