IJII

#000000">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.

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