In 2018, our family travelled to Israel with family and friends to celebrate a milestone—the bat mitzvah of our daughter Zoe, under Robinson’s Arch at the egalitarian prayer section at the Kotel. With the rabbi from our sister congregation, Kehila Ya'ar Ramot joining us, she read from the Torah and experienced a sacred and intimate moment connecting her in peoplehood and prayer profoundly.  

As diaspora Jews, we commit ourselves to a pluralism of religious expression and watch with concern the attempts to empower the Chief Rabbinate of Israel with sole control of sacred places. More information about this long-standing issue is available in this article from eJewishPhilanthropy. You can act by signing an online petition through the Masorti/Conservative Movement. 

In response to the Knesset advancing a bill that would grant the Chief Rabbinate exclusive authority over holy sites, The Jewish Agency for Israel issued the following statement on February 25:

We were saddened to learn that earlier today, the bill to amend the Holy Places Law passed its preliminary reading, despite our efforts to prevent it. For many within the Jewish people, this represents a deep rift and a serious affront to Jewish communities around the world.

The Jewish Agency represents the entire Jewish people—across all streams—in Israel and abroad. It helped formulate the agreements that led to the Kotel Outline, intended to strengthen, unity and ensure that every Jew, in Israel and worldwide, feels a sense of belonging to the Jewish people.

The amendment that passed in preliminary reading will not strengthen the sanctity of the holy places. Instead, it risks deepening divisions within the Jewish people and distancing large parts of our global community from them.

Millions of Jews around the world are deeply connected to the State of Israel—in spirit and in action. They stood by Israel before its establishment and have supported it through moments of crisis and historic milestones. To distance them from the holiest site of the Jewish people because of their faith or religious practice is a grave and dangerous step.

Our position, on behalf of Jewish communities worldwide, is clear: The State of Israel must enable every Jew to pray and practice according to their beliefs—without exclusion from the holy places and regardless of denominational affiliation. In these sensitive and complex times, we must build bridges, not barriers. Our strength lies in our unity—as one people.

The leadership of the Jewish Agency will consult with its partners in the coming days, and together we will consider the appropriate steps to prevent the bill from advancing further.

Monitoring situation in Iran

As we anticipate the celebration of Purim, Esther, our heroine, deeply moves me. When we read Megillat Esther, we will remember how she mustered the courage to stand up and act to save her people during a moment of crisis and self-doubt. In this current geopolitical juncture, the parallels to the Purim story are ironic and rich in symbolism; we are heading into a weekend of continued uncertainty about what may transpire in the Middle East.  

You may recall the lessons from a visit last year when we hosted Yonah Bobb, senior military correspondent and intelligence analyst for the Jerusalem Post, who spoke to us about the role the ‘head of the octopus’ and proxies have played in seeking to destroy Israel and the efforts Israel was undertaking to counter this; we have seen the call for regime change by the Iranian people, while locally there will be another rally on Sunday, 1 p.m. at Sir Winston Churchill Square. (Our community received a warm welcome at previous events).  

Our Israeli brethren, in the meantime, are waiting, knowing that strikes may take place at any moment. We plan to monitor the situation closely and email updates when warranted.  

However you celebrate Purim (discover local celebrations in our event timeline) whether providing matanot levyonim for the less fortunate, taking part in a festive meal (seudah), sharing mishloach manot, baking hamantaschen or drinking until you don’t know the difference between Mordechai and Haman, I wish you a safe holiday and inspiration from a true leader who took a courageous stand, “For such a time as this”.  

Shabbat Shalom,

Stacey