Report on Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals--Activities in Israel
Posted July 26, 2010 - 8:27am
Shalom uvrakha. I hope you have been having a good summer.
We recently returned from a 3 week stay in Jerusalem. I spent a lot of time meeting with like-minded individuals and organizational leaders, in order to foster cooperative relationships between our Institute and Israeli modern Orthodoxy. Below is a report on activities we have already undertaken, and that we are expanding in the coming years.
We have been a catalyst in bringing together leaders of various groups in Israel, in the hope of establishing an international coalition of Modern Orthodox organizations. The hope is that Modern Orthodoxy will be able to speak more forcefully and more effectively on issues of concern. This is a very promising development, and I will keep you informed about its progress in the coming months.
The Institute is devoting considerable time--and money--to our Israel-based work, since we in the diaspora are much influenced by what is happening in Israel. This is our way of participating in the shaping of ideas and policies that reflect an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodoxy.
As the Institute is expanding its work here and in Israel, I turn to you for your continued generous support of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. You may send checks to the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, 8 West 70th Street, NY NY 10023; or you may contribute online by going to our website: jewishideas.org
The world is full of people who complain about the many things that are wrong; but there are relatively few who rise to the challenge and actually do something to change the world for the better. By being a partner of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, you are to be counted among those who do something positive on behalf of Orthodoxy, the Jewish People and society at large. Together we can accomplish great things. Thank you so much for your kind consideration.
Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals: Israel Projects
NE'EMANEI TORAH VA-AVODAH: The Institute is working with this Israeli organization to foster modern Orthodox ideas and ideals. They publish some of our material, and we reprint some of their material on our website and in our journal, Conversations. For the coming year, we are planning joint conferences in Israel, as well as an increased level of cooperation in the area of publications.
MEMIZRACH SHEMESH: The Institute co-sponsored a book (in Hebrew) on social justice values inherent in Sephardic holiday customs. This book serves as a teacher's guide, and we are reaching thousands of families throughout Israel. This effort seeks to reach Jews of Sephardic/Middle Eastern backgrounds, who are often in the poorer areas of Israel and who have less access to quality education. During the summer, I gave a shiur in Jerusalem to rabbis associated with Memizrach Shemesh. We intend to maintain this relationship during the coming years.
MAVOI SATUM: This is a Jerusalem based organization that fights for women's rights, especially in the areas of marriage and divorce. Our Institute is co-sponsoring a volume on the "Agunah" issue, with the intent of providing practical solutions to this difficult problem.
TMURA: The Institute has been supportive of Tmura, an anti-discrimination association of Israeli attorneys. We have published articles and had programs relating to issues of anti-Sephardic/Mizrahi discrimination in Israel, and particularly about the current situation in the town of Immanuel.
ITIM: The Institute, together with Itim and Ne'emanei Torah vaAvodah, is working to liberalize the conversion policies in Israel. We have hired an attorney to draft a brief for a case that can be brought to the Israeli Supreme Court, with the intent of breaking the monopoly of the hareidi-dominated rabbinate in the area of conversion.
CENTER FOR WOMEN'S JUSTICE: The Institute has published articles and sponsored programs relating to the work for the Center for Women's Justice, in Jerusalem. The Center brings cases to civil courts in Israel, to sue for financial damages caused to women whose husbands refuse to grant them divorces. This is a promising way of solving a number of Agunah cases.
MODERN ORTHODOX COALITION: The Institute has been the catalyst for organizing a coalition of modern Orthodox groups in Israel and the diaspora, to enable modern Orthodoxy to be more pro-active and more energized in its work. We are organizing a major conference, to be held next year in Jerusalem, on Social Justice. We hope that will launch an ongoing organization of modern Orthodox groups, along the model of the Presidents' Conference in the US.
YESHIVOT HESDER: The Institute has been working with the Yeshivot Hesder of Petach Tikva (Rabbi Yuval Cherlow) and Maalei Gilboa (Rabbi David Bigman). We have co-sponsored programs for the general community as well as for students.
MACHANAIM: We have done some joint cooperative work in the area of publications, and hope to expand on our work in the future. Machanaim is an organization dedicated to the spiritual life of Russian Jewry.
