21 Cheshvan 5779 October 30, 2018
Masorti Israel in Solidarity with American Jews
From the beginning, Israelis have known they could count on American Jewish solidarity and support.

In response to the attack on the Conservative Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Masorti Conservative Movement in Israel rose in solidarity with the Jewish community in the United States. Leaders of government in Israel spoke, clergy from different streams spoke, all in a spirit of unity. Watch the video to get a taste of Jews coming together for each other.

As Masorti Israel stands with us, we stand with Masorti Israel in the struggle for recognition of the Masorti and Reform streams in Israel. Read former Ambassador Michael Oren's Op-Ed in the New York Times calling for recognition.

And for a healing moment, we close out this newsletter with beautiful voices in prayer.
"We are with you--Pittsburgh!" says the Masorti youth group, NOAM
We see here the hearts of the young people of NOAM. At a time of sorrow, they send a message of love, support and oneness--Israelis and Americans.


As their hashtag says: #We are all Pittsburgh.
כולנו פיטסבורג#
Dr. Yizhar Hess attended the service in Moreshet. Speakers included MK Tzipi Livni, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog, and Rav Benny Lau, all delivering messages of the need for unity, mutual respect and recognition.

An Evening of Solidarity in Israel
Yizhar Hess, Executive Director of the Masorti Movement in Israel

"The Masorti Movement in Israel held a moving evening of solidarity with the Pittsburgh Jewish Community. Amongst the many spiritual and political leaders who spoke, a common theme that emerged was the need to honour the legacy of the deceased and for Israel to accept Jews of all denominations as equal."
Masorti Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch with a message for Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau
In response to conflicting reports of Israeli Chief Rabbi David Lau's characterization of Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue, Masorti Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch cordially invites him to attend memorial services at Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, or any of the Conservative synagogues all over Israel.
Rabbi Novis-Deutsch:

" I do not expect him to pray with us, just to be with us, to embrace, to say we are brothers ."
In powerful opinion piece arguing for full recognition of Conservative (and Reform) Judaism in Israel, former Ambassador Oren says: "disputes cannot be allowed to fracture the Jewish unity on which Israel is predicated. Beyond the financial, political and even strategic considerations, Israel is morally obligated to preserve Jewish peoplehood." Read the full editorial and other related news stories here.
Ambassador Oren:

" All Jews should regard Israel as their ancestral homeland, the realization of thousands of years of yearning, devotion and dreams, no less if they live on Long Island than in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv."


" It is a tree of life to all who grasp it, and whoever holds on to it is happy; its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. "
(Proverbs 3:17-18)
Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel| 212-870-2216| info@masorti.org | masorti.org