Understanding the Judicial Turmoil in Israel

Happy Tu Bish'vat, the Jewish New Year for trees. Originally, this day was a convenient way of counting the age of new trees to know when they were old enough for their fruit to be eaten. This minor holiday grew in importance among the mystics of Safed in the 1500s and then blossomed in the 1970s as the Jewish Earth Day. In Vermont, especially after the cold snap we just had, it is a lovely day to remember spring is coming, and that pretty soon, the sap will start running and it will be sugaring season.

Understanding the Judicial Turmoil in Israel. As many of you have heard through various news outlets and media feeds, Israel’s new right-wing government is creating great concerns and debate in the Jewish world Israel and the diaspora. As Reform Jews, the new government includes cabinet ministers who are openly hostile to Reform Judaism and call us degrading names regularly and publicly.   There is also a minister in the cabinet whose entire platform is that homosexuality is an abomination.  Important ministries are now under politicians who incite violence and propose extreme policies toward Palestinians while promoting increased settlement in occupied territories.

Currently, Israel is being roiled by widespread protests against the proposed changes to the High Court and the judiciary.    There has been much commentary on this, including the articles by Thomas Friedman I shared in an earlier post.   Recently, I have learned a lot more about the details of this judicial matter and so  I wanted to share with you some resources that might help you better understand what is happening there from a range of perspectives.  

Here is a link to the Israeli Religious Action Center of the Reform Movement’s webpage on this issue.  This organization is the civil rights arm of the Reform movement in Israel.

Today, three respected Israeli journalists, Matti Friedman, Yossi Klein-Halevi, and Daniel Gordis published An Open Letter to Israel’s Friends in North America asking us to be more engaged in this issue. 

For those wanting more legal depth from a range of perspectives, I strongly recommend Israel’s Judiciary:  Reform or Ruin a podcast from the Times of Israel.  These 8 episodes, each under 30 minutes, share interviews with a range of leaders in Israel’s judicial system. 

I also enjoyed this podcast with my teacher, Micah Goodman on the judicial crisis and its potential to create a breakthrough in creating an Israeli constitution.

There are also lots of articles in the New York Times, Haaretz, and other mainstream subscription-based publications.  While I am in Israel at the CCAR Rabbinic convention later this month, I will be attending briefings and meetings about this with the leaders of Israel’s Reform movement and others who ally with our movement in Israel.  When I return in March, I plan to share some of what I learned at a Havdalah.

Meanwhile, I hope the sources above help you better understand the complexities of the situation, from journalists and perspectives inside Israel.  

Blessings,

David