Bringing the many faces of Judaism to Israel

America’s marketplace of ideas has permeated to the Jewish world, resulting in the beautiful tapestry of American Jewry today. The diversity varying religious denominations within the Jewish framework permits individuals to relate to Judaism and their religious identity in a way that appeals to them and connects them to the community.

I may not feel a connection to Conservative or Reconstructionist Judaism, but their existence helps keep the flock together.Growing up in the United States, my parents kept a traditional home: Shabbat was diligently (but not overzealously) observed, as were Kashrut and holidays. As children we went to a Conservative day school, a pluralistic summer camp and then a modern Orthodox high school in Boston.

After high school I came to Israel with Young Judaea, another pluralistic program that opened my eyes to the wonders of Israel and the diversity of the Jewish people. My peers were a kaleidoscope of varying types of Jewish observance, identity, and background.

Attending my brother’s wedding last weekend in Harrisburg, PA, I participated in Shabbat services at the Conservative synagogue his father-in-law leads.

Although the prayers were recited beautifully, the sanctuary was elegantly decorated and the rabbi and congregation’s devotion was uplifting, the experience was a glove a few sizes too small for my hand. Peppering the service with English passages and explanations felt out of place; egalitarian seating and praying felt right in principle but unfamiliar in practice. The congregants’ enthusiasm was touching, but it wasn’t for me.

Yet although I remain most comfortable with Orthodox prayers, American Judaism has many faces.

Israeli Judaism, by contrast, is far less diverse. While ethnic traditions abound, they all fall under the umbrella of Orthodoxy. Reform and Conservative Jews in Israel are far and few between, and their rabbis cannot perform weddings, burials or other religious ceremonies with government recognition.

Although having Orthodoxy as the predominant religious affiliation in Israel provides a common Jewish language for the majority of the populace, it limits the options of those who seek a different path. If an Israeli disagrees with Orthodoxy, and yet yearns for religious meaning, there are no viable options.

Without these alternatives, many Israelis go without Jewish tradition altogether, when if given the option they would have merely chosen a different religious affiliation. This lack of options only serves to further widen the secular-religious divide.

How many secular Israelis could be turned on to Judaism through alternative streams extant in the Diaspora? Those who shun or are oblivious to Jewish religion because of the singular association with Orthodoxy might prefer Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist Judaism, but have never been introduced to them.

Many of my Israeli peers are wholly unfamiliar with non-Orthodox streams of Judaism and consider them as foreign as knishes and Sundays (real Sundays).

The major obstacles to changing this singular Israeli approach to Judaism are the lack of education about Diaspora Jewry in Israeli schools and the monopoly the Orthodox Rabbinate holds in Israel.

Conservatism is a Diaspora-encrusted breed that reflects the ideals of the land that birthed and nurtured it. But that does not mean that if given an opportunity, it could not take root and flourish in Israel. The introduction of alternative approaches to Judaism could not only provide a salve for the growing rift between Israel’s religious and secular, but it could also give Israelis a better understanding of their brethren overseas.

As a country that prides itself as a safe haven for Jews, Israel must provide its citizens with religious options that reflect - not stifle - the diversity of its populace.

Fresh Outrages in Syria, and the World Stands By

The outrages in Syria have gone on long enough.  The Los Angeles Times reported the Syrian regime's latest crimes in Latakia: civilians have been herded into stadiums, their ID and cell phones taken from them, in advance of the military's leveling of their neighborhoods.  Amidst shelling from land and sea and the slaughter of innocents, Latakians are being stripped of their homes as easily as their freedom.
We Americans have fought two unnecessary, unjust wars in this past decade over far less than the injustice that the world has witnessed in Syria these past months.  And yet our government, paralyzed at home and entangled in Afghanistan and Iraq though it may be, has little but "strong words" of condemnation.
Though I do not advocate unilateral military action by the United States, I expect more than what the Obama administration has done thus far.  The United States has managed no visible results through the United Nations, whose sole reaction to months of human rights abuses has been tsk-tsking barely audible across the East River in New York City.  Three months have passed since the Human Rights Council condemned the violence in Syria (but, at no surprise,  Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Gabon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, and the Russia, those esteemed paragons of human rights, voted against the measure).  Nothing has been done since and the bodies keep piling up.  At least the UNRWA posted an article expressing its "grave concern" on its homepage.
If Israel were the country culling unruly citizens, uprooting Palestinian refugees from their homes (as Syria is now doing), or arresting protesters by the thousands, the international community would be outraged and the UN and its agencies would not stand idly.  A hue and cry the likes of which has only been heard from Glenn Beck the last time Obama was seen golfing would emanate from deep in the bowels of every UN office worker until it was heard around the globe.
This double standard is unacceptable yet goes on every day while innocents die.  The UN Human Rights Council cries crocodile tears and whimpers like an attention-seeking puppy about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza while Syrians protesting for their freedom are cut down like curs.  To quote the late George Carlin, "Something is fucked up. Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. "  And all the while the UN stands tongue-tied and hand-bound.
All the while, the most impressive show has been made by Turkey, who has not only let in thousands of refugees along Syrians northern border but has issued a chilling ultimatum: "This is our final word to the Syrian authorities: Our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally.  If the operations do not end, there would be nothing more to discuss about steps that would be taken."  Would Turkey act independently?  Whether or not it will, the Republic of Turkey has been the only government to suggest real action against Assad.  
If the Obama administration is unwilling or unable to act in Syria, it should do more at the UN to see something done to stop the madmen in Damascus.  The lame-duck, politicized, hijacked, corrupt, and self-interested United Nation needs more than just American funds, it needs American leadership.  Otherwise it's clear where Congress should make its next budget cuts.