Crisis in Israel - Latest News
The Canadian home of Masorti/Conservative Judaism in Israel.
Gadi Perl:
The war through my own eyes
Gadi Perl the MASORTI representative on the JNF Israel board where he serves as vice-chairman. In his private life, he is an attorney in Jerusalem who is also a PhD candidate at Hebrew University in CyberLaw research, focused on regulation of autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence.
The war erupted when Israel was led by a right-wing, nationalist religious coalition that had come to power after a campaign of incitement and hatred against Arabs. Our government was headed by a man preoccupied with his own political survival, who had weakened the public service and filled positions with yes-men. His coalition partners were either ultra-Orthodox parties, which believed their voters should be exempt from military service despite their right-wing worldview, or extreme right-wing religious parties with racist tendencies, led by individuals once suspected of nationalist terrorism against Arabs. As a liberal and a leftist, I would have preferred a different, saner government. But we did not choose to be in this situation.
The war also found us more divided than ever. Complacent about our enemy, we were engaged in internal debates over checks and balances in our democratic system. The liberal camp, to which I belong, had mobilized to block a government campaign aimed at weakening the courts and other safeguards.
To read the complete essay, https://mercaz.ca/gadi/
MERCAZ-Canada's President Stan Greenspan and Vice President Nola Lazar, were invited to the World Zionist Organzation's "The Jewish People Challenges: post-Oct 7th global leadership meeting" on February 27th – 28th" in Jerusalem.
The World Zionist Organzation's "The Jewish People Challenges: post-Oct 7th global leadership meeting" on February 27th – 28th" in Jerusalem.
Our Vice President, Nola Lazar, has written about the conference here.
Our President, Stan Greenspan, has written about a tour of Kibbutz Be'eri here.
Please watch the video below, "The opportunity to Re-Establish Israel" with Dr Micah Goodman. It's a thought provoking look at the challenges of post-2023 Israel.
REMEMBERING THE HOSTAGES
Each day that the hostages are still being held by Hamas, Masorti Israel has a Tekhet (ceremony) at the Hostage Square at the Tel Aviv Museum.
May all the hostages soon be released in good health and the hostilities end.
View this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xOLNDNM3pt8
MERCAZ-Canada and Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism work in cooperation to foster and strengthen Masorti/Conservative Judaism in Israel and create engagement opportunities Jews living in Israel and the Diaspora, based on the ideals of tradition and tolerance, study and spirituality, and social action and love of Israel.
MERCAZ represents Masorti Judaism within the World Zionist Organization and Congress, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish National Fund. We advocate for funding of pluralistic streams of Judaism in Israel crucial to our movement’s growth in Israel and around the world.