The winner of Jerusalem's image campaign

What's the big story of the week? Forget world economic meltdown. Forget Ahmedinejad's version of the blood libel on steroids. Forget road carnage, family brutality, re-enactments of The Godfather on the mean streets of Netanya. All of this pales into insignificance. Even the Day of Judgment, the Season of Repentance, the Days of Awe are Days of Ordinary in comparison with the scoop of scoops. It is of course, the extraordinary decision to allow a cartoon figure to run for Mayor of Jerusalem.

For those of you not privileged to share the delights of Jerusalem living - the uplifted souls and the upturned sidewalks, the exhaust fumes, the exhausted, the fuming, the magical vistas and the tragic missed opportunities, the sheer beauty, the Wall, the Barrier, and all the rest - an explanation is necessary.

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Reform's 'tude' problems

In June an article about Reform Judaism was published in Commentary Magazine. Those interested in Prof. Jack Wertheimer's analysis in all its glory would do well to locate the original. I'll give you the short version - he suggests that Reform Judaism is a failure.

As a Reform insider, I'm here to tell you that Prof. Wertheimer is right. The more you know about a religious denomination, the more reason you should have to be concerned about its omissions and disasters, about the gulf between what it avers and what it achieves. Reform is a failure, and I hope it continues to be so in the future.

I want to outline some of our major problems, and then I want to tell you why I'm happy to stick around and grapple with these failures, rather than go off in search of a whole set of new ones. I also want to suggest that most of the traditional claims against Reform Judaism are misguided or mean. If you're looking for the real failures and challenges of our movement, you might consider sticking with an insider for the real scoop. The picture of air-headed ignoramuses misleading the masses is a fake, and if that picture titillates you, you may need help. The real story is a little more complex. So here goes:

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Inspiration from the Haredi community

Although they will not thank me for the endorsement, I have decided to come out in favor of the Haredi community in Jerusalem. Many in the Ultra-Orthodox world are disgusted by the decision of the courts, supported by the Attorney General, not to force businesses in Jerusalem to refrain from selling chametz during the festival of Passover this year. Following the decision of the court, representatives of the edah charedit  have sent letters to some sixty businesses and outlets pleading with them not to sell leavened products during Pessach in the City of Gold.

I like this response. By turning to these fellow Jerusalemites and asking them to reconsider their decision, these Haredi representatives are playing according to the rules of a modern liberal democracy. It remains to be seen if some within the community escalate their opposition to the dreaded chametz, and move from words to sticks and stones. But so long as the opposition is reasoned, respectful and peaceful, it should be supported.

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To be a Jerusalemite

My municipal tax bill arrived this week, and on its envelope an unforgettable slogan: it pays to be a Jerusalemite.

My first response was to laugh out loud: the contents of the envelope made it abundantly clear that one has to pay a significant amount of cash in order to be a Jerusalemite - or at least one of that increasingly besieged species: Jerusalemites who pay any taxes at all.

The City of Jerusalem can be a demanding hostess. Only one thing could be more concerning than taking a brief look at its economic prospects - namely, taking a long look at those prospects. Destruction and construction are to be found strewn across the city in equal measure. The ultra-rich are displacing the working poor and also just regular folks from certain neighborhoods. To put the icing on the cake, this week I find myself banished from my own office due to the presence in this city of George W. Bush and the 8000 police personnel on duty here.

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Impressionists and Realists

Earlier last week history was made in Jerusalem. In a city in which history has been a cottage industry for three millennia, this is in itself not too much of a surprise. But the kind of history I am referring to is worthy of note in any case.

The first ever serious academic conference on Reform Judaism in Israel took place. The Van Leer Institute, a highly prestigious center of research and public debate, initiated and hosted the conference, which attracted leading scholars from around the world - or at least from Israel and from the United States (the next conference of this kind will need to spend more time on the local varieties of this species to be found in South America, South Africa, Australasia, and Europe. And by the end of the century, we will no doubt be holding interplanetary seminars).

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