Publications: E-Blasts
When there is news of special interest, the Masorti Foundation sends updates to supporters via email. Click here to subscribe to receive our E-Blasts.
2011 E-Blasts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Masorti Supporters Hold Banners High at Demonstration in Beit Shemesh to Protest Haredi Campaign for Gender Separation
Urged by Israeli President Shimon Peres, thousands of Masorti'im of all ages turned out to fight for women's rights and freedom of religious expression, and the values of a democratic Jewish state.
As you can see from the pictures taken at the protest, Masorti supporters proudly raised signs identifying themselves with the movement. In a photo that appeared in both the Hebrew and English editions of the Israeli daily, Ha'aretz, Masorti is clearly front and center.
We need your help to continue to fight this battle for the democratic heart and soul of Israel. Every dollar counts. Please make your contribution today with your online donation.
Or mail your check to:
Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 832
New York, NY 10115-0068
To read more, click here.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Ezekiel had it Right
We would like to share with you a commentary on this week's Haftarah on Parshat Vayigash, taken from Ezekiel. The author is Rabbi Abe Friedman of Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, who wrote it for "The Unraveller," a series published by the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs.
Rabbi Friedman urges Conservative Jews everywhere to "be part of the solution" to promote religious pluralism in the State of Israel through support of the Masorti movement.
All the House of Israel By Rabbi Abe Friedman
Ezekiel is a strange dude. As one of my professors in Rabbinical School once pointed out, you’re dealing with a guy who started his career by eating a book (see Ezekiel 2:8-3:3); after that, it’s basically anything goes. To read more, click here.
In supporting Masorti Judaism in Israel, we lend support to a vision of Judaism that makes room for all Jews – regardless of their approach to observance – within the community of Israel. Please make your contribution today with your online donation.
Or mail your check to:
Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 832
New York, NY 10115-0068
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Shirat Machar, the co-ed performance troupe of Masorti's NOAM national youth movement, is singing for equality and pluralism.
On the evening of Wednesday, December 7th, the talented teen vocalists took their message of justice and equality for women to Hamashbir Plaza, at the intersection of Ben Yehuda and King George Streets, perhaps the most central location in Jerusalem. Shirat Machar took center stage in that same location on November 25th to commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, underscoring the message that silencing women is a form of psychological violence.
Help us assure the future for a democratic and pluralistic Jewish State. Please support the Masorti Foundation. To donate online today, click here.
To learn more, click here.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Getting the message out takes multiple shapes and forms.
The Hebrew only version of the YouTube video at the link below was posted just a couple of days ago by Masorti in Israel and already has about 5,000 hits.
Click here to take a look at this version with English subtitles. It may not be the most profound text ever written, but it does get a message across.
Help us assure the future for a democratic and pluralistic Jewish State. Please support the Masorti Foundation. To donate online today, click here.
To learn more, click here.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Many commentators have far too glibly linked the tent city protests in Israel to the Arab Spring, but the differences between the two may be as significant as their similarities.
No one in the tent cities fears that troops will open fire or that government thugs will descend upon them. As frustrated and angry as they may be, the change that Israelis seek is one within the system.
Whatever one thinks of the merits, or the methods, the Israeli protests clearly raise important issues about the nature of society and the responsibility of a democratically elected government for those not on the top rung of the socio-economic ladder. Despite this, as noted by many, the official religious authorities in Israel have been silent.
Masorti has not been silent. To learn more, click here.
Monday, July 11, 2011
For 15 years, the Masorti movement in Israel has offered the only formal program in Israel to provide bar/bat mitzvah opportunities for children with special needs. This program, which is a Masorti gift to Israel, has recently been recognized in Israel by the Shalem Foundation, having received its coveted Excellence Prize.
If you could encourage just one or two of your students a year to select the Masorti Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for Children with Special Needs as the project that they ask their family and friends to support in honor of their special day, it could make an enormous difference.
To learn more about how you can help, click here.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Shirat Machar Excites Jerusalem Audiences: Shirat Machar, NOAM’s performance troupe, was the only youth group honored to perform in Chagall Hall at the Knesset in June on the occasion of the gala to celebrate the opening of the General Council of the World Zionist Organization. Read more here ...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Shavuot, with its reading of the story of Ruth, calls to mind the terrible way sincere non-Orthodox converts are treated in Israel. We have in the past addressed this, but what follows below will give you a fresh perspective and understanding of how painful this can be – and why we must persevere. To find out more, click here.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Religious Services Minister Ya’acov Margi has certainly provided one in the Jerusalem Post article which reports his call for a law that would delegitimize the non-Orthodox movements. Please show your support for the Religious Affairs Bureau which, under the leadership of Rabbi Andy Sacks, leads the battle against the likes of Minister Margi. To find out more, click here.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Rabbi Silverstein provides ample support for the view that worldwide, contrary to some gloomy forecasts, the Conservative/Masorti movement is doing well. He presents a nuanced and positive assessment. To read Rabbi Silverstein's article, click here.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Over three hundred delegates - chairs of kehillot from all over the country, rabbis, leaders of NOAM and MAROM and many volunteers - participated in the Masorti movement convention, held last week in Beit Avi Chai in Jerusalem. What did the delegates learn? To find out, click here.
Monday, January 11, 2011
Israeli government agrees to moratorium extension for conversion legislation; Masorti and Reform movements to be part of new professional working group. To read, click here.
