What if everyone we knew stood up against the spread of hate? This year, in honor of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) on May 1, we are asking our leaders, congregations, and youth movement members and graduates worldwide – and everyone who stands against the prevalence of hatred and incitement online – to report six incidents of hatred on social media.
Honoring 40 years of Netzer. Download and share with your family and community seder this Passover! Chag Sameach!
Over the past weekend, Netzer Olami hosted an educational Shabbaton at the Ruth Daniel Residence in Jaffa for Progressive young adults who are participating in various long-term programs in Israel. The seminar explored Progressive Judaism through workshops on: spirituality, Tikkum olam and activism, and Jewish culture and community. Close to 40 participants joined us, representing […]
The Torah portion this week is called Lech lecha, which, loosely translated, means get going! God commands Abram to leave his birthplace and go to a new land that God will show him. In the first three verses of this portion, (Genesis 12:1-3) the word bracha, meaning blessing, appears five times.
Beresheet begins our Torah-reading cycle anew. Once again, we turn the scroll over and read our people’s origin story; a mythological history that speaks to the wonder our ancestors saw when they looked at the ever-changing world around them. This parshah tells the story of how God created the world, and everything in it, through the power of God’s speech. The Torah then tells the early stories of humanity; of Adam and Eve, Cain and his brother Abel, and introduces us to Noah, whose actions will help renew Creation in next week’s reading.
Passover is on the way. Time to put away the hametz and get set for the “yumminess” provided by matzah. It’s not good enough to just avoid purchasing leavened goods; rather we must actively seek out any remnants of these items in the house and dispose of them. Or at the very least, loan them out. We engage our broomsticks and search for and sweep up those leftover crumbs. Just as important, we need to identify the metaphorical hametz that provides excuses for our inaction. This too ought to be a planned precise procedure. We know deep down in our hearts that in emerging from the winter months, we should gear ourselves up for renewal. Passover is a perfectly suited opportunity to inspire us to serve as advocates for a compassionate globe.
The March 24 March for Our Lives coincided with the annual international Netzer Leaders Assemby (Veida), sponsored by ARZENU, KKL and WZO, where teen delegates from over 14 countries gathered to discuss the future of the Progressive Youth Movement. This year’s conference focused on Tikkun olam: As Reform Jews, does it require action or is […]
[On February 14th] the town of Parkland, Florida made the news because of a school shooting that left 17 people dead—most of them teenagers. There are now about 5 such shootings each month in America. Since 20 first graders were killed in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, there have been some 239 school shootings, taking 138 innocent lives, injuring and traumatising countless more. That is, since I’ve been with you here in Sydney, 240 school shootings have taken place in America, and many more at large public venues, like music concerts and night clubs.
South African Center for Religious Equality and Diversity (SACRED) notes the abandonment of the January 2016 agreement to create a new egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel with intense disappointment. It is painful to us that some of our Jewish brothers and sisters cannot find it in their hearts to ensure that all Jews can […]