Judaism
Rising Streams: Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel

New Subjects in the Field

Rosh Hashanah or January 1st?
When does the year start for Israelis – the first of January or the first of Tishrei? Most of us conduct our daily lives according to the Gregorian (non-Hebrew) calendar and are not aware of the Hebrew date on any given day.

Herzl and the First Zionist Congress: Then and now
We need a new Herzl and a new Zionist Congress, not for the purpose of establishing a state or defining identity, but to breathe the spirit of solidarity and Jewish brotherhood into an era of strife

Artem – Brother or Other?
The State of Israel should recognize two parallel paths for the creation of family units: religious marriage and secular civil unions. Thus, Artem would become an equal citizen without tearing the fabric of our shared Israeli society.

What Israelis Want: Kosher Food at Affordable Prices
The new minister of religious affairs has a plan to provide more reliable supervision and lower food prices — all without harming the Chief Rabbinate.

The missed potential of Tisha B’Av
Tisha B’Av can become a more significant day for every Israeli — a day that unites the religious with the national and the historical for the Jews living in Israel and for the Zionist enterprise.

The View Through Big-Data: An Initial Analysis of 15 Million Tweets by AIPAC and J Street Followers
Main Findings Twitter followers of AIPAC and J Street are equally likely to have bios that contain the word “Jewish”, while AIPAC supporters are significantly more likely to have “Israel” in their bios. Around the same percent of AIPAC followers (48.1%) and J Street followers (39.5%) mention Israel at least once in their previous 200 tweets. J Street followers are…

New Western Wall Prayer Space Highlights Wider Divide Among Jews
By Isabel Kershner, The New York Times JERUSALEM — It seemed a solution worthy of Solomon: create a permanent egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall alongside the gender-segregated area that has been the subject of vitriolic protest. The Israeli government’s compromise decision this week was hailed as “historic” and “revolutionary,” yet it also underscored the divide between Israel and its Orthodox establishment and…

Conversion: After the Dialogue and the Crisis
What are the main points of contention and controversy with respect to conversion? What does the existing situation look like, and what are its practical implications? All these issues were discussed at JPPI’s 2010 Conference on the Future of the Jewish People, held October 20-22 in Jerusalem. This paper summarizes the main ideas raised in discussions and offers some policy…