We recently returned from a 3 week stay in Jerusalem. I spent a lot of time meeting with like-minded individuals and organizational leaders, in order to foster cooperative relationships between our Institute and Israeli modern Orthodoxy. Below is a report on activities we have already undertaken, and that we are expanding in the coming years.
We have been a catalyst in bringing together leaders of various groups in Israel, in the hope of establishing an international coalition of Modern Orthodox organizations. The hope is that Modern Orthodoxy will be able to speak more forcefully and more effectively on issues of concern. This is a very promising development, and I will keep you informed about its progress in the coming months.
The Institute is devoting considerable time--and money--to our Israel-based work, since we in the diaspora are much influenced by what is happening in Israel. This is our way of participating in the shaping of ideas and policies that reflect an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodoxy.
As the Institute is expanding its work here and in Israel, I turn to you for your continued generous support of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. You may send checks to the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, 8 West 70th Street, NY NY 10023; or you may contribute online by going to our website: jewishideas.org
The world is full of people who complain about the many things that are wrong; but there are relatively few who rise to the challenge and actually do something to change the world for the better. By being a partner of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, you are to be counted among those who do something positive on behalf of Orthodoxy, the Jewish People and society at large. Together we can accomplish great things. Thank you so much for your kind consideration.
Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals: Israel Projects
NE'EMANEI TORAH VA-AVODAH: The Institute is working with this Israeli organization to foster modern Orthodox ideas and ideals. They publish some of our material, and we reprint some of their material on our website and in our journal, Conversations. For the coming year, we are planning joint conferences in Israel, as well as an increased level of cooperation in the area of publications.
MEMIZRACH SHEMESH: The Institute co-sponsored a book (in Hebrew) on social justice values inherent in Sephardic holiday customs. This book serves as a teacher's guide, and we are reaching thousands of families throughout Israel. This effort seeks to reach Jews of Sephardic/Middle Eastern backgrounds, who are often in the poorer areas of Israel and who have less access to quality education. During the summer, I gave a shiur in Jerusalem to rabbis associated with Memizrach Shemesh. We intend to maintain this relationship during the coming years.
MAVOI SATUM: This is a Jerusalem based organization that fights for women's rights, especially in the areas of marriage and divorce. Our Institute is co-sponsoring a volume on the "Agunah" issue, with the intent of providing practical solutions to this difficult problem.
TMURA: The Institute has been supportive of Tmura, an anti-discrimination association of Israeli attorneys. We have published articles and had programs relating to issues of anti-Sephardic/Mizrahi discrimination in Israel, and particularly about the current situation in the town of Immanuel.
ITIM: The Institute, together with Itim and Ne'emanei Torah vaAvodah, is working to liberalize the conversion policies in Israel. We have hired an attorney to draft a brief for a case that can be brought to the Israeli Supreme Court, with the intent of breaking the monopoly of the hareidi-dominated rabbinate in the area of conversion.
CENTER FOR WOMEN'S JUSTICE: The Institute has published articles and sponsored programs relating to the work for the Center for Women's Justice, in Jerusalem. The Center brings cases to civil courts in Israel, to sue for financial damages caused to women whose husbands refuse to grant them divorces. This is a promising way of solving a number of Agunah cases.
MODERN ORTHODOX COALITION: The Institute has been the catalyst for organizing a coalition of modern Orthodox groups in Israel and the diaspora, to enable modern Orthodoxy to be more pro-active and more energized in its work. We are organizing a major conference, to be held next year in Jerusalem, on Social Justice. We hope that will launch an ongoing organization of modern Orthodox groups, along the model of the Presidents' Conference in the US.
YESHIVOT HESDER: The Institute has been working with the Yeshivot Hesder of Petach Tikva (Rabbi Yuval Cherlow) and Maalei Gilboa (Rabbi David Bigman). We have co-sponsored programs for the general community as well as for students.
MACHANAIM: We have done some joint cooperative work in the area of publications, and hope to expand on our work in the future. Machanaim is an organization dedicated to the spiritual life of Russian Jewry.
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