New — IRAC Study Tour!
September 18, 2009 by Steve
The Israel Religious Action Centre is now launching its first ever social action study tour. This tour option, specially designed for each group, is a fantastic collaboration between the expert Jewish educators and Israel tour providers of the Saltz Education Centre and the social justice activists at IRAC. Scroll down to see more information. To see a sample itinerary or discuss creating a tour for your group up, please contact us directly.
If you want to include IRAC in your regular tour, IRAC staff are happy to give presentations on our legal and public policy work to visiting groups.
IRAC also has a half-day long "hands on" program with Keren B’Kavod, the humanitarian aid project of the Reform Movement in Israel. Groups learn about poverty in Israel and nutritional insecurity. After shopping in an Israeli market, participants pack boxes with the food they have purchased. These food packages are then distributed to families-in-need by Keren B’Kavod staff.
A ten-day social action seminar in Jerusalem. This seminar delves into the basis of the Jewish concern for a just society, then goes out into the streets of Jerusalem and other locations to turn that vision into a reality. Participants will meet and work together with the Anita Saltz Centre and the dedicated staff of the Israel Religious Action Centre as well as other caring individuals.
To book an IRAC presentation or hands-on program for your group, please contact us directly or through our website. Please be sure to contact us at least a month in advance of your trip to ensure availability.
Please scroll down for more details.
Please
visit our website for more information.
ISRAEL RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER
ANITA SALTZ INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTER
A Reform Jewish Social Action Seminar in Israel
This seminar delves into the basis of the Jewish concern for a just society, then goes out into the streets of Jerusalem and Israel to turn that vision into a reality. Participants will meet and work together with the dedicated staff of the Israel Religious Action Centre as well as other caring individuals. We will address the needs of the neglected and disenfranchised and participate in hands-on projects to make life better for the residents of this remarkable country. Learn about the often hidden plight of the poor, hungry and homeless and go beyond the statistics to encounter the real people involved; discover creative ways in which you can make a lasting difference while in Israel and back at home. Participants will learn and volunteer in a variety of on-site social action programs.
For more information, please contact us directly or through our website.
Survey: Israelis support religious pluralism
September 17, 2009 by Steve
www.hiddush.org September 16, 2009
In conjunction with their launch, Hiddush commissioned a large-scale public opinion survey by well-known Israeli pollster Rafi Smith where time and again, a majority of Israelis were found to be against the status quo. This marks the beginning of an ongoing Religion and State Index that Hiddush will conduct. Among the key findings:
- 84% of secular Jewish Israelis think the state should grant equal status to all 3 major streams of Judaism (Orthodox; Reform; Conservative);
- 84% object to the current system of mass exemption from army service for men who study in yeshivas;
- 92% of secular Israelis support ending the ultra-orthodox monopoly on marriage; 95% of new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union;
- 64% of all Israeli Jews support introducing civil marriage and/or Reform/Conservative;
- 72% of Jewish Israelis object to the current policy of making conversion to Judaism contingent on observing the Sabbath and Kashrut (ritual dietary laws) and retroactively revoking conversions for not fully observing Sabbath/kashrut;
- 66% of Jewish Israelis believe that Israel should take into consideration the opinions of world Jewry on matters of law of return, conversion, marriage and matters of religion & state;
- 80% of Jewish Israelis object to the gender-segregated Mehadrin bus lines, public bus lines that segregate women and requiring that they sit in the back;
Tension between secular and ultra-orthodox is second in importance, after Arab-Jewish tensions, and double that of the tension between left and right or between poor and rich;
- 71% support reducing financial support given to yeshivas and large families (5+ children) in order to increase participation in the workforce;
- 60% of Jewish Israelis support the separation of religion and state in Israel.
[Printed from JTA website]
Group pushing religious freedom in Israel launched
September 17, 2009 by Steve
September 15, 2009
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — An organization calling for full religious freedom and diversity in Israel was launched in Tel Aviv.
Hiddush, a Hebrew word for innovation and renewal, was launched Monday and is headed by President and CEO Rabbi Uri Regev, a native Israeli and until recently president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and Chairman Stanley Gold , a Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist .
A statement released by the organization blames the lack of freedom of religion in Israel on “a chief rabbinate and an ultra-Orthodox ideology” that controls the lives of Israeli Jews “from birth to death and almost everything in between.”
A survey of 1,200 Israelis conducted on behalf of the organization showed that 92 percent of Israel’s secular Jews favored abolishing the Orthodox monopoly on marriage. Among all respondents, 84 percent opposed the exemption of military duty for yeshiva students, and 83 percent supported freedom of religion and conscience.
In addition, 80 percent were dissatisfied with gender-segregated seating on certain bus lines, 63 percent backed equal state funding for all Jewish denominations and 62 percent wanted public transportation to run on Saturdays.
The survey had a margin of error of 2.8 percent.