For Meir Yoffe, pluralism is the key to a Jewish renaissance.
“There is a very deep problem within Israel,” said Meir Yoffe, executive director of Panim for Jewish Renaissance in Israel, an organization working to strengthen the field of Jewish pluralism in Israel.
Though only 20 percent of the Jews in Israel are Orthodox and the majority are secular or traditional, the Orthodox “have the monopoly to design and decide what Judaism in Israel is.”
Panim aims to change that by bringing increased awareness to the notion of “Jewish Renaissance” — the idea that no level of Jewish identity, from Orthodox to Conservative to Reform to secular “holds the sole key to Israeli Jewish life,” and that they can all co-exist in a unified society.
Founded in 1998, Panim is a non-profit umbrella organization for about 100 institutions committed to education and community action. They represent the secular, Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox movements.
The organization believes “that by joining forces through Panim, the partner organizations will succeed in bringing the message and values of pluralistic Judaism to the center of Israeli public discourse,” according to the organization’s Web site.
Yoffe visited Milwaukee last week as a guest of the Wisconsin Society of Jewish Learning. He spoke at several locations in the community, including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Nicolet High School’s Hebrew department, Congregation Shir Hadash, Beth Israel Sinai Congregation in Racine, and Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha.
Yoffe said that promoting Jewish pluralism in Israel is important to maintain the Jewish democratic element of the State of Israel.
As “the fundamental vision of the Zionist movement,” Yoffe said, it cannot be maintained without “a very strong or dominant base of pluralistic Judaism.”
‘ We need each other’
Beyond that, they have another challenge, Yoffe said, which is to also make “Israelis aware of the Jewish part of life” — to “develop a Jewish component among all non-Orthodox Jews in Israel” and urge them to “take a much more active part in designing the Jewish nature of the state of Israel.”
The issue of Jewish pluralism, Yoffe said, presents challenges for Jews in in the Diaspora as well.
“We need each other,” he said, of Israeli and Diaspora Jews, “to secure, to enable the flourishing of the Jewish people in Israel” and elsewhere.
“Jewish pluralism in Israel is crucial in [America’s] capacity to continue to identify with the State of Israel. And I think the State of Israel is a crucial resource for American Jews. That is why I am sure we must work together for these goals.
“We can learn a lot by the modern/liberal experience and federation movement in the U.S.,” Yoffe said. “We need to design the Israeli version, which will be parallel to the Jewish synagogue community in the U.S.”
Panim is working to address these challenges by bringing “an Israeli aspect to Jewish pluralism,” and by talking about the related “tasks and challenges.”
It does that through the networking of organizations that are involved in the renewal of Jewish life in Israel; offering educational activities with a more pluralistic approach; and creating more media exposure for Jewish pluralism, said Yoffe.
“My organization is focused on changing policy and changing public awareness.”
One significant coup was a government allocation of 49.5 million shekels (about $11 million) for Jewish pluralistic education in the national public school system in Israel, he said.
Panim also coordinates other projects, including the Hakhel Jewish Learning Festival, which takes place on the first day of Sukkot at the Seminar Center of Efal, east of Tel Aviv.
About 4,000 people attended the most recent event, which included lectures, discussions and workshops led by prominent lecturers in a festive setting.
Though “it’s very clear to the Israeli government that they need to take care of the poor, ill, victims of terror attacks” and though “those needs are endless,” the government’s commitment to Jewish pluralism “needs to be more,” said Yoffe.
“Change must come through awareness,” Yoffe said. “We are working for it,” he added, and, “if it happens, not only will it solve the problem, but the State of Israel will look very different.” MORE STORIES
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