In a few hours I will head home, fry up some latkes and light hanukkah candles with my husband and friends. We'll fill the darkness of this almost shortest day of the year with light from two Hanukkiot. One, a wedding gift from the dear Ofran family, whose beautiful children I have the honor of taking care of from time to time, and the other a relic left behind by my beloved Grandpa Bill.
Outside the doorways of the bakeries of Tel Aviv, lines will start to form for a crazy variety of donuts filled with things like dulce de leche, pistachio cream, chocolate, and, of course, some good old jelly. But before that happens, I want to share a hanukkah letter from Rabbi Seth Farber who initiated and runs an incredible NGO called Itim: The Jewish Life Information Center.
When the Rabbinate of the State of Israel denied my Jewishness and wouldn't allow Eitan and I to marry in the State of Israel, Rabbi Farber listened to me hysterically crying on the telephone and comforted me. This was one and a half years before I actually met him when I traveled to Jerusalem to tell my story to his staff and offer my services to other Jews in my situation -- those who are denied their Judaism by some pretty unsavory characters that run the religious establishment of the state. He fights an insurmountable war against heavy, influential people whose vision of the State of Israel and the Jews of the world will never be one that I share.
Unfortunately the words of Rabbi Farber, that are posted below, depict a painfully accurate portrayal of discriminatory events that take place in Israel every day, and increasingly so. There is no doubt that this place is like none other in the world -- for better AND for worse -- but the rising powers that be are those that would silence the multiplicity of voices, lifestyles and walks of life that contribute so much to the State of Israel, and will render the state unsustainable.
To me, it's unclear what can be done in the immediate sense of time to work against this tide of Puritanism that is sweeping the country, but as a Jew, who sees an unquantifiable value in maintaining a Jewish State of Israel, this is not the kind of state I want to propagate and I have to do something, no matter how small.
So maybe it's a holiday wish, in the spirit of the miracles of Hanukkah, that the more of us that are aware of these trends will focus our efforts, thoughts and networks to support the voices in Israel who respect human rights, dignity, diversity, rule of law (one that progresses not regresses), the ever mythical yet always worth striving for -- democracy, and our own self-respect. If these words of warning resonate with you, please pass them on to friends and family, have discussions and see how you can be a part of a better Israel that will welcome all of us -- no matter how Jewish we are, or how Jewish we aren't.
Dear Friends,
On Chanukah, we celebrate the victory of the few over the many and the forces of light over the forces of darkness. More importantly, we celebrate the victory of the tolerant over the intolerant, and the triumph of the voices of sanity over those less reasonable. In the last few days, we in Israel have experienced a number of setbacks that challenge our vision of a democratic and Jewish State. Reason seems to have been set aside and the voices of the few are being drowned out. Among the issues that have taken center stage has been the fate of several ITIM clients who are being denied citizenship here in Israel, despite having undergone Orthodox conversions with prominent rabbis in North America. The fact that the Ministry of Interior entered into an agreement with ITIM last May that explicitly stated that they would defer to the Jewish Agency, not the Chief Rabbinate, on these matters, seems not to matter to the "powers that be," who are denying basic democratic and Jewish rights to converts. Individuals such as "Sivan" or "Ruth", who were featured in front page articles in the New York Jewish Week and Haaretz, are paying the price of the rise of extremism in Israel.
I am not just saddened for the individuals being disenfranchised this Chanukah. I am concerned for all of us who would like to believe that the State of Israel is a country for all Jews. I am worried about the increasing intolerance that is characterizing Israel. Over the last month, ITIM has been interviewed on Army radio about woman being denied the right to say kaddish, on Channel One news about woman being denied the right to sing, and in Yediot Achronot about separate busing and the public role of woman. What is going on today is a threat to democracy in Israel. I have not given up the battle. But now more than ever we need your support. Please click here to support our efforts. To read about the conversion story in the Jewish Week, please click here or to read about the conversion story in Haaretz, please click here.
