Reform Judaism grows in Israel Though the pushback from some ultra-Orthodox politicians and others is still harsh, the leaders of the Israel movement for Reform and progressive Judaism feel that more Israelis are opening up to them and supporting their vision of Judaism and solidarity. Getty Images/Gali Tibbon.

By Nurit Canetti

Eyl 17, 2015

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, members of the Or Hadash congregation in Haifa gathered for a festive prayer service. In contrast to Orthodox synagogues, where there is total separation between men and women, the 60 families in this community all sit together. This unity is one of the most plainly evident differences between Reform and Orthodox synagogues in Israel. Another difference lies in religious leadership. Prayer at Or Hadash is led by Rabbi Oshrat Morag, a woman (something unheard of among the Orthodox); the evening included her sermon and explanation of the service in which all members participated. “I hear from people that at synagogue services they don’t know why everything is done, when you stand and when you sit. We explain it to them. We want them to feel at home from a religious and communal standpoint,” Morag told Al-Monitor.

The word “community” is characteristic of the discourse of Reform Judaism. Its people use it to describe their attempt to form groups of members that are engaged, inclusive and active in Jewish culture and tradition. Morag has had first-hand experience of the tension in Israel between Orthodox and liberal Judaism. “When people ask me what I do for work, I no longer tell them. In my experience it leads to fights and arguments. When I responded honestly and said I was a Reform rabbi, some people have said, 'Hmm, interesting,' but more than a few have said 'You’re heretics' or 'You’re a woman and you’re not allowed to touch the Torah scroll' or similar statements. I felt that it stems from some kind of brainwashing and unfamiliarity with Reform Judaism.”

Although the Reform community in Israel is growing and flourishing, these reactions are far from dwindling. Just the opposite. Perhaps because of the public's increased exposure to progressive Judaism, some responses have become quite harsh. For instance, only recently the Religious Services Minister David Azoulay of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, said, “I cannot allow myself to say that [a Reform Jew] is Jewish.” His July 7 words caused such an uproar, mostly among the large Reform community in the United States, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly renounced the statement. Neither could the Israeli Reform community move on from that statement. “This is a continued campaign of incitement on the part of the rabbinic establishment and the religious parties,” Rabbi Gilad Kariv, the executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, told Al-Monitor. “I felt anger and revulsion. We are sick of our representatives, whose salaries are paid by our taxes, feeling free to speak in this way.”

In Haifa, with the help of the Haifa-Boston Connection — an initiative for joint activities by the communities of the two cities — the community members held a happening for Tu Be-Av (the Jewish Valentine’s Day, which falls in August) for all streams of Judaism to show that “Everyone is Jewish and there are no divisions among us,” said Morag. “Secular, Orthodox, conservative and Reform representatives participated, and taught the same texts in joint learning circles. We celebrated the holiday of love among ourselves as a direct response to the words of the minister of religious services.”

Azoulay's statement regarding Reform Jews isn’t exceptional in the political landscape. The day after he spoke out, the chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, Moshe Gafni of ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah, said that while the Reform Jews are Jews, they “stab the Torah in the back.” Veteran members of the Reform movement remember that former Israeli President Moshe Katzav once adamantly refused to utter the title “rabbi” when a senior representative visited the presidential residence during a 2006 trip to Israel.