You could say that Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, is leading an insurrection, a popular revolt aimed at upending the status quo that has guided Israel’s policy on religious matters since the state was born in 1948.

The Orthodox establishment has had a stranglehold on officially sanctioned religious practices in the country for too long, Rabbi Kariv believes. It has zealously guarded its privileged position, but it’s time for it to make space for other branches of Judaism that are legitimate and representative of the vast majority of Israeli citizens. In that regard, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks in Washington, D.C., herald progress, he told The CJN in Toronto last week.

Rabbi Kariv was in town to visit representatives of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and ARZA Canada and brief them and local congregations about developments in Israel. His colleague, Rabbi Nir Barkin, also visited Reform congregations in Vancouver and Calgary and was planning other trips to synagogues in Mississauga, Hamilton and Oakville as part of their trip to North America.

Earlier, Rabbi Kariv attended the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly (GA) in Washington.

Netanyahu recently recognized Reform and Conservative Judaism “as native Israeli phenomena,” Rabbi Kariv noted. And in his address to the GA, Netanyahu said, “As prime minister of Israel I will ensure that all Jews – Reform, Conservative and Orthodox – feel at home in Israel.”

That signals a profound strategic shift in government thinking, the rabbi believes.

“When the prime minister says he is committed to… strengthening the presence of Reform and Conservative in Israel, that for us is one of the best proofs that our movement is making inroads into the mainstream of Israeli society,” he said.

That can have practical implications. “Before Netanyahu’s statement, his senior team in the Prime Minister’s Office and leaders of the Jewish Agency started a serious negotiation with leaders of Israel’s Conservative and Reform movements about practical ways to support the work of our movement with government funds. I hope that within months, the government will match Jewish Agency allocations to [Reform and Conservative] congregations,” he said.

That could mean an extra $1 million a year from the government, doubling the annual Jewish Agency allocation, but still amounting to only a fraction of the 2 billion shekels ($685 million) the Orthodox receive from the government.

Rabbi Kariv believes Canadian Jews have a role to play in all of this.

Netanyahu will come under pressure from the Orthodox establishment to walk away from his statement. “We expect Diaspora leaders and our Israeli members and supporters to create a counter-pressure,” he said. “It is important that the leaders of the Jewish federations in North America, rabbis and lay leaders of congregations will understand that without keeping the pressure and keeping the prime minister fully accountable for his previous statements, the ultra-Orthodox parties will succeed in preventing this important breakthrough from happening.”

Rabbi Kariv stressed that the alternatives to Orthodoxy are growing by leaps and bounds in Israel. The number of Jews who identify as Reform or Conservative has at least doubled in the last 10 years, jumping from four per cent to somewhere between eight and 12 per cent. Whereas earlier generations of Israelis were focused on reviving the Hebrew language and promoting Israeli culture, third- and fourth-generation Israelis are seeking a spiritual attachment to Judaism that is not Orthodox.

“The growth is a result of a growing number of Israeli individual and families, mostly secular, who are interested in strengthening their Jewish identity in a progressive, egalitarian and inclusive way,” he said.

Rabbi Kariv believes that as more and more Israelis look to Reform and Conservative alternatives to express their spirituality, they face a significant disadvantage. Their conversions, marriages and divorces are not recognized by the government. Only Orthodox ones are.

As a democratic state, Israel should level the playing field and treat all religious streams equally. It should recognize the conversions, marriages and divorces of all and not permit the Orthodox to have a veto on which practices are recognized by government, he said.

It is crucial “to create a critical mass of Jews in Israel and the Diaspora who say, enough is enough.”

There must be a level playing field in which all streams of Judaism can compete for followers in the marketplace of ideas, he added.

“I want to end the Orthodox monopoly,” he said. “I don’t want to break the Orthodox rabbinate. I want Israeli law not to grant the Orthodox a monopoly on Jewish life.”

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