Happy Chanukah,
Rabbi Seth (Shaul) Farber, Ph.D.
Director, ITIM
Outside the doorways of the bakeries of Tel Aviv, lines will start to form for a crazy variety of donuts filled with things like dulce de leche, pistachio cream, chocolate, and, of course, some good old jelly. But before that happens, I want to share a hanukkah letter from Rabbi Seth Farber who initiated and runs an incredible NGO called Itim: The Jewish Life Information Center.
When the Rabbinate of the State of Israel denied my Jewishness and wouldn't allow Eitan and I to marry in the State of Israel, Rabbi Farber listened to me hysterically crying on the telephone and comforted me. This was one and a half years before I actually met him when I traveled to Jerusalem to tell my story to his staff and offer my services to other Jews in my situation -- those who are denied their Judaism by some pretty unsavory characters that run the religious establishment of the state. He fights an insurmountable war against heavy, influential people whose vision of the State of Israel and the Jews of the world will never be one that I share.
Unfortunately the words of Rabbi Farber, that are posted below, depict a painfully accurate portrayal of discriminatory events that take place in Israel every day, and increasingly so. There is no doubt that this place is like none other in the world -- for better AND for worse -- but the rising powers that be are those that would silence the multiplicity of voices, lifestyles and walks of life that contribute so much to the State of Israel, and will render the state unsustainable.
To me, it's unclear what can be done in the immediate sense of time to work against this tide of Puritanism that is sweeping the country, but as a Jew, who sees an unquantifiable value in maintaining a Jewish State of Israel, this is not the kind of state I want to propagate and I have to do something, no matter how small.
So maybe it's a holiday wish, in the spirit of the miracles of Hanukkah, that the more of us that are aware of these trends will focus our efforts, thoughts and networks to support the voices in Israel who respect human rights, dignity, diversity, rule of law (one that progresses not regresses), the ever mythical yet always worth striving for -- democracy, and our own self-respect. If these words of warning resonate with you, please pass them on to friends and family, have discussions and see how you can be a part of a better Israel that will welcome all of us -- no matter how Jewish we are, or how Jewish we aren't.
Dear Friends,
On Chanukah, we celebrate the victory of the few over the many and the forces of light over the forces of darkness. More importantly, we celebrate the victory of the tolerant over the intolerant, and the triumph of the voices of sanity over those less reasonable. In the last few days, we in Israel have experienced a number of setbacks that challenge our vision of a democratic and Jewish State. Reason seems to have been set aside and the voices of the few are being drowned out. Among the issues that have taken center stage has been the fate of several ITIM clients who are being denied citizenship here in Israel, despite having undergone Orthodox conversions with prominent rabbis in North America. The fact that the Ministry of Interior entered into an agreement with ITIM last May that explicitly stated that they would defer to the Jewish Agency, not the Chief Rabbinate, on these matters, seems not to matter to the "powers that be," who are denying basic democratic and Jewish rights to converts. Individuals such as "Sivan" or "Ruth", who were featured in front page articles in the New York Jewish Week and Haaretz, are paying the price of the rise of extremism in Israel.
I am not just saddened for the individuals being disenfranchised this Chanukah. I am concerned for all of us who would like to believe that the State of Israel is a country for all Jews. I am worried about the increasing intolerance that is characterizing Israel. Over the last month, ITIM has been interviewed on Army radio about woman being denied the right to say kaddish, on Channel One news about woman being denied the right to sing, and in Yediot Achronot about separate busing and the public role of woman. What is going on today is a threat to democracy in Israel. I have not given up the battle. But now more than ever we need your support. Please click here to support our efforts. To read about the conversion story in the Jewish Week, please click here or to read about the conversion story in Haaretz, please click here.
Happy Chanukah,
Rabbi Seth (Shaul) Farber, Ph.D.
Director, ITIM
