Our Masorti Affiliates in Israel

Mazal Tov... (Summer Newsletter 2010)

. . . to Rabbi Yoav Ende, Director of the Education Center at Kibbutz Hannaton, who was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund/KKL, succeeding Dr. Eilon Schwartz as one of the three MERCAZ Olami representatives on the KKL governing body.

. . . to Rabbi Jim Lebeau, who is retiring at the end of June as Director of the United Synagogue’s Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem. To celebrate his thirteen years as director, the Conservative Yeshiva has established the Rabbi Jim Lebeau Scholarship Fund. For more information about the special scholarship, go to www.razoo.com/story/Rabbi-Jim-Lebeau-Conservative-Yeshiva-Scholarship-Fund-1.

. . . to Emily Levy-Shochat, a veteran member of Congregation Hod v’Hadar in Kfar Saba, who was elected the new Chair of the Masorti Movement. A community organizer in the fields of education, health and social welfare, Emily made aliyah some 30 years ago from Boston and currently works as a consultant for non-profit and community-based organizations.

. . . to Alan Hoffman, Director of the Jewish Agency’s Education Department, who was elected as the organization’s new CEO. Hoffman, who came to Israel in 1967 from South Africa, is the first immigrant to serve as the Jewish Agency’s top professional.

Purim Gifts To Lone Soldiers (Summer Newsletter 2010)

As part of the annual Purim campaign organized by the American Zionist Movement and its constituent organizations, MERCAZ USA provided 125 gift baskets to the Masorti Outreach Program to IDF Lone Soldiers housed at Congregation Moreshet Yisrael in Jerusalem by its volunteer coordinator Joan Kedem.

Joan Kedem, Coordinator of the Masorti IDF Outreach Program, shares Purim baskets with two lone soldiers.

As Joan, a self-described 'mother, grandmother and great-grandmother' who has lived in Israel for 49 years, notes, "All in all, we [reach] over 180 young men and women serving in different units in our IDF without benefit of family support. The soldiers have an address to turn to in time of need, all have my home telephone number, and coming together each Festival in an atmosphere of friendship and sharing, we have succeeded in creating and building a solid social and human service. No obligations, just a phone call and they all come together. All have made a decision to remain and live here, focusing their goals towards a positive and constructive aliyah."

Other beneficiaries of the annual MERCAZ Purim campaign were the Neve Hanna Children's Village and Netzach Israel, the Masorti community in Ashkelon.

For more information about IDF Outreach Project for Lone Soldiers, write to joankedem@gmail.com.

Another Masorti Synagogue Attacked (Summer Newsletter 2010)

Just a year after an earlier attempt to burn down the synagogue, the Masorti congregation in the southern Israeli city of Arad was heavily damaged in an arson attack. This time, perpetrators drilled a hole into a wall of the synagogue, Shira Hadasha, and poured flammable liquid inside the building.

The attack comes also days after an attempted break-in at the synagogue and six months after the Masorti congregation in Modiin was damaged in a similar attack. Shira Hadasha is the only non-Orthodox synagogue in Arad.

New Masorti Movement Prayerbook (Spring Newsletter 2010)

The Masorti Movement in Israel has produced a new prayer book "Va'ani T'fillati" as a joint publishing venture between the Masorti Movement, the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel and Yedioth Books Publishing House.

Published in memory of Rabbi Albert Lewis, the spiritual leader for 60 years of Temple Beth Sholom of Cherry Hill, NJ, and a former president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the new prayer book is formally entitled a "siddur yisraeli" and reflects its special Israeli character with the inclusion of modern Hebrew poetry and special blessings for events such as making aliya or entering the army. For more information or to order a copy, go to www.masorti.org/publications/siddur.php.

Schechter to Dedicate New J'lem and Tel Aviv Campuses (Winter Newsletter 2009-2010)

The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, the educational heart of Masorti Judaism in Israel, will be dedicating its new Jerusalem Campus' "Legacy Heritage Fund Classroom Building" and its new Tel Aviv "Schechter Center for Jewish Culture in Neve Zedek Legacy Heritage Building" on May 4 and 5, 2010.

Schechter's impressive growth — from four students when it opened its doors in 1984 to 650 students today — attests to the popularity of its Jewish education programs and to its need for additional space. The new Jerusalem campus will house the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary which trains future Masorti leaders for Israel and Europe, the Schechter Institute's Graduate School for Israeli educators, the TALI Education Fund which oversees 190 schools and pre-schools, and Midreshet Yerushalayim Learning Centers for Russian-speakers and Israeli communities.

Construction of the Jerusalem campus, designed by Israeli Prize laureate Ada Karmi, is proceeding on schedule, with the new Classroom Building to open in Fall 2010. The Rabbi Marc N. and Dr. Henia Liebhaber Center for Jewish Education will be built in the second phase of construction.

In Tel Aviv, building is underway on the Schechter Center for Jewish Culture in Neve Zedek, future home of the Kehilat Sinai Masorti congregation and Midreshet Iyun Outreach program. Plans call for renovation of the historic 19th century Templar building and courtyard and for the construction of the TALI Early Childhood Center. The Schechter Center will house a Bet Midrash, classrooms and synagogue sanctuary, courtyard with outdoor auditorium and café, and the TALI Childhood Center.

Dedications of the new facilities, which coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Schechter Institute, will take place May 3-6, 2010 in Israel. Join the Schechter Celebrations together with Conservative leaders from around the world. Four-day and seven-day tour options are being offered.

For more information, go to www.schechter.edu or contact the Schechter North American Office, Schechter@ehlconsulting.com, 1-866-830-3321.

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