MK Haim Amsalem and Rabbi Uri Regev, who heads “Hiddush - For Freedom of Religion and Equality,” will be among the presenters at Taste of Limmud Jerusalem, on Thursday, May 10, 2012, at the Herzl Center, on Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl. At a time when extremism and discrimination against women and immigrants is grabbing headlines, Limmud Jerusalem joins the worldwide Limmud family to promote and celebrate diversity, inclusiveness, dialogue and tolerance. “Limmud Jerusalem is the beginning of a revolution to break down the ghetto walls separating Jews of all stripes in this city,” says Limmud Jerusalem Founding Co-Chair Yogev Karasenty. “We are bringing to Zion Limmud’s grassroots, volunteer-led, cross-communal, multi-generational Jewish model, underscoring the strength in diversity and the … Continue Reading
Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean
by David Breakstone Not every Jewish community can lay claim to a tombstone etched with a skull and crossbones as part of its cultural heritage. The one in Jamaica does. Among its most infamous early members is one Moses Cohen Henriques, a Dutch pirate of Sephardic origin who played a major role in looting the fleet of Spanish galleons in the 1600s. His descendants and those of his coreligionists, together with several dozen others who have made their way to this island nation in the Caribbean from far-flung reaches of the earth, today constitute Kingston’s 300-strong United Congregation of Israelites. The decrease in numbers from a robust 2,500 a century ago notwithstanding, “the community is experiencing a revival,” says Stephen Henriques, long-time spiritual leader of the congregation … Continue Reading
Conference Brings Together the Zionist Leaders of Tomorrow
by Jacob Kamaras JointMedia News Service For Rebecca Schwab, senior advisor to the Midwest board of Young Judea, the lack of Israel engagement on college campuses is one of the primary challenges facing Zionist youth movements in America. “A lot of campuses talk about anti-Semitism and how to overcome it in a politically correct way,” Schwab said. “But really the problem is under-engagement, because you’ll have a lot of dreamers who really want to put on these Israel advocacy events, [including] training seminars and bringing in speakers, but the [student] population doesn’t show up.” That was just one of the contemporary issues on the table for more than 150 Jewish college students and 30 on-campus professionals discussed last month in Miami at the 2012 Young Zionist Leadership … Continue Reading
WZO Exec Slams Leibler, JTA
from J-Wire: A Post-Zionist World Zionist Organisation - It just ain’t so by David Breakstone Isi Leibler’s recent piece asserting that it was time for the World Zionist Organization to disband (A Post-Zionist World Zionist Organisation, Oct. 10) was completely off the mark ... He based his contentions not on the facts, but on second-hand and totally erroneous “information” gleaned from a JTA feature on a journey in Herzl’s footsteps organized by the Habonim-Dror and Hechalutz LeMerchav youth movements, which itself was a classic example of not being able to believe everything you read in the newspaper. To begin with, let me state in the most explicit way possible that I was as mortified by the JTA piece as was Mr. Leibler. It totally distorted the educational concept behind … Continue Reading
Time for a New World Jewish Organization
by Yossi Beilin The 23rd Zionist Congress was the first to be held in Israel. This historic gathering convened 60 years ago, on Aug. 14, 1951, in Jerusalem. After nearly two dozen congresses, five waves of aliyah, the Holocaust that destroyed European Jewry, the U.N. partition decision and the War of Independence, the Zionist Movement had finally achieved its goal: The establishment of the Jewish State. On the face of it, the Zionist Movement could have declared victory and said this would be the final Zionist Congress. Indeed, many on hand would have agreed with the move. At the Congress, there were fiery speeches by the second president of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, and by prime minister David Ben Gurion, expressing hope for the continued huge wave of immigration during the first three … Continue Reading
Bnei Akiva’s Financial Troubles
from YNetnews.com Bnei Akiva in financial trouble The World Bnei Akiva movement appears to be on the brink of collapse: Religious Zionism's huge enterprise is operating at a deficit of tens of millions of shekels, half of the movement's staff in Jerusalem has been fired, and educational activity departments have been shut down. The movement is facing a cash flow problem due to cutbacks in the Jewish Agency, World Zionist Organization and Education Ministry. It did not receive NIS 700,000 (about $200,000) which should have been transferred from the Education Ministry and more than $1 million from the Jewish Agency, and was forced to find an alternative for the money from communal funding. ... "Our situation has worsened, threatening the performance of the enterprise which has been … Continue Reading
Heard Around Jerusalem
By most accounts it's been a quiet summer in Israel. While the social justice protests capture the headlines, not much has been happening in the local Jewish world. An unscientific poll indicates there have been fewer Diaspora leaders around than the past two summers; whether June's Israeli Presidential Conference, or the continued state of the economy, is more responsible is open to speculation. In the organizational world, the possible reuniting of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization (WZO) appears to be sidelined. However, as we mentioned back in June, the WZO is bent on causing mischief. WZO chair Avraham (Duvdev) Duvdevani has appointed the organization's first ever emissary to the US and Canada in order to promote aliyah among the almost 700,000 Russian-speaking Jews in … Continue Reading
New Mount Herzl Education Center Dedicated
In a formal state ceremony yesterday evening, Israel remembered its founding father, Theodor Herzl, on the anniversary of his death in the presence of the President, Prime Minister and Speaker of the Knesset. The real story, however, is in the concurrent dedication of a new educational center a few hundred meters from Herzl’s grave, alongside the Herzl Museum. That building celebrates Herzl’s life rather than remembering his death. The Stella and Alexander Margulies Education Center complements the Herzl Museum, established by the World Zionist Organization six years ago with the support of the Jerusalem Foundation and the Government of Israel. It has drawn over half a million visitors since its opening. “The purpose of the complex is to promote Herzl's legacy and to inspire visitors to … Continue Reading
Reform Zionism: A Personal Mission
For the Sake of Zion: Richard G Hirsch’s Historical Memoir of the Struggles of Progressive Zionism by Rabbi Daniel Allen Zionism is the story of the modern liberation of the Jewish people restored and renewed to our homeland. It is also the story of remarkable individuals who carved a path for the growth of the Jewish State and a flourishing democracy in the Middle East. The leadership of Weitzman, Ben Gurion, Meir, Eban, and others is well known and well documented. However, the leadership of some of the practitioners and thinkers who played key roles in Israel’s growth is less well known. In his new memoir For the Sake of Zion: Reform Zionism - A Personal Mission, published by URJ Press and the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch tells of his life’s work … Continue Reading
Aliya is a Fig Tree, Not Coca-Cola
by David Breakstone One of my favorite things about living in Israel is the huge fig tree I have growing in my tiny backyard, right next to the wild grapes. Together they create an aura of endless possibilities, evoking an era of prophetic fulfillment when, having hammered our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, we will be able to recline absentmindedly on hot summer afternoons under the shade of our vines and our fig trees, enjoying the gifts of prosperity and peace. Throw in the pomegranates thriving nearby and you have the three fruits harvested just last week by those whom Moshe sent to scout out the land, attesting to its bounty. So my fig tree, with its biblical associations, keeps me dreaming. It’s also taught me a thing or two about encouraging others, living … Continue Reading
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