Opinion
Investing in religious pluralism in Israel
Yizhar Hess
Published: 12.02.18, 23:42
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29 Talkbacks for this article
1. Mesoratim in Israel are NOT Conservatives
Reuven Vogel   (02.13.18)
No matter how much noise Conservative Jews make demanding rights in Israel, they are a tiny tiny minority. Conservative Jews once respected Orthodoxy but in recent years have decided that this relationship is a zero-sum game. Very sad.
2. Misguided nostalgia for Conservative
Ben HeyHeyHey ,   NYC, USA   (02.13.18)
The author is nostalgic for the glory years of Conservative in the mid-twentieth century, when the movement was ideologically closer to what we refer to today as Modern Orthodoxy. In it's heyday, Conservative maintained the traditional liturgy, and many if not most of it's followers upheld some level of fundamental Jewish practice such as Shabbat and kashrut. The main differences between some Orthodox synagogues and many Conservative ones is that the later had a microphone and lacked a mechitza. Otherwise, the communities were very similar. Today, after decades of relaxing religious standards in the name of "pluralism" and "modernity," Conservative is a vestige of it's former self, unrecognizable to previous generations. Synagogues sit empty, the movement's Solomon Schechter day schools are closing left and right, services are conducted in English in order to accommodate Hebrew-illiterate congregants who increasingly are married to non-Jews, and religious observance has been replaced with feel-good social justice activism, which in some cases includes open support for BDS. Pluralism is wonderful, but does the author really want to repeat the failed experiment of the American Conservative movement in Israel?
3. It Would Have Failed
judah ,   jerusalem   (02.13.18)
because the majority of Jews in Israel are Mizrahi and don't have a religious, tradition or cultural affinity to this sort of nonsense. The author is remarkably shortsighted in failing to recognize or acknowledge this. But then with a name like Hess what would one expect!
4. What about Aliyah ?
Joe Wyse ,   Hadera   (02.13.18)
What if one or two million Conservative American Jews had voted with their feet and made Aliyah ? And a hundred thousand mainstream British Jews ?
5. But it didn't
Empress Trudy ,   Raleigh   (02.13.18)
It send money to Israel with the implication that it would get a defacto voice in controlling Israel. Masorti in the US isn't interested in pluralism it's interested in control. And that control is indistinguishable today from the far left.
6. Indeed: there is a strong need for Another Imaginary Friend!
(02.13.18)
7. The concervative and the reform are not Real Judaism
Phoenix   (02.13.18)
They are koffrim and are not Jewish acordó g to the Jewish law. There is only one Jewish law! One halakhah and the reform and the so called concervative which are pretty much the same both do not respect the laws and the Torah. How would they be Jewish if they don’t follow the law and comete many things that are forbidden by real Judaism.
8. You have to follow G-d's laws
Jake ,   Petach Tikva   (02.13.18)
Israel's success is not a given. Those who lead the Jewish people astray from the Torah way will not receive blessings and are not helping the Jewish people.
9. what if conservative Jewry
avi ,   nyc   (02.13.18)
invested in America where because of its lack of commitment have a 70% intermarriage rate.
10. STOP with the excuses to evadade and deviate from main topic
Avram Goldsmith ,   Toronto -Kiriat Gat   (02.13.18)
Simple adapt without cutting the corner, and do what is convenient for you!???
11. Zombies like on photo did the same just before WWII...and...
ironbutterfly ,   Naples, FL   (02.13.18)
12. The question is not money; the question is...
NadavKatz   (02.13.18)
the understanding of the history of the Jewish people in general and part of it that of the State of Israel. I won't elaborate, but I would suggest, strongly, to realize that the vast majority of Jews in the State of Israel originated from either the Middle East, North Africa or Easter Europe. Liberal Judaism has never been part of the Jewish experience of these people and therefore their off springs in Israel. If liberal Judaism seeks to change things there is only one way: to ensure the liberal-Jews form abroad settle, in the hundreds of thousands of them, in the national home of the Jewish people. But, liberal Jews, almost by definition, don't appear to have such a strong affinity to that which is the entire Jewish people's homeland. So, I don't really expect any changes any time soon.
13. American conservative movement hasn't donated billions
Mordechai   (02.13.18)
The American conservative movement hasn't donated billions to Israel. But given that the writer says they are so rich that means there is zero reason for Israeli taxpayers to ever consider funding a single shekel to this foreign organization.

Israelis have no interest in this foreign movement. But if its so important to American Jews feel free to give your money to them. We Israelis still won't be interested though.
14. No one dreamed religion would be the mess it is in Israel
Vered, Israel   (02.13.18)
No one back then, including Ben Gurion, could have dreamed up the mess we're in now, where the Orthodox suck up hard-earned tax dollars, and serve as a shake-down system worthy of the name "mafia". A place where it's illegal to use the word "kosher" on perfectly kosher food unless the mafia is hired, a place where women are being marginalized, a place where those with the highest Jewish birth rate believe the rest should give them money to live. If anyone had thought any of this was possible, the Orthodox would have been forced to pay for themselves, thereby becoming naturally self-moderating
15. Conservative Judaism is an empty shell
pauld ,   Jerusalem   (02.13.18)
Growing up in a Conservative environment I can safely say, Conservative is an invention of the galut. It is a quasi-Judaism, built on a lack of spiritual conviction, which caters to a confused and compromised Jewish identity. Its influence in Israel will deteriorate the moral of the country and lead to a future of heartache. If you think Orthodoxy is oppressive, and not fulfilling the needs of the people, then Conservative will give you nothing but a shell with a weak spiritual identity and that is the very definition of death in this friendly neighborhood.
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