Israel no longer nation for Jewish people

Memo to the board members of the Jewish Agency

Re: Israel is no longer a nation for the Jewish people

The Jewish Agency has fought hard during the last fifteen years to make conversion to Judaism a reality in Israel. You have invested tens of millions of dollars in the conversion authority, and thousands of hours of dialogue and discussion to be inclusive - all in an effort to stem intermarriage and assimilation in Israel. 

But conversions are down more than 27% in the past year. And while projections for conversion in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) community in 2008 stood at 5000, 933 immigrants from the FSU converted in that year in the civil conversion authority. If this was a business, the board would shut it down immediately. Especially given the fact that 300,000 Israelis can't get married in their own country.

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Rabbi Lamm's fight for tolerance must be recognized

In his recent, and much talked about interview with The Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Norman Lamm was cited as saying that "...we will soon say Kaddish on the Reform and Conservative movements." This comment can obfuscate the greatness of Rabbi Lamm, as it portrays him as adopting the triumphalism that is so characteristic of ultra-orthodoxy. 

My colleague Andy Sacks has already sought to counter Rabbi Lamm's claim stating that Conservative Judaism is alive and well. Though my temptation is to question whether the Kaddish [the prayer for the dead] we will be saying will be a Kaddish Yatom [literally, Orphan's Kaddish], memorializing these movements, a Kaddish Titkabel [Complete Kaddish], beseeching God to accept them or a Kaddish D'Rabanan [Rabbi's Kaddish], which would glorify their scholars and scholarship, I prefer instead to correct the imbalance that may have inadvertently developed by this citation of Rabbi Lamm, and highlight instead how Rabbi Lamm has championed a Jewish life that is not only moderate in ethos, but life affirming in practice.

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Rethinking 'recognized conversions'

Israel's immigration policy needs some serious rethinking, particularly if critical decisions are left in the hands of clerks.

While the law of return allows Jews - both those born Jewish and those who converted - to immigrate to Israel and receive citizenship automatically, it does not specify the threshold for proving one's Jewishness. While much has been written about this (see for example the NY Times article from last March), there is little question that the State has to rely on recognized Jewish communities abroad for Jewishness certification.  

In recent months, I have encountered a new problem - staggering in its implications. It seems that no one is quite sure how to define the term "recognized Jewish community." I know this sounds like a joke, but it isn't.

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The holiday season

At this time of year, in the United States more than in Israel, we are all confronted by the festivities and cultural climate celebrating Christmas, the major holiday of a rival faith. Living, as I do, in New York City, the sounds and sights of Christmas are unavoidable. The streets of Manhattan are lit up with colorful lights, the music of Christmas carols is pervasive, and the people one encounters in the subways are in gift-shopping mode and a smiling mood. It is impossible for a Jew not to be affected by all of this.

There is another dimension to the entire scene, and that is the fact that Hanukka was just over, and often actually coincides with the Christmas season. One tempting way for a Jew to deal with this is to say to himself or herself, "they've got their Christmas, we've got our Hanukka, and all is well." The commercial culture of Christmas, which even Christians often bemoan, demands just this of us. Spend your money, buy your gifts, no matter what your cultural or religious background, this is a season for all. It is Christmas for some, Hanukka for others, and Kwanza for still others. We are all pretty much the same, with a few minor differences. You light candles, sing "I have a little dreidel", and eat latkes, and we decorate trees, sing "Silent Night", and eat gingerbread cookies, but it is all the same. Smile, be friendly, and spend your money on gifts.

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