Anger over arrest of Conservative rabbi for officiating at a non-Orthodox wedding
On the very morning of the day he was to drive to Jerusalem to participate at the President’s residence on a panel on Jewish diversity and unity, Conservative Rabbi Dov “Dubi” Haiyun was awakened by police in Haifa to be questioned about officiating at a wedding ceremony which violated halacha. One member of the wedded couple had been born out of wedlock, and therefore under Jewish law was a mamzer (bastard) and ineligible to be married to anyone but another mamzer. The arrest and possible future prosecution of Rabbi Hayun for uniting two people who love each other drew immediate comment from throughout the Jewish world.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said the investigation into the wedding ceremony dealt with “a subject that was not dealt with for many years, and whose sudden handling provokes a storm. In any event, we have a heavy responsibility to find the tools and the language to solve the problem. The differences between us, so sensitive, not only within the court, not only in legislation, and not only in enforcement, we have come here to speak – and we must continue to talk, find the solutions, find the creative ways that honor us all, our history, Jewish polemic. ”
The Jewish Agency for Israel congratulated Attorney General Mandelblit on his decision to cease the investigation regarding Rabbi Haiyun, adding: “We are certain that he will move immediately to stop these absurd events and will use his best judgement in order to ensure that events like these do not repeat themselves. … We hope to see the days when Rabbis of all streams enjoy the freedom in Israel to work to preserve the unity of the Jewish people and to heal the rifts between the different parts of the Jewish people instead of working negatively against each other by using legal action as we saw this week.”
The Jewish Agency fully supports Jewish pluralism and the work and freedom of all streams of Judaism worldwide.
“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing reports of the events involving Rabbi Dov Haiyun in Haifa this morning,” commented the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We welcome the intervention of Attorney General Mandelblit ordering the police to release Rabbi Haiyun. We urge the Attorney General and the Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan to investigate the circumstances and conduct involved with Rabbi Haiyun’s early morning detention for interrogation and to take steps to prevent a recurrence.” — From the Jewish People’s Policy Institute, Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
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Consternation over Israel’s Nation-State law
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) has expressed its “profound disappointment” in the Knesset passage into law of the Nation-State. “We are concerned that this new law undermines Israel’s vibrant democracy comprised of diverse religious and ethnic groups,” commented David Bernstein, JCPA President and CEO. ““We urge the government to ensure that the law does not permit discriminatory conduct.”
“We are dismayed at this latest undermining of the Israeli-Diaspora relationship.” stated Cheryl Fishbein, JCPA Board Chair. “It is not Israeli democracy’s finest hour.”
JCPA urged the government to modify the law so that it aligns with the country’s strong value of equal rights for all Israelis and does not risk damaging the country’s reputation.
Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund, commented: “The playbook of the far right is to introduce, over-and-over again, laws to unravel democratic institutions. At first, their ideas seem shocking and are rebuffed. But over time, as they re-introduce the same provisions, they are able to normalize their regressive agenda.
“The New Israel Fund — and the many Israelis and American organizations we partner with — actively opposed this terrible bill. We worked to frame the debate, and to get more Israelis to understand what was at stake. More and more Israelis – and people around the world who care about Israel – spoke out against the bill. Foremost among them was Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
“That’s part of how the most unconscionable provisions of the bill were amended. Just days ago, the draft bill included an incredibly broad provision that would allow the government to restrict residency rights. That opened the door not only to Jewish-only towns, but also to towns where Mizrahi, Ethiopian, or LGBTQ Israelis would be barred. A second part of the law, which the bill’s sponsors dropped, could have compelled women and LGBTQ Israelis to sacrifice their rights to accommodate religious sensibilities. An even earlier version of the bill obligated courts to base their decisions on Jewish religious law.”
Speaking for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Reform Rabbis Gilad Kariv and Noa Sattath commented:
“During this public struggle we stated clearly that the Nation State Law can actually help us in legal claims regarding recognition of the non- Orthodox streams of Judaism from the very fact of the statement in the law that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people. At the same time we nonetheless fiercely opposed the law because of the worsening of relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel, and because the law does not mention Israel’s Declaration of Independence, or the principle of equality and democratic values of the state of Israel.
“Itis important to note that the version of the law that was ratified by the Knesset is very different from the original versions that were proposed. It does not include any statement in which the Jewish character of the state is more important than the democratic character (the democratic character of Israel is anchored in the Basic Law of Human Dignity and Freedom passed in the 90s). The law also does not include a statement giving an official status of Jewish law (halacha) as a source of inspiration, nor does the law give itself a higher status than the other Basic Laws. Additionally instead of the original line that stated clearly that people could be prevented from joining community settlements on the basis of religion, ethnicity, or nationality, the law now only makes a general statement in support of Jewish settlement as a national value that the nation should promote.
