Jewish Group Boosting Tolerance by Israelis

In its first grants aimed at encouraging Israeli tolerance of liberal religious beliefs and practices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has given $250,000 to programs in Tel Aviv run by Reform, Conservative and pluralistic Jewish organizations.

“We believe this is a first step toward specific grants which our donors can feel good about,” said John Fishel, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation.

The legally sanctioned religious dominance by Orthodox Judaism in Israel has frustrated attempts by non-Orthodox Jewish groups to achieve recognition in that country, upsetting many donors in North America who identity primarily with Reform and Conservative Judaism.

Martin Karp, who directs the federation’s office in Jerusalem, said the six programs awarded grants will “nurture an appreciation of religious pluralism among many Israelis who have previously viewed Judaism in black-and-white terms with regard to observance.”

The recipients were all organizations in Tel Aviv, a city with which the federation has an existing program of humanitarian and cultural exchange.

The two largest grants went to teacher and student educational programs. Neve Schecter Institute of Jewish Studies and another Conservative group received $75,000 for a master’s degree program in Jewish studies involving 23 school teachers and some scholarships for teachers from outlying towns. Beit Daniel Synagogue, a Reform congregation, got $71,000 for several programs, including teaching about bar and bat mitzvah rites to elementary school children and parent-student workshops on Jewish holidays.

“The Jewish Federation is taking action in an area where, to date, others have only given lip service--supporting the institutions of liberal Judaism in Israel,” said Rabbi Meir Azari of Beit Daniel.

Other grants included $26,000 to a new social movement led by Yuval Rabin, son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and $25,000 to the Center for Judaic Education in Public High Schools, a center sponsored by the Shalom Hartman Institute, which is known for its Orthodox grounding and progressive approach.

With such grants, the federation is being responsive “to contributors from the Reform and Conservative strains of Judaism who say very clearly they want to see their money go not only to Israel in general but also to institutions that reflect their thinking and beliefs,” said Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark, a Reform rabbi and president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis.