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WEEK #4: August 26, 2022
 

Thank you to all of you who have followed the last few weeks as I shared a bit about the history and current state of Reform Judaism in Israel. While last week I focused on the challenges our movement faces, I hope it has also come through in my writing just how much progress Reform Judaism has made in Israel over the last three decades. And while the future of Reform in Israel has never been brighter, we still need help from friends around the world to make sure that our movement is strong and the playing field for Liberal Judaism remains fair. I wanted today to share a few thoughts on how you can get more involved in the future of Reform Judaism in Israel, and there are lots of ways to do so. 

First and foremost, I encourage you all to follow the news in Israel. Just as I tell my Israeli peers that they need to read about Jewish issues abroad, it is important to stay informed about what is going on in Israel even when it is not in American headlines. While there are many sources to get Israeli news, I highly recommend www.timesofisrael.com. This site serves as a kind of AP service for English language Israel reporting and also does some excellent reporting that goes beyond security issues. This is a great way to find out about the burning issues in Israeli society, including religious issues so you can read when the egalitarian Jewish movements are featured as part of the story. 

Another step you can take is to be involved in global Jewish politics. While there are many ways to do so, one way is voting in The World Zionist Organization’s elections every few years in order to ensure a strong Reform representation in the WZO seems like a small step. Yet, this organization influences the number of liberal Jewish seats in organizations like the Jewish National Fund or The Jewish Agency and others that control millions of dollars each year that go to fund many different causes in Israel. Without Reform or Conservative representation in these bodies, we will miss out on crucial funding and political power to strengthen our institutions and push forward the issues we care about as a movement. 

Our movement is still in need of global Jewish political support. We need institutions like the Federation to openly commit to and use their financial power in order to strengthen egalitarianism in Israel. Make sure that the projects and institutions that the local Federation is funding are committed to the values of the Reform Movement and encourage them to directly fund Reform projects and communities in Israel. This awareness should extend to you as individual donors as well. Be sure that your contributions are going to projects that are pushing for an Israel that ensures freedom of worship and conscience for all Jews. 

Specifically, regarding the Israeli Reform movement, the best is to go right to the source at https://reform.org.il/en/. There you can find all sorts of information about the movement, its activities, congregations, or sign up for a newsletter. I encourage you all to read about the range of communities in the movement, spread all over Israel. The different congregations reflect the diversity of Israeli Reform Judaism and show just how widely our message has spread. 

Here, I want to talk tachles, a Hebrew word meaning something like direct, or to the point. The tachles is the best way to support Israeli Reform Judaism is to become a donor. I will be honest in sharing that I work in fundraising at a community called Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv so I do have skin in this game. But more than a specific ask for my community, I invite you all to look through the directory of communities on the site, see which one excites you and seems like a community worth supporting, and contact them directly. While donating to the Movement is an ok option, I can give first-hand testimony about the impact, both financial and emotional, that receiving support from friends abroad has on our communities. As a Reform Jew in Israel, it can feel lonely at times: secular society does not yet understand us, and the more traditional world can be dismissive of us. Yet knowing that we have friends around the world is a reminder that our vision for a strong, democratic, and egalitarian future for Israel is in good hands. Your support can help Reform communities continue to grow and strengthen in the years to come. 

It's been a real pleasure for me to share my thoughts with you over the past few weeks. I want to thank those of you who have reached out to me already and want to encourage all of you,if you have any questions or would like to continue this conversation about Reform Judaism in Israel or how to get more involved, to contact me at joshua.scharff@gmail.com. 

I'll take this opportunity, while it is still early, to wish you all a sweet and happy New Year, a Shana Tova!