“All of these points reduce the negativity of the original versions, but it’s still important to state that we feel that this is a terrible and unnecessary law which erodes the necessary balances among the core values of the state of Israel.” — From Jewish Council for Public Affairs, New Israel Fund, and Central Conference of American Rabbis.
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World Jewish Congress marks 25th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA building in Buenos Aires
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) commemorated the 24th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA building in Buenos Aires which killed 85 people and wounded 300 with a series of events. Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro, who took part in the commemorations at the invitation of the WJC and its Latin American affiliate, said in his address to the main ceremony: “We are drowning in an ocean of impunity and injustice. Iran has a clear part in this injustice, as evident from its lack of cooperation with the justice system. This cannot be permitted.”
Almagro also told the Jewish community that could “unconditionally count on the OAS … The OAS will always be on your side, doing everything in its reach to fight against hate and indifference, and to denounce intentional obstacles that do not allow the investigation to move forward,” Almagro said. — From World Jewish Congress
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Western Jewish Studies Association calls for papers for May 5-6 conference
Scholars of Jewish Studies, including graduate students, are invited to submit proposals for papers and panels on all areas of Jewish Studies regardless of discipline, geographical focus, or time period. At its 24th annual conference May 5-6, 2018 at the Palm Desert Campus of California State University-San Bernardino, the Western Jewish Studies Association (WJSA) encourages papers and panels on Jews in the American West and the Coachella Valley in particular, paradigm shifts in Jewish Studies, pedagogy, Israel, and Jewish historical anniversaries commemorated in 2019:
These include
–The 40th anniversary of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty
–50th anniversary of Golda Meir becoming first woman Prime Minister of Israel
–70th anniversary of the Knesset
–80th anniversaries of World War 2, the White Paper, and ghettoization of Jews in Poland
–Centennials of Primo Levi, Mordecai Anielewicz, Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Republic
–Bicentennials of Wissenschaft des Judentums, Isaac Mayer Wise, and Rebecca Gratz founding the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society
–800th anniversary of establishment of Aljama in Toledo
–950th anniversary of Vespasian permitting Yochanan ben Zakkai to establish Yavneh
Paper proposals should be no longer than one double-spaced typed page and should be submitted with a short CV. Organizers of panels should submit a cover sheet with the title of the panel and titles of each of the papers and names and CVs of each presenter, Individuals wishing to chair a session should submit their CV.
A limited number of modest travel stipends are available for graduate students and overseas scholars presenting papers at the conference.
Although there is no WSJA membership requirement for participation in the conference, there is, a higher registration fee for non-members. Deadline for submission of proposals: November 30, 2018. E-mail proposals should be sent to Lawrence Baron, lbaron@mail.sdsu.edu. For membership information for the WJSA, see www.wjsa.net or contact Baron. — From Western Jewish Studies Association
LGBTQ groups in U.S. to support LGBTQ strike in Israel
On Sunday, tens of thousands of LGBTQ Israelis and their allies are expected to not show up to work or close their businesses as a part of a nationwide strike organized by Agudah —The Israeli National LGBT Task Force.
Agudah called for the strike following the passage of a bill related to surrogacy that discriminates against same-sex families. Activists note that the latest piece of legislation is a part of an ongoing trend of anti-LGBTQ actions in Israel, including the sudden removal of same-sex partners from birth certificates and the violent death of a trans teen.
“The Knesset decision this week to discriminate against gay couples and single men seeking to create a family is yet another example of the government, led by ultra-orthodox political leaders, rolling back rights,” said Tyler Gregory, executive director of A Wider Bridge. “The government of Israel likes to speak about its support of LGBTQ rights while overseas, but all too often those words give way to coalition politics that result in harm to people.”
Organizers selected July 22 as the day for the strike to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av, which marks disasters faced by the Jewish people, particularly the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem. More than 20 companies, including Microsoft, Apple, IBM and Teva, have voiced support for the strike. The city government of Tel Aviv has also spoken out in support of the strike.
“We are tired of politicians who preach against hatred but act to harm, exclude and deny rights from our community,” said Chen Arieli, chair of the Agudah. “We are tired of the expanding gap between the public support of gay families and the surrender of the coalition to the hardliners’ dictates. We are tired of the empty promises of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and all the liberals in the coalition who are being supportive in talking points but are voting against us at the plenum; who hug us in the parades but prevent us from getting married and from the right to establish a family. We are tired of the violence that is aimed toward us and the bureaucratic abuse from the narrow-minded opinions of the public clerics; the hypocrisy, deprivation and discrimination. I am calling upon the members of the community to show solidarity and to support this important struggle. This is our right and duty.”
To build international solidarity for the LGBTQ strike, A Wider Bridge on Friday launched a petition calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the governing coalition to build a stronger, more inclusive Israel that is reflective of equality for all. The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/the-knesset-join-the-global-strike-for-lgbtq-rights-in-israel — From A Wider Bridge
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