Reform demands rabbis, conversions be recognized
World Union for Progressive Judaism’s 33rd International Convention opens in Jerusalem. Agenda includes demands for full recognition of Reform rabbis and conversions; Orthodox community angered
The Reform Movement is seen by some as the greatest threat to the Jewish nation and by others as the lifeline for Jewish survival worldwide. Leaders of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, partial to the second description, are now working to become a significant force in Israel as well.
On Thursday, the World Union for Progressive Judaism’s 33rd International Convention opened in Jerusalem. The five-day conference will express the Reform Movement’s support for Israel and launch a new initiative to strengthen Reform Judaism in the Holy Land. Organizers promise that the conference, which will be attended by hundreds of Reform and Liberal leaders from 25 countries on six continents, will be the largest such get-together in the organization's history.
The agenda includes dozens of sessions on a wide variety of topics, including global terrorism, anti-Semitism, Israel and the Reform movement, Jerusalem, the separation fence, the treatment of the homosexual and lesbian communities, the role of women in Reform Judaism, rabbinical training and even the future of prayer.
In addition, the movement will honor famed Israeli author Amos Oz, “in recognition of a prolific body of work that has dramatically contributed to the Israeli and Jewish narrative.”
Among the speakers at the conference will be future Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog, MK Ami Ayalon, MK Prof. Menahem Ben Sasson, senior IDF officers and dozens of academic and media figures.
The congress will also demand full recognition by the Israeli government of “non-Orthodox communities in Israel, their rabbis and conversions.”
Orthodox not pleased
Speaking to Ynet, Rehovot Rabbi Simha Kook expressed his opposition to the Reform Movement’s “uprooting of the Torah which has sustained Israel since Mount Sinai.” Rabbi Kook characterized the movement's activities in Israel as an extremist assault on the Torah, and questioned why they were not coming to Israel as tourists or immigrants.
“There have been no immigrants from the Reform Movement in the past years,” Rabbi Kook said. “The only immigrants are real Jews.”
The rabbi criticized the Reform Movement as one of the greatest threats to Judaism, citing the fact that they omit prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple.
“In the US there is no third generation community due to intermarriage – at their weddings a rabbi and a priest stand side by side,” the rabbi charged. He further called on the lawmakers participating in the conference not to become “a tool in their hands.”
Diplomatic plan, too
World Union president Rabbi Uri Regev refutes the concerns, saying that he does not identify among the Orthodox rabbinate any true responsibility towards Israel. If they had the proper responsibility, Regev asserts, they would not feel threatened by the Reform Movement.
“The Orthodox judge everything based on how it may harm their monopoly on religion,” Regev noted. “From this point of view they really do have cause for concern.”
Regev noted that $100 million would be invested in expanding the existing Reform framework in Israel. The movement's aim is to break through to the wider Israeli public by providing religious, educational and cultural services and rabbinical training, he said.
