The bill proposed by Knesset Member David Rotem will not be voted on by the Knesset in the current session, which ended yesterday. Below is a lovely summing up from the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the organization of Conservative rabbis. Rabbi Gilah Dror is the president and Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld is executive vice president.
Dear Friends,
Thanks to a coordinated effort by Jews around the world,
(including over 60,000 emails sent to the Prime Minister's office), the
Rotem bill is not going to the Knesset in this session, but is delayed until the winter session to begin October 11, 2010.
Our contingent spent another day in Knesset today. Meetings continue to
be fruitful and we can feel the impact of the education and outreach
efforts growing. Planning for next steps is ongoing and we will
continue to update you.
The Prime Minister's statement was an important and encouraging
step. We acknowledge the Prime Minister's leadership in a very
challenging moment and call upon him to continue his leadership
support.
Many of the "rules of the game were changed," especially the unified force of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Agency taking a leading role. We must now work together to sustain our momentum.
A simple action you can take to make a difference would be to send out a message from the Conservative Rabbinate to thank Jerry Silverman, and Natan Sharanksy, who are true examples of principled and visionary leadership. The best way to do this is to send a quick email to your own federation director with a copy to Jerry Silverman and Natan Sharanksy. Please encourage members of your community to do this as well. This small gesture will go a very long way to strengthen these important partnerships at a crucial moment.
A simple action you can take to make a difference would be to send out a message from the Conservative Rabbinate to thank Jerry Silverman, and Natan Sharanksy, who are true examples of principled and visionary leadership. The best way to do this is to send a quick email to your own federation director with a copy to Jerry Silverman and Natan Sharanksy. Please encourage members of your community to do this as well. This small gesture will go a very long way to strengthen these important partnerships at a crucial moment.
To email, click on their names below:
Jerry Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Jewish Federations of North America
Jerry Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Jewish Federations of North America
Natan Sharanksy, Chairman of the Executive, The Jewish Agency for Israel
Our colleagues in Israel address these challenges every day with courage and vision. Andy Sacks is a champion of Jews by choice in Israel every day. Andy, RA-Israel, Yizhar Hess and the Masorti Movement in Israel remind us that ours is a path of great challenge-intellectually, morally and spiritually. I encourage you to give yourselves and your communities a gift by getting to know our Movement in Israel better. If you have not been in close contact with Masorti in a while, you will be inspired by what you see.
The arms of our Movement have been working on this, diligently, with close coordination. Steve Wernick, Yizhar Hess, Emily Levi-Shochat (President of Masorti Movement in Israel), Andy Sacks, David Lissy, Alan Silverstein, and others have worked closely with us. May we all be strengthened in our continued efforts.
Gilah and Julie
Comments