There remain places in the world where Jews are not free to worship.  There are places where observant Jews are harassed, even detained by the police for practicing their faith in public.  Sadly, Israel is one of these places. 

The Israeli government has decided that the Western Wall is not for all Jews, but is an ultra-Orthodox synagogue.  Even far away from the Wall, in the plaza where men and women mingle, Jews can be arrested for reading Torah.  Women who read Torah in the plaza near the Wall, a decades-old practice, were recently called "Nazis" by Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Anat Hoffman was detained by the police and fingerprinted for the crime of Torah reading. 

Ms. Hoffman belongs to a primarily Orthodox group called Women of the Wall, which conducts Rosh Hodesh services near the Wall in accordance with Orthodox understandings of Halacha.  Pressure comes from Ultra-Orthodox quarters, though, which controls the religious establishment and are seeking to marginalize “regular” Orthodoxy the way they do Conservative and Reform Judaism.  There are enough theocracies in the Middle East without adding Israel to their list. 

The so-called observant Jews who call women studying Torah “Nazis” are sad and disappointing, poor stewards of the tradition they revere.  But it is the police's actions that are more alarming.  The state should not be in the business of preventing Jews from practicing their faith.  Torah is no crime.  If Iran persecuted Christians, we would protest.  When France debates Muslim rights, it causes an international debate.  When Israeli police detain women for not practicing Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, where are our voices?  Baruch Hashem, very few Jews urge violence against the non-Ultra-Orthodox, but violence is not the only matter that separates us from the theocrats in Tehran or Gaza.  It is our belief in the freedom of religious practice that is a hallmark of life in free societies.  Should Israel’s religious laws look more like Iran’s, and less like Canada’s?  Has v’shalom.

In Israel, in 2010/5770, women are literally asked to sit at the back of the bus, as gender segregation is enforced on select bus routes. Women are arrested for carrying a Torah in public.  Women are fingerprinted for reading Torah.  Women are unable to divorce recalcitrant husbands.  There are even men asking for gender-segregated sidewalks.  Israel needs our support—we don’t sit on the fence when Israelis are treated unjustly.  Religious or secular, men or women, kol Yisrael arevim zeh l’zeh—All Jews are responsible for each other.

Please consider writing to Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Miriam Ziv, and Israel’s Consul-General in Toronto, Amir Gissin,  urging them to consider the chilling effect the estabishment of Ultra-Orthodoxy will have on the religious life of Jews, both in Israel and the diaspora.

·      Israeli Embassy in Ottawa:

613.567.6450 x508 / ambassador-sec@ottawa.mfa.gov.il

·      Israeli Consulate in Toronto:

416-640-8501/ cgsec@toronto.mfa.gov.il

Sample Letter:

Dear Ambassador Ziv:

We write as friends of Israel, but we write in sorrow.

Recent events in Israel, most notably those dealing with women at the Kotel, have dramatically highlighted the fact that in many ways non-Orthodox streams of Jewish life have less freedom and are less well treated in Israel than anywhere else in the free world.

As important as it is, and we most strongly support Women of the Wall in their efforts, the Kotel is not the ultimate issue. Across the board, our dedicated Masorti rabbis and lay leaders in Israel deal on a daily basis with State actions that are inimical to the free expression of religious beliefs.

The United States Government estimates that the Government of Israel spends upwards of $450 million a year in support of Jewish religious programs.  We know that well less than 1% of that amount goes to Masorti and Reform combined. The Government of Israel pays the salaries of over 3,000 rabbis, all Orthodox.  Fully halakhic weddings performed by Masorti rabbis in Israel are not recognized as legal by your government.  We know that Masorti rabbis, converts and even brides on their wedding day have been blocked from using publicly funded mikvaot.

Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.

By permitting ultra-Orthodox extremists to control public life and block other caring and devoted Jews from fully realizing their spiritual quest, intentionally or not you send a message that Israel is not committed to democratic principles.  This is a distortion of Jewish values and is destructive of the fabric of world Jewry.  It has its greatest negative impact on our young people.

You and your government must deal with this before the problem escalates.  It cannot be ignored, and you must understand that as staunchly as we support Israel, we will not let these matters pass.

                             Sincerely,