Struggling for Jewish Rights in Israel |
(Rotem Bill) |
Dear Friends,
I write to you from Jerusalem after a long and exhausting day.
Together with Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, Rebecca Caspi, director general of the Jewish Federation's Israel office, colleagues from the Reform and Masorti movements and a handful of others, I spent the day at the Knesset lobbying cabinet ministers and members of Knesset against the Rotem bill.
We met with almost 40 different people in a variety of venues, many public, to express our anger, hurt and great concern over the divide this bill is capable of creating between the Jewish people should it become law. Some of the Israeli leaders with whom we met are Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein, Opposition Leader Tzippi Livni, and MKs Shlomo Molla, Mofaz, Peretz, Shai, Bar-On, Schneller, and more. We concentrated our efforts on the Likud, Labor, and Kadima parties. Jerry Silverman met with Deputy Minister Ayalon and Rotem.
For the reasons we've already elaborated our primary goal is to defeat this bill, but since we cannot be sure of this right now our immediate goal is to prevent it from being brought to the Knesset plenum for a vote during this session, which concludes on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. That will give us a few months of respite to continue to work collaboratively with the Israel government to address the issues and concerns about conversion.
During our meetings with Israeli leaders the following points became clear:
The primary focus of our efforts must be on Prime Minister Netanyahu. Because he is the leader of the government a clear and public statement by him in opposition to this bill is essential. His continuing to avoid a position amounts to tacit approval. Therefore all our efforts to contact him directly through key supporters and to email petitions and letters must continue through Wednesday evening.
We must get as many people as possible to send this email to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Here is the link:
http://www.masorti.org/email/form-letter.html
We must spread it as widely and as quickly as possible. So far more than 8,000 emails have been sent. We have to keep them coming!
We have to place ads in Israeli papers, especially the Russian speaking papers, this weekend. They must both educate and advocate. The Jewish Federations is working on this now.
We must continue to speak out against this bill in the Israeli and international press.
It is essential that we rally support in North America. These efforts, led by Rabbi Julie Schonfeld and others, are very much noticed here in Israel, and they matter.
Teaching Israeli leaders about Diaspora Jewry, and about Conservative Judaism in particular, must be a long-term goal. I am shocked by how little so many of them know about us.
Let me conclude with just a word about the tremendous collaboration that is happening as we strategizing and lobby Israeli officials on this most important matter of Klal Yisrael and Diaspora-Israel relations. This is truly a worldwide effort, many people from North America, South America, Europe and Australia working together with great ease and commitment to each other, to the Jewish people, and to Israel.
I am remaining in Israel until the close of the Knesset on Wednesday, and working with Rabbi Schonfeld. I will continue to brief you from Jerusalem on our efforts. Keep the pressure up.
Thank you,
Rabbi Steve Wernick
USCJ International Executive Vice President and CEO
