Commentaire
Le Kotel appartient à toutes & tous!
March 15, 2016 6
Dear friends,
We are very pleased to share with you that today, the Israeli Government passed an historic and unprecedented resolution legalizing and officially recognizing the status of egalitarian prayer at the Kotel - Western Wall.
Following three years of intense negotiations, an egalitarian and pluralistic prayer section will be constructed alongside the existing separated sections, the entrance to which will be from the central entry point and will be managed by the Reform and Conservative Movements in Israel and Women of the Wall, together with the Israeli Government.
What this means:
FOR THE FIRST TIME - Complete and clear Israeli legal recognition of egalitarian prayer in the spirit of Reform and Conservative Judaism as part of the custom of Jewish holy sites.
FOR THE FIRST TIME - A joint government office with legally binding authority and government funding and official representation from the Reform and Conservative Movements.
FOR THE FIRST TIME - Any visitor to the Kotel and any family from Israel or from abroad celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah will be able to choose between a separated prayer service with a Mechitza (barrier) between women and men and an egalitarian and mixed prayer service.
FOR THE FIRST TIME - Legally binding recognition of the official status of the upper platform and its usage for ceremonies and national and public events with no separation between men and women and without the coercion of religious norms which are unaccepted by the majority of Israelis (such as the prevention of women from singing).
FOR THE FIRST TIME - The Reform and Conservative Movements, Women of the Wall, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) have teamed up for a joint and coordinated agreement with the Israeli government regarding matters of religion and state in Israel.
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, IMPJ Executive Director, stated that "this Government resolution gives unprecedented recognition to Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel, puts an end to the monopoly at the Kotel and clearly states that at the holiest site to the Jewish people, and anywhere else, there is more than one way to pray and connect to Jewish tradition."
Joining him in praise for the resolution are President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who stated: "This effort is the result of the extraordinary commitment shown by those in Israel who wouldn't agree to the second-class status imposed by the ultra-orthodox religious establishment and by all of us outside of Israel whose unconditional love for our Jewish State compels us to tirelessly advocate for a more equal, pluralistic and Jewishly vibrant Israel," and Anat Hoffman, chair of Women of the Wall and head of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), who announced that "this is a groundbreaking agreement. After years and years of insisting that we have an equal place for prayer, after enduring campaigns of abuse against us, and being encouraged by a wave of Jewish support from across the globe, we have accomplished this extraordinary first step. We will be able to stand as part of living history, read the Torah and pray in the spirit of pluralism and egalitarianism that we believe is critical to a vibrant Judaism. Now, we look forward to the steps that will need to be taken to implement this plan."
The IMPJ joins all of its partners in this historical effort - the Conservative Movement in Israel and North America, Women of the Wall, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) - in celebrating this unprecedented victory and thanks them for their on-going partnership in this and many other joint endeavors.
North American Reform Movement Applauds Passage of Plan to Enhance Egalitarian Prayer Space at Western Wall
Statement of the North American Reform Movement:
North American Reform Movement Applauds Passage of Plan to Enhance Egalitarian Prayer Space at Western Wall
Years of Organized Efforts Yield Significant Victory for Reform Jews, Women of the Wall: New Area to be Under Non-Orthodox Oversight
Sunday, January 31, 2016; NEW YORK, NY - In the most significant development in the nearly generation-long campaign by Women of the Wall and their allies for religious equality at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Israeli government today approved the creation of an enhanced egalitarian prayer space at the Wall, which, for the first time, will be under the authority of non-Orthodox leadership.
The government's proposal - which is the result of a coordinated effort by the Reform and Conservative Movements, both in Israel and in North America, Women of the Wall, and the Jewish Federations of North America - calls for a significant revamping of the Western Wall area to create a more unified relationship between the three prayer areas (men's, women's, and egalitarian). The existing egalitarian space - near the area known as Robinson's Arch - will be enhanced by the creation of an expanded platform with more access to the Western Wall, including from the ancient Herodian street. The site will be open through the main plaza by removing existing visual barriers and building a new, inviting entrance.
The approved proposal was the result of several years of intense negotiating, advocacy, and leadership, led by the North American Reform Movement and Women of the Wall and developed by Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandelblit, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, and the prime minister's office.
In weeks and months to come, the North American Reform Movement will work with its partners in Israel to implement the proposal and to celebrate this new arrangement, which will allow all Jews to experience an egalitarian prayer space at the holy site.
"This is a groundbreaking agreement," said Anat Hoffman, chairperson of Women of the Wall and the head of the Reform Movement's Israel Religious Action Center. Hoffman, an indefatigable crusader on behalf of this issue who experienced arrests and insults through the decades of struggle, said, "After years and years of insisting that we have an equal place for prayer, after enduring campaigns of abuse against us, and being encouraged by a wave of Jewish support from across the globe, we have accomplished this extraordinary first step. We will be able to stand as part of living history, read the Torah, and pray in the spirit of pluralism and equality that we believe is critical to a vibrant Judaism. Now, we look forward to the steps that will need to be taken to implement this plan."
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), celebrated the agreement: "This effort is the result of the extraordinary commitment shown by those in Israel who wouldn't agree to the second-class status imposed by the ultra-Orthodox religious establishment, and by all of us outside of Israel whose unconditional love for our Jewish State compels us to tirelessly advocate for a more equal, pluralistic, and Jewishly vibrant Israel."
Rabbi Gilad Kariv of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism proclaimed, "This struggle and this potential victory is just the beginning of our efforts to ensure that the Jewish state of Israel is indeed a state where all forms of Judaism are practiced freely and without state prohibition - and where those of us who represent the largest force in Jewish life in the world today, the Reform Movement, will be a powerful force inside of Israel and a more visible alternative for worship for Israeli Jews."
Signatory Organizations
American Conference of Cantors
ARZA - The Association of Reform Zionists of America
ARZA Canada
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
North American Federation of Temple Youth
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Women of Reform Judaism
Women's Rabbinic Network
World Union for Progressive Judaism
Women of the Wall Statement:
Today history was made. The Israeli government has agreed to give unprecedented recognition to Reform and Conservative Judaism at one of Judaism's holiest places, the Western Wall. For decades, Israel has given full religious authority at the Kotel to Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. That is about to change. The Reform Movement, the Conservative Movement, Women of the Wall, and the Jewish Federations negotiated a deal that was just publicly announced and approved.
The decision will create a permanent and official, fully-egalitarian space at the Kotel, a space where men and women will be able to pray together without gender barriers; where women will be able to read from the Torah and wear prayer shawls; and where families will be able to celebrate bar- and bat-mitzvah ceremonies and other events together.
The new, egalitarian section of the Western Wall will be officially registered in Israel's Law of Holy Sites. Access to the new section will be from the main public plaza. Visitors to the Kotel will now be able to decide whether they want to go to the gender-segregated Orthodox section, or to the section where men and women can pray together in the spirit of Reform and Conservative Judaism.
Today's decision also designates the Kotel plaza as an official public space that is no longer under exclusive Orthodox control. This will put an end to the embarrassing spectacle of male and female soldiers and officials being segregated at government and military events, and to situations where the Kotel's Orthodox rabbi refuses to let women light menorahs or female soldiers sing our national anthem, the Hatikvah, in public.
This landmark decision gives expression to a fundamental truth: There is more than one way to be Jewish. There is more than one way to pray. There is more than one way to connect to Jewish traditions and identity.
On this exciting day, as we take another step towards full equality for all Jewish movements in Israel, we recognize that our struggle for full equality in marriage, conversion, burial and other life-cycle events for Reform and Conservative Jews in Israel continues.
Today's victory would not have been possible without the vision and leadership of our own Anat Hoffman. For 27 years, Anat has been on the forefront of this issue. She has persevered through decades of protests and prayers, arrests and activism. We are inspired every day by Anat's leadership and her tireless creativity. Anat, we are all grateful to you for your prophetic voice for equality, which has borne such sweet fruit today.
Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. (Psalms 126:5)
Yours,
Rabbi Noa Sattath, Director
Israel Religious Action Center
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, Executive Director
Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism
JPOST article: Cabinet approves 'historic' decision to create Western Wall egalitarian prayer space - Click here to read more
Haaretz article: Israeli Government Approves New Egalitarian Prayer Space at Western Wall - Click here